The particular PC I purchased was sold by “ MarsKing“. (The other three results are a Chromebox and two barebones PCs that come without Windows licenses.) What I didn’t realize at the time was that three of the top six search results for “mini PC” on Amazon come with pirated Windows licenses. I wanted a cheap mini PC to use as a media center for my TV, so I headed to Amazon–where I do a lot of my shopping–and searched for one. That’s true even if a product is marked “Prime”–just because something ships from Amazon’s warehouses doesn’t mean the product is legitimate, or sold by Amazon themselves. Anything not sold by Amazon itself has not been thoroughly vetted by them, and could be a counterfeit or pirated product. The lesson: Be careful with third-party sellers on Amazon.
This was driven home for me when I recently bought one of the top mini PCs on Amazon and found it came with a pirated Windows license. Amazon is a full marketplace that connects you not only to their own store, but to third-party sellers.
Amazon, for all its conveniences, isn’t like walking into a traditional retail store.
