Figured I'd put it here for those that do not use Reddit. Microsoft confirms Newegg is selling fraudulent Windows keys.
This is quite serious and as a Newegg shopper of 10 years I will be giving almost all of my business to Amazon moving forward or other outlets. I had read some threads of people complaining about Newegg's return policy getting worse or other issues in general with them. I waived it off as one offs since I've always had a good experience with Newegg. However, more and more reports surfaced. I still shopped there since there wasn't tax for MI but that's changed now.
Something to note about the timing of reports of bad service growing and more frequent issues is (learned from the thread above) Newegg was quietly sold to a Chinese company in 2016. I am not one to point the finger and be a Chinese=BAD!!! but it's hard to argue about what's happened with Newegg as a brand and their service. This specific incident about fraudulent keys is important because Newegg is refusing refunds or replacements so people are out $85 with the only recourse being to issue a charge back on their card or thru paypal.
Moving forward whenever making a purchase for PC hardware (regardless of where purchased) I'll be doing video unboxings in the case I am sent the wrong thing. We have the tech to do this and with incidents like Newegg refusing refunds for something like this who's to say them or anyone else could send the wrong thing and say we're lying and refuse service?