Over in the forums, I'd posted about Microsoft Streets and Trips, software I was curious about trying. It's supposed to calculate the shortest routes to hit several locations you want to cover on the same trip. I thought it might save me on gas by giving me better ideas how to arrange my errands.

Well, I bought it on Ebay. I did notice the fellow said it wasn't in a box, but he did say it was sealed. I figured maybe he just wanted to ship it the cheapest, lightest way since he was offering free shipping. Or that the box was damaged. Anyway, he had quite a bit of feedback, and it was pretty close to perfect. But when the software came, it was clearly labeled "For distribution with a new PC only."

I don't know if it would cause a problem to put it on my computer, but I don't want to take any chances. Recently when I did Windows Update, it went through a process where it was "verifying" all the software on my computer. The way it was worded, I got the impression they were trying to identify any Microsoft products that shouldn't be there. I just don't need the hassle of worrying about it.

Anyway, I checked Ebay's policies, and it was against the rules for him to sell this "OEM" software if it wasn't part of a PC purchase. So I reported the listing. But it looks like I have to go through a separate process to try and get my money back. And their system won't let me do that yet because not enough time has elapsed. They want you to try and settle it between yourselves--but I just don't see the point of communicating with the seller at all. They did something they shouldn't have, and Ebay ought to know about it. I don't want to just return it and get my money back, and have them sell this stuff to someone else.

It's really frustrating to have this software (still sealed) sitting in front of me, and not being able to try it out. But I just ordered a good one directly from Amazon. They've lowered the price, and after the rebate and my 20% discount it will turn out cheaper than the Ebay guy's anyway. All's well that end's well, and I'm sure things will end up fine. It's just going to be a hassle communicating with Ebay over the next few weeks.