Dear eBay user,

Beware of someone selling a link to a program called OpenOffice. It comes in several variations, and you may see a title like "Inexpensive Microsoft Office-compatible Program" or "OpenOffice 2007, Compatible with Microsoft," or some other title that appeals to the bargain hunter in you. This software is described as a great, inexpensive program  that can replace Microsoft Office for the average person's uses, and it is usually sold for $3-5 US.

The program is great, and is everything that the seller claims it is, but it's also something else they don't tell you about: it's free. Anyone can go to http://www.openoffice.org and legally download the program free of charge. It is fairly large, (~200MB) so if you have a slow connection, it might be worth it to you to pay a few dollars to get a CD of it. Although it is a free program, authorized vendors are allowed to sell CDs for a SMALL fee. Don't pay more than a few dollars for the CD, if you wish to get it that way.

The bottom line is, you shouldn't pay for something you can get for free. I am awaiting a response from OpenOffice.org as to whether the selling of a link to their product is even legal, but there is no reason whatsoever for you to pay these rip-off artists one cent. Don't give away $5 if you don't have to: a penny saved is a penny earned.

Sincerely,

Jason "Edifyboy"