TT and Vanguard

[JoeWras]

I just this morning bought TT Deluxe 2015 via SaveDealz downloaded it and have transferred all my 2015 estimated items (previously in TT 2014) and all is well.

Once you complete the purchase they send you an email with a link to the download site.

Wow, nice price. How do they do this?

The site is pretty clearly foreign. They hide their domain identity behind a registrar from Panama. The FAQ and Terms grammar issues give it away with the plural/possessive mix-ups, additions and drops.

Terms and Condition

How can you sell your program's at a low price?

No, We only sell Genuine software's

Not saying the site is bad or illegal, just observing...

 

[pb4uski]

I was skeptical as well when I first looked at it... but decided to proceed after a number of positive comments on this thread.

On the grammar et al, while I agree with you that it's probably foreign... given where the educational system in this country is going it might be a couple Gen Zs. (just kidding)

 

[easysurfer]

I was skeptical as well when I first looked at it... but decided to proceed after a number of positive comments on this thread.

On the grammar et al, while I agree with you that it's probably foreign... given where the educational system in this country is going it might be a couple Gen Zs. (just kidding)

Haven't bought yet. Maybe I should wait a bit to see if folks here get hacked .

I did notice on the site that there's no "About Us" link which describes the company.

Yet, $24.99 is a sweet deal.

Decisions, decisions ...

 

[easysurfer]

Did some poking around. How do you feel about 66% legit? According to scamadvisor at least.

p.s. I do want to thank Miss Molly for the word about savedealz.

 

[pb4uski]

Interesting. I got back on savedealz using the link above, put an item into the cart and went to the page where you put in your name and address information. It is a secure site (https) and the site info refers to a mybigcommerce.com. mybigcommerce.com is trusted on scamadviser.com.

I'll let you know if I have any issues.

 

[RunningBum]

Here's another thing that concerned me a bit, on their home page:

Please do not advertise our website on blogs or forums such as fatwalet, slickdeal and etc, we have it cover and don't like to be over advertise.

Disregarding the misspellings and poor grammar, this makes it sound to me like they want to stay off Intuit's radar. I wonder if you'd get any support at all from Intuit? When you buy, does their link actually take you to Intuit's site for the download, or their own?

It may be safe from malware, but may not be legal. Like purchasing a pirated movie?

 

[pb4uski]

Here's another thing that concerned me a bit, on their home page:



Disregarding the misspellings and poor grammar, this makes it sound to me like they want to stay off Intuit's radar. I wonder if you'd get any support at all from Intuit? When you buy, does their link actually take you to Intuit's site for the download, or their own?

It may be safe from malware, but may not be legal. Like purchasing a pirated movie?

Yeah, I saw that too and found it strange. The link to the download goes to a mybigcommerce.com site and that site is considered trusted by scamadvisor.com.

After the install, the federal return updates and state software downloaded like they normally do through the TT software so I see that as a good sign.

I guess worst case, I made a $25 mistake...best case I saved $15... time will tell.

 

[RunningBum]

Yeah, I saw that too and found it strange. The link to the download goes to a mybigcommerce.com site and that site is considered trusted by scamadvisor.com.

After the install, the federal return updates and state software downloaded like they normally do through the TT software so I see that as a good sign.

I guess worst case, I made a $25 mistake...best case I saved $15... time will tell.

Well, worst case, you could be charged with buying pirated software, if that's what it is. The likelihood of that happening are slim to none, but they probably can't reach the company in Panama, so I suppose they could tell Intuit they have the right to charge you full price for it (on top of the $25 which didn't get to Intuit).

If you wanted to know for sure, you could ask Intuit if this is an authorized, legal version.

 

[nwsteve]

Just got word from my Fido Private Client rep, they are using the same processes as last year for TTax. For me, that means I buy the version, I want and they credit my account.
Nwsteve

 

[harley]

OK, I went back and found my previous purchase, and it was kingdeals4u.com, not savedealz.com. They are pretty obviously selling pirated software, as Intuit chases them down every year and they have to shut down the old domain and start a new one. This discussion from Fatwallet covers the topic to some extent.

