(Some Visual Studio subscriptions, for example, come with a passel of license keys intended for evaluation purposes. This outfit is selling “gray market” product keys that are harvested from a variety of sources and aren’t authorized for resale. It's the same as buying keys through Kinguin and the like.Let’s make something clear right up front: If you pay for one of these offers, you are not buying a license. Meanwhile, personal customer details flow directly through to the actual seller, regardless of where they are located. However, all these item sellers can promote the fact that they appeared in PC World, MacWorld, etc. Sellers (no mater how shady) gain a real sense of credibility and endorsement, even though it's not given. Whatever the product or service is, they're grateful for any small percentage of the transaction to contribute to their survival. They can firmly state that they have no ability to monitor the authenticity of claims made in their advertized products and services, nor the companies that promote them. Many cost items can be contracted out, including site management and credit card processing. They recognize the high profitability and low overhead when using the eBay model. So many of them have setup online marketplace sections that are online versions of their old classfied sections. Whether it's a city newspaper site, PC World, ZDnet, MacWorld, etc., they're all struggling to survive with an online model to replace their declining print (ad) revenues. 'The two big caveats: You get a single key - which only works on a single computer - and there's no Microsoft OneDrive Cloud Storage included.' The Mac deal ends today, but the Windows deal extends through December 28th, according to CNET's article.

But compared to the online Microsoft 365 subscription suite that costs $10 per month or $100 per year, this downloadable version is a phenomenal bargain. Now, you can always opt to use the free online version of Microsoft Office (which has far fewer features).

However, this deal expires in just a few days, so be sure to get your order in soon.The offer, from StackSocial, applies to both the Windows and Mac version of the software. That's back at the lowest price we've ever seen, and a whopping 91% off the usual price of $349. You can ditch the subscription (with recurring charges) and snag a lifetime license of access to Microsoft's Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher and Access for just $30.

Meanwhile, over in the Microsoft ecosystem, CNET reports:

Microsoft office lifetime license price