Buying Archicad on ebay?

[Anonymous]

There us currently a full version of archicad 8.0 for sale on ebay...Auction ends @6pm tonight. I was the high bidder @ $700. An eBay member emailed me and said that I should be careful to make sure that it was a licensed copy. Fortunately somebody outbid me.

Can anybody give some advice on this situation?

I am currently a Chief Architect user but there are a lot of "work arounds" to produce elevations & cross sections for working drawings.

Thanks

Is this the right forum to post this questions?

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl= http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.msn.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand= GetResult&ht=51&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=archicad

[Anonymous]

I bought my copy on Ebay and it was a fully licensed program.

Get the serial number from the seller and ask the local archicad rep or email graphisoft u.s. and ask them to verify.

You will need to pay the license transfer fee. I requested a copy of the transfer agreement, and a signed copy from the seller stating they were willing to sell.

All worked out great. You will love Archicad.

Grant

[Anonymous]

Grant... I think I have seen your user name on Chieftalk... am I right? If you have used Chief could you tell me if the cross sections and elevations are easier to do in Archicad? I have a friend that used to use Chief and switched to Archicad. He says Chief is for amateurs but the learning curve for Achicad is harder. Anyway the seller on eBay is not responding I think I need to take my time on this purchase. If you don't mind me asking, How much did you pay for your Archicad and how much does it cost to switch the license?

[SeaGeoff]

I paid $2400 for my copy on ebay and definitely verified the license first. At the time there were many copies being advertised for absurdly low prices and as you can imagine the sellers did not respond to my requests to authenticate.

After I got the goods I ponyed up the $450 to my local reseller to make everything official. Do note that this entitles one to tech support by GS but the local reseller has no obligations.

So as you can see you may save some money but don't expect a bargain. If the deal seems too good to be true it is.

Another possible option that worked for some local friends is teaming with another outfit to get a volume discount, significant at 10 copies. At least as good a deal as mine.

Good luck and be careful.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Grant & Geoff,

I appreciate the info... $700 is too cheap!

[Anonymous]

Hi Todd, yes I used to use Chief a couple of years ago.

Archicad is the way to go. I am trying to sell my copy of Chief and no-takers.

Archicad has a higher learning curve, but it is considerably more powerful, both for modeling and construction docs.

The Archicad forum is great and many of the more experienced users are more than willing to help out.

When I started to investigate Archicad, I purchased the pay-as-you-go key, which is more expensive, but a lot cheaper than finding out you don't like the program.

Archicad is a smart move.

Grant

[Dave Jochum · Accepted solution]

Geoff wrote:
After I got the goods I ponyed up the $450 to my local reseller to make everything official. Do note that this entitles one to tech support by GS but the local reseller has no obligations.

Just what obligation does a reseller have to a licensee who purchased through him?

[Anonymous]

I have to add to this thread. Our company has used ChiefArchitect for years to produce CD's (if you can call them that). CA is very fast at throwing walls on paper. It uses a 2 way associative dimensioning system that allows you to get away from cartisian coordinates (like revit but not as good). At first I was afraid I would have trouble adapting to x,y,z all of the time. It becomes 2nd nature much faster than you think. Now CA's system seem like its less direct. Sections are actually useable for CD's in AC, Objects are much better, Roofs are actually pleasureable to model! You can really snap to hotspots!, The list goes on and on. IMHO (see i'm catching on to the cool abbreviations already and you will too as soon as you buy AC!) unless all you wan't to do is quickly throw a floor plan together for a limited market, There is NO COMPARISON. Archicad is the real thing. I'm getting tired and incoherent if you wan't more proof i'll send more later, Or find a reseller to give you a demo. Good Luck!

[Dave Jochum]

Dave wrote:

Geoff wrote:
After I got the goods I ponyed up the $450 to my local reseller to make everything official. Do note that this entitles one to tech support by GS but the local reseller has no obligations.

Just what obligation does a reseller have to a licensee who purchased through him?

Any resellers out there who can answer this?

[aahatimo]

todd,
i am another chief arch user (9+ years) that recently switched to ac. i have ca9.5 and have not even loaded yet.
i see you are in colorado. you may want to contact kevin wickman at cad-designs in golden: kevin wichmann <kevin@cad-designs.com> or bruce cousins w/ studio v in denver. i was able to get a discount on ac7 for switching from ca.
email me direct if you want to discuss ca vs ac. tim@aaha.com there are a few other chieftains that now lurk here in ac world.
good luck with your new software adventure!