So it probably is pirated software, although it definitely works. But I'm removing my recommendation, since my credit card info did get stolen a couple of times last year. I don't think it was them, but you never know. Personally I think it happened at Best Buy the last time.

 

[youbet]

Just got word from my Fido Private Client rep, they are using the same processes as last year for TTax. For me, that means I buy the version, I want and they credit my account.
Nwsteve

Ahhhh..... Tnx for that nwsteve. Have you noticed anything on the Fido web site I could grab to forward to my Schwab rep so he'll credit my account for the $49.99 I paid Amazon for my CD of Deluxe?

 

[JoeWras]

OK, I went back and found my previous purchase, and it was kingdeals4u.com, not savedealz.com. They are pretty obviously selling pirated software, as Intuit chases them down every year and they have to shut down the old domain and start a new one. This discussion from Fatwallet covers the topic to some extent.

So it probably is pirated software, although it definitely works. But I'm removing my recommendation, since my credit card info did get stolen a couple of times last year. I don't think it was them, but you never know. Personally I think it happened at Best Buy the last time.

Ah, I see. So I was wondering, harley, why my whois search was show the web site created last May 2015. This explains it -- it wasn't the same name as last year.

For everyone out there: if you don't know what "whois" is, well, it is a way to check some of the registration information for a domain site. It is not a foolproof way to verify authenticity, but it helps. Most legitimate businesses will register with their real address. Shady businesses register with "privacy". And then the really shady ones will point back to known troublesome countries. The information can be a bit arcane, but is generally understandable.

As a geek, I simply go to my linux screen and type "whois savedealz.com". For everyone else, WHOIS Search | ICANN WHOIS is a trustworthy source. So, here is that whois record. Remember, this is public information, no trade secrets here:

Domain Name: SAVEDEALZ.COM
Registry Domain ID: 1925297004_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.enom.com
Registrar URL: eNom - domain name, web site hosting, email, registration
Updated Date: 2015-05-02T18:42:16.00Z
Creation Date: 2015-05-03T01:42:00.00Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2016-05-03T01:42:00.00Z
Registrar: ENOM, INC.
Registrar IANA ID: 48
Reseller: NAMECHEAP.COM
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
Registrant Organization: WHOISGUARD, INC.
Registrant Street: P.O. BOX 0823-03411
Registrant City: PANAMA
Registrant State/Province: PANAMA
Registrant Postal Code: 00000
Registrant Country: PA
Registrant Phone: +507.8365503
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax: +51.17057182
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: DC333BD9BB5F4B79912A2F4020E8E34F.PROTECT@WHOISGUARD.COM
Registry Admin ID:
<ETC>

 

[easysurfer]

From this discussion, I'm gonna steer clear of the SaveDealz thing. (Another, it's a matter of principle ).

Looks like either I'll get shaken down by Intuit and just by from them or wait a few months as prices then to drop then at Amazon, Wally World, office stores.

Of course, there's the Taxcut temptation too.

Oh, also, I'm not gonna move everything to Fido just to get the freebie .

 

[nwsteve]

Ahhhh..... Tnx for that nwsteve. Have you noticed anything on the Fido web site I could grab to forward to my Schwab rep so he'll credit my account for the $49.99 I paid Amazon for my CD of Deluxe?

Sorry, have not seen anything as yet. I got the direction when I directly asked my rep--failed to mention to her that Vanguard had dropped benefit ;-).
Only thing new, I noticed when I on the website a few minutes ago is a link for updated mutual fund distribution data
Nwsteve

 

[audreyh1]

OK, I went back and found my previous purchase, and it was kingdeals4u.com, not savedealz.com. They are pretty obviously selling pirated software, as Intuit chases them down every year and they have to shut down the old domain and start a new one. This discussion from Fatwallet covers the topic to some extent.

