I just listed some of my father's old software on eBay. It is SolidWorks mechanical design automation software from '99/00. Is this still worth any money today? Thanks.
Sounds a bit too out of date for a serious user, but might be of interest to a student or dabbler! Does the software come with valid license keys? I have no idea if licenses are transferable. Anyone else know?
Yeah, wasn't expecting it to bring big money or anything. I am not sure about the licenses and am a little worried now.
Licenses are typically not transferable and it gets super sticky to what it is. SolidWorks.com will have more info that. You should read about it regarding selling software on eBay or with a non VAR channel. Also, they promote the use of there software for free for short periods of time with their educational licensing which will be a better option for a newbie...it's always a release behind. JM2.5$...Edsonius
If you are trying to sell your SW license on Ebay or any other venue - DON'T!!! Solidworks takes a very dim view of this and will shut the license down in a heartbeat. Even you do not get a buyer SW will void your license. If you are looking to buy a license from someone other than an authorized retailer then you may find yourself with a dead disk. Source
Add Autodesk into that as well, I learned this the hard way, However Bobcad you can, But please do not buy Autodesk or Solidworks software on ebay unless you like giving hard to come by money away. Source
Those comments in the MD Forum were basically correct. I own a seat of Solidworks, and I can not sell the license to anyone else directly. But as a former App Engr for a SW VAR, I can tell you that the Solidworks License is an ASSET of the company that owns it. For example, if I own ABC engineering firm, the net value of ABC engineering firm would be it's marketing value, plus it's revenue stream, plus it's hardware values, plus it's software values, minus it's overhead and liabilities. (there are generally accepted accounting rules out there for valuing a company). And therefore if you are owner of ABC engineering firm, you can sort-of 'sell' your software licenses and 'transfer' them to another entity if you sell your entire company. Solidworks (and most likely other CAD companies) will then transfer the licenses into the name of the new owners of ABC company if need be. (or if they continue to use that ABC name, just the contact names for ABC company would changes I suppose.) That's the only real 'long term' cash value of any software you buy. It's a different world than hardware, but at least the cash value doesn't depreciate in the same way as hardware. (it would depreciate almost 'out of the box' the amount of money it takes to keep it current, and or the cost of the penalty a buyer of the company would have to pay to get it upgraded to the latest version. (a.k.a. back onto a current maintenance agreement.) I vaguely remember that being around $2000 or so. Therefore a $4,000 basic seat of SW that is not current (some older version) might be worth roughly $2000 on the balance sheet of a company's net-worth to a prospective buyer. Full disclosure... I've never bought a company that owned seats of software, so I've never been on the buying (or selling) end of company valuation. So my estimations are very very rough. But I did get this question a few times while working at a VAR and this is basically what I had to explain to people. A current VAR tech support team can get more current answers. Hope that educates everyone! Source
