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Office 2008 for Mac - great saving opportunity

If you’re thinking of buying Office 2008 for Mac there’s an interesting pricing anomaly that you might take advantage of, while it lasts.

While comparing the prices of Office products on the new Microsoft Store we came across a strange little pricing anomaly that could save you around $50 on the price of Office for Mac full edition.

The Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition full version is priced on Amazon for $197.25 which is over $300 less than the official price of $500. The upgrade bundle is officially $299.95 while from Amazon.com it’s $129.99 – $170 less.

That pricing is strange because it makes the street price of Office for Mac Full edition higher than the Special Media Edition even though the latter has all the software in the Full version and then some.

Buy Office 2008 for Mac Full bundle it’ll cost you around $245 street price – but the same core Office software in the Special Media Edition and pay $197 – $48 less.

(That price quoted on Amazon isn’t fulfilled by Amazon directly, instead it’s one of their retail partners. However similar prices on the Special Media Edition are available elsewhere).

If you want to check the latest prices here’s the links to Amazon:


Both the Full and Special Media Editions of Office 2008 for Mac contain (quoting from the Microsoft Store):



  • Word
  • Excel
  • PowerPoint
  • Entourage
  • Microsoft Server Exchange Support
  • Automator Actions for Workflows in Microsoft Office

In addition to the above, the Special Media Edition contains



  • Expression Media

‘Expression Media’ is Microsoft’s “digital asset management tool” and retails for $200. Even if you don’t want Expression Media you’re better off buying the Special Media Edition and ignoring the extra element while getting all the same core Office 2008 for Mac components at a lower price.

Why is the Special Media Edition selling for less than the Full edition even though it has more in it? Good question. We suspect it isn’t selling well and retailers are trying to clear their shelves – hence the lower price. The fancy name and lack of product knowledge means that store managers don’t realize that the Full edition is a subset of the Special Media Edition.

This little pricing trick only applies to street prices – the official price of Special Media Edition is $100 more than the Full bundle.

Since street prices can and do change, how long this situation will last is anyone’s guess.

Update – the pricing on the Special Media Edition has changed slightly even in the few hours since it was written. At the time of publishing the lowest price on Amazon is now $199.99 and fulfilled by Amazon itself.

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