Home & Student for $100 - but you can do better

Office WatchLast updated: 17 July 2018

Microsoft sells Office 2007 H & S for $99.99 but get a better deal elsewhere.

Microsoft is continuing to sell Office direct from their web site for immediate download and installation – but the catch is still the higher price.

Normally Office 2007 Home and Student Edition is sold by Microsoft online for the standard retail price of $149.99 plus extra fees for a DVD to be delivered.

For the next few days you can buy Home and Student Edition for $99.99 using this link though there are better options available without an expiry date. Microsoft ‘special’ offer only lasts until 9 May 2009.

As in the past there are tricks for the unwary. Wanna pay more for Office? Use the new Microsoft store

For starters the default shopping cart ads another $9.99 (without asking) for the ‘digital backup service and license key’. As we’ve pointed out before, if you buy at the regular price from Microsoft there’s no extra charge for this service. When Microsoft promotes a lower price from the same online store they suddenly feel the need to charge an extra ten bucks.

To get a ‘backup DVD’ will cost you up to $20 extra.

Office online purchase 5 May 2007 - shopping cart.jpg image from Home & Student for $100 - but you can do better at Office-Watch.com

If you must buy from Microsoft’s online store we suggest you bypass these extras by clicking the (deliberately?) faint remove icon on the right side.

You can download the software and burn it to a DVD (or more than one) yourself for a fraction of the price.
Make a careful record of the Product Key in several places – it is the absolutely vital piece of information you need to reinstall the software in the future. In the case of Home and Student edition you can install the suite on three computers.

See What’s so special about the Home and Student edition?

Get a good price elsewhere

Microsoft ‘special’ price isn’t that special – it just puts it in the ballpark as the street price of the same product with DVD and printed product key included for no extra.

The same or lower price is available for the same product, with DVD from many retailers – and their comparable price doesn’t expire in a few days.

Amazon USA is selling Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 for a dollar less (as we type this) with free ‘super saver’ shipping of the DVD. If you include Microsoft extra fees for DVD shipping the Amazon price is $20 cheaper.

There are even cheaper prices available elsewhere though a shipping charge may be added on.

That’s assuming you don’t qualify for special deals like:

Military Appreciation Edition only $49.95 until 30 June 2009.
the Home Use Program that should be available from many more companies than at present.
‘Ultimate Steal’ for college/uni students.

Office Watch has a special section Buying Office full of tips and info to save you money on buying Microsoft Office.

Don’t forget Outlook

Home and Student Edition doesn’t come with Outlook 2007 for that you’re supposed to buy a more expensive bundle like Office 2007 Standard edition.

Office Watch found a better way for many people, check out A cheaper option for Office 2007 Standard

I need Office now!

The Microsoft online offer is tempting if you need to use Office 2007 right away. Microsoft lets you download and install without waiting for a DVD to arrive on your doorstep.

Except that you can download a 60 day trial version of Office 2007 Home and Student edition from Microsoft here. Use that software right away and spend some of the two months grace finding a better price than Microsoft online store.