Bought a unused copy of Photoshop CS but can't activate, please help.

Question

On amazon i just purchased a old unused copy of photoshop CS for $200 (the only even remotely non disgusting/laughable price for a SOFTWARE like the photoshop cs's ranging from $600-1000+)
and the seller informed me, when i asked about it, if it could still be used and installed and the seller told me yes.
It arrived yesterday and i can't even get it to install or activate, the "activation server" is down, and the phone line auto-message says it no longer helps.
Did i get scammed and lost $200 (which i probably won't even be able to get refunded) and now am stuck with a photoshop disc that i can do absolutely nothing with?
Is there absolutely nothing that i can do in this situation?

Answer 1

random66 wrote:
"owners of CS2 or earlier, should download the non-activation version of CS2 from that link"  the link though says, "You can use the serial numbers provided as a part of the download only if you legitimately purchased CS2, CS2 applications, Acrobat 7, or Audition 3."   It says CS2 but not CS, does that mean i couldn't use that link?
CS owners are happily downloading and using CS2 via that link.
Adobe has made no other option possible for owners of "activation required" versions earlier than CS2 so CS2 is your only option regardless of the wording at the link..
Does that in a sense mean no matter what CS copy you buy it will eventually be shut down and your access to it will be cut off even if you had bought it when it was still working?
No-one knows the future of deactivation of existing products. In the history of activation, Adobe has only ever shut down an activation server once (CS2) and made an alternative possible for owners of that version.
Activation is Adobe's inherently flawed attempt to curb casual piracy. It was always going to fail eventually. It only ever hurts legitimate owners of the software. The Cloud is Adobe's next gen anti-piracy measure.
I'm extremely repulsed by the idea of having to pay a monthly fee for CC and would rather pay a flat (but realistic) price for the CS, but will go to photoshop CC if there is no other choice because an online workshop classes program i'm looking to sign up for requires either photoshop CS or CC (but strongly discourages elements).
You can still purchase CS6 Creative Suite 6
If you're signing up for online classes, I would suspect they expect you to be running either CS6 or Cloud versions of the software.
Learning Photoshop online using 11 year old software sound like a recipe for confusion and frustration.