Adobe Photoshop CS3 for $299
Written by Eric on February 6th, 2008 | 8 Comments
[This post has been updated. See below.]
No, this isn’t some cheap take on a educational software gray market scam. This is the real deal from Adobe.
If you’ve been wanting to get your hands on Photoshop CS3, but don’t really want to shell out $650, then Adobe has got a deal for you. You can upgrade your copy of Photoshop Elements (versions 1.0-6) to the full blown Photoshop CS3 for only $299. This offer is for US and Canada residents only (excluding Quebec for some reason).
What? You don’t have Elements? Get a copy for under $40 at Amazon and then upgrade it. You still come in $300 less that the full retail price.
As far as I can tell, you can only take advantage of this upgrade offer directly through Adobe. So, here’s the link. The offer expires 2/29/08.
Update: As Stephen pointed out in the comments below, Wacom tablets come with Photoshop Elements and the $299 upgrade coupon. So, you can still go cheap and grab a Wacom Bamboo tablet for $83 and still come out under $400 with CS3.
Update #2: Alan pointed out in the comments below that when you click “Order Now” you get a pop-up that says “error: the promotion code you entered has already been used”. I didn’t get that error this morning when I posted this. I called the Adobe sales number on the page linked to above. The rep that I spoke to said I could upgrade for $299 – in fact, he was ready to take my order; however, I told him who I was and that I wanted a link for the product page where we could all order it and he said that he couldn’t help me with that but forwarded me to customer service in India. After 20 minutes and creating a new account at Adobe, I hung up with no progress. Another 20 minute online chat with another sales rep sent me back to customer service in India. My suggestion? Give them a call, along with your serial number and try to upgrade that way. Sorry if this turns out to be phooey. Thanks for pointing out the error message Alan.
Update #3: Fried Toast in the comments below thinks the whole thing is bogus. I’m still for giving Adobe a call if you want to upgrade and trying it over the phone.
[tags]adobe, photoshop, cs3, elements, upgrade[/tags]
February 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Photoshop Elements also comes free (including a $299 upgrade coupon) with a purchase of a Wacom tablet if you’re also in the market for one of those too.
February 6th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Steven – Sweet deal. Thanks for pointing that out.
February 6th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Clicking on the buy now link it then says “error: the promotion code you entered has already been used”
Is this really a legitimate offer?
February 6th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Thanks for the update and the trouble you went to. Still though, it’s a sweet deal if you can order over the phone.
February 6th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
[...] Purchase Page [via Photography Bay] tr { border: 0px } td { cellborder: 10px; padding:5px; } table { border: 1px solid silver; [...]
February 7th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
You just made my day!
February 8th, 2008 at 4:54 am
[i]Clicking on the buy now link it then says “error: the promotion code you entered has already been used”[/i]
I got the same thing. I went back through and found out that this must have been a mistake originally (that got fixed). If you’ve previously purchased PS 7.0, CS or CS2, then you get the Nice Price. If you merely have one of the Elements, there is an option for upgrading, but the price is nowhere near what is linked above.
Might want to edit this post to let people know what the deal is. Elements does not equal cheap upgrade.
February 26th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I think the URL is a one time use URL. E.g, someone used that URL to purchase the promo and that’s why it’s giving the error message. It looks like the URL has a GUID at the end which could easily be deactivated once used. I think this is real.