Sell software

Only full retail versions of software may be sold on Amazon. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with this list of prohibited items:

Duplicated or copied software:

Software that has been copied onto CD-R, CD-W, floppy disk, or any blank media by anyone other than the original software manufacturer.

OEM software:

Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) software comes bundled with, installed on, or packaged with computer hardware. You cannot sell this software on Amazon unless you are also selling it with the associated hardware and listing it against the hardware ASIN.

Promotional software:

Software distributed freely by manufacturers to promote their products.

Beta (pre-release) versions:

Software distributed for the purpose of troubleshooting, testing, and evaluation.

Freeware and shareware:

Software distributed free of charge by the copyright owner.

Expired subscription-based software:

Software that is no longer usable because it has passed its subscription time period.

Back-up copies:

Copies that are made to protect the purchase of a software title. This software cannot be distributed, shared, or sold.

Academic software

Academic software is software sold to students, faculty, and educational institutions expressly for use by those individuals and institutions. Since Amazon has no way of verifying that a seller or buyer has an academic connection, we prohibit the sale of most academic software on Amazon. To determine if the academic software you want to list is allowed on Amazon, follow these guidelines:

Pre-purchase verification:

Academic software that requires pre-purchase verification is prohibited for sale on Amazon because we have no way of verifying that the seller or buyer meets the requirements at the time of purchase.

Post-purchase verification:

Academic software that requires post-purchase verification is permitted to be sold on Amazon.

Software, keys, or licenses delivered using non-standard means:

Software, keys, or licenses that are delivered to the customer using methods that are outside of Amazon’s standard delivery modes that is, physical delivery of the software disc or a download from the detail page. For example, software delivery through keys in an email, keys in Amazon’s messaging system, or via third party sites is prohibited.

Open box software

Many software products require first-time buyers to register their product with the manufacturer using an activation code, license key, or password. If the original owner decides to sell the software, they must prepare the software in the following way:

• Transfer the original disc.
• Ensure that there are unregistered or transferable license keys for the buyer.
• List the product in the proper condition.
• Add information about the software's license keys in the listing comments.

All products in Software & Games with the condition type "Used" will be listed as "Open Box."

If the license is non-transferable and/or the buyer will not be eligible for technical support or upgrades, then it is prohibited for sale on Amazon.

Digital Download

Digital distribution of any software is prohibited at Amazon to protect sellers and right owners from digital piracy. Sellers are not allowed to provide activation codes, registration links, license keys, serial numbers, or any other credentials related to software products (new, used, or open box conditions) to buyers via email, message, or any other electronic channels. For example: software delivery through license keys provided by email, Amazon's messaging system, or any third party site is prohibited even if requested by buyers.