Aside from having to be on hold forever on your phone dime to get the almost non-existent MS support for a full retail version, what is the point in not saving major bucks by getting an OEM?  You can get an OEM of XP pro for $139 with free shipping at www.bigclearance.com or www.cheapsoftware.com, among others.  I have used bigclearance to get Win 2K Pro and Win XP pro.  I have never used MS tech support because I could not stand being on hold at some ridiculous cost so that MS would not have to pay for 800 calls.  Their tech support is very bad anyway.  Buy a copy of Roxio Goback deluxe online and you'll never need MS support.

>I just put together a computer. I'm now intending to buy a Widows XP Pro Operating System, full version in a retail box, not an OEM. Checking Pricegrabbers and Nextag for price comparison, I was amazed at the differences in price. For the same OS, the prices range from $199.00 to $299.00. I would like to get one in the $200.00 range.
> However, I don't understand this great price difference.
> There are sellers on the low end and high end that have good ratings. I'm assuming that these ratings are legitimate.
>The reason for this e-mail is that maybe someone could clue me in if there is something that I do not know about.


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