[Update @ July 7, 11:47am: Groupon has responded to our query via Twitter. More below]
If you love deals, you most probably have spent a lot of time browsing around for them at Groupon. Since the site offers thousands of products and services, it is possible that a couple of questionable deals somehow managed to pass through the site.
So, one of them has come to our attention: this particular deal at Groupon Malaysia that offers lifetime subscription for Microsoft Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home. Wait, lifetime subscription?
As far as we know, there is no such thing such thing as a lifetime subscription for Office 365 and this fact is confirmed by the listing at Office’s official website. Even if there’s actually one…well, we are pretty sure it still going to be quite costly even after some discounts through Groupon.
The closest thing to lifetime subscription when it comes to Microsoft Office is when you purchase single-licensed Office products such as Office Home & Student, Office Home & Business, or Office Professional which don’t require monthly or yearly subscription fee unlike Offer 365 products. Nevertheless, the said deal at Groupon Malaysia which is apparently offered by a company called Quantax Technology clearly stated the deal offers “lifetime subscription to full desktop versions of Office applications…” and “perpetual license does not require renewal”.
So, is it just an honest mistake in the listing or is it a scam? It is rather worrying because at the time this article is published, 46 customers have already purchased the deal. With that, we have reached out to Groupon Malaysia and Microsoft Malaysia for their comments regarding this matter.
[Update @ July 7, 11:47am] Groupon has acknowledged that it was an error on its part, and states that the validity period is stated for one year, and not as previously advertised. The tweet is embedded below:
@LowyatNET @Office Hi guys. It s a typo from our side. The validity is for 1 year. Thanks for informing us. Sorry for the inconvenience 🙁
— Groupon Malaysia (@GrouponMY) July 7, 2014
