Microsoft discontinues Office 2010 sales, some retailers jack up prices

Some sellers have raised the price of Office 2010's lowest-cost multi-license package after Microsoft discontinued retail sales of the suite.

Giant online retailer Amazon.com, for example, now lists what Microsoft called the "Full Packaged Product" (FFP) of Office Home & Student 2010 at $170, $20 higher than the former list price, representing a 13% surcharge.

Another seller on the site pegged Home & Student 2010 at $250, or 67% above list.

But Amazon also sells Office Home & Business 2010 for $278 and Office Professional for $400, or 1% and 20% under list, respectively.

Before Microsoft discontinued Office 2010, the FFPs of Home & Student listed for $150, Home & Business for $280 and Professional for $500.

Not every vendor has followed Amazon's example. CDW, for instance, charges $140 for Home & Student 2010, a 7% discount, $248 for Home & Business 2010 (11% off list) and $489 for Professional 2010 (2% below list price).

Those Office 2010 FFP SKUs (stock keeping units) remain interesting to some buyers because they come with rights to install the suite on multiple Windows PCs. The FFP of Home & Student, for example, can be installed on up to three systems in a household, while Home & Business and Professional allow up to two installations on a user's PCs, a desktop and a notebook, for example.

:story: Computerworld