So it probably is pirated software, although it definitely works. But I'm removing my recommendation, since my credit card info did get stolen a couple of times last year. I don't think it was them, but you never know. Personally I think it happened at Best Buy the last time.

I would also worry that software downloaded from some third party site offering a significant discount, had stuff added that might be compromising my computer, or passing along sensitive information about my taxes and finances to a third party.

 

[audreyh1]

Just got word from my Fido Private Client rep, they are using the same processes as last year for TTax. For me, that means I buy the version, I want and they credit my account.
Nwsteve

Good - I'll work with them on it this year again. It's the only perk I get from Fido, so I think they'll be happy to accommodate me.

 

[Cobra9777]

Yeah, I saw that too and found it strange. The link to the download goes to a mybigcommerce.com site and that site is considered trusted by scamadvisor.com.

After the install, the federal return updates and state software downloaded like they normally do through the TT software so I see that as a good sign.

I guess worst case, I made a $25 mistake...best case I saved $15... time will tell.

Mybigcommerce is just a web hosting ecommerce server. That tells you little about the legitimacy of savedealz. Scamadviser shows other sites hosted there and the trust ratings are generally quite low. One is 10%... an obvious scam site. Very sketchy.

Based on what I've seen, I would not buy TT from savedealz. There's a high probability they're selling pirated software. Why would they ask you (in broken English) to NOT mention them on forums about saving money? Why do they change domain names every year?

Seems to me, your worst case is not just losing $25, but potentially getting your personal identity stolen via malicious code that's been inserted.

If you go to the Q&A section of intuit.com, you'll find many questions about the legitimacy of certain online resellers with names like bigdeals4all, intuitsoft, cheapitemsonline, turbotaxsite, etc. All the ones I saw were NOT authorized resellers according to the official Intuit response. Just one of many examples:

Question: The website SmartSof.com is offering TurboTax Deluxe for $24.95 as a download. Is this an authorized dealer?

Answer: Smartsof is not an authorized re-seller for TurboTax or Quicken download products.

I saw two answers which indicated that the only authorized online resellers (those without a physical retail store) are Amazon, Newegg, and TigerDirect. I also called Intuit and was given the same response (minus TigerDirect). They could not specifically comment about savedealz, but said they would investigate the site. They also emphasized that they would not support software purchased from an unauthorized dealer.

Caveat Emptor.

 

[youbet]

Sorry, have not seen anything as yet. I got the direction when I directly asked my rep--failed to mention to her that Vanguard had dropped benefit ;-).
Only thing new, I noticed when I on the website a few minutes ago is a link for updated mutual fund distribution data
Nwsteve

Thanks nwsteve. I have no reason to go to the Fido site, so if you think of it and you see something, let me know. That's all I would need to be able to let my Schwab rep know they have a competitor's perk to match.

 

[rodi]

The amazon deal from cyber monday was still valid today. Premiere for $20 less than turbotax.com charges.
(I need premiere because of rental property.)

 

[pb4uski]

The amazon deal from cyber monday was still valid today. Premiere for $20 less than turbotax.com charges.
(I need premiere because of rental property.)

I thought I needed Premier due to rental property too... that is what Intuit steers you to.... but after talking with a TT CSR who indicated that Deluxe can do Schedules D and E and efile I decided to go with Deluxe. I can always upgrade later if I need to.

 

[JoeWras]

The amazon deal from cyber monday was still valid today. Premiere for $20 less than turbotax.com charges.
(I need premiere because of rental property.)

Thanks for the tip. Got it.

Now if Vanguard reneges on their plan to not give it away, then I'll be irked! I don't think Vanguard should be in any sort of relationship with Intuit. I got the mail from Intuit too, and I thought it was low class. Reminds me of these shady "action committees" you see on television ads that tell you to "call your congress person."

I still get Premier because it makes it easy to deal with employee options and ESPP. I could do it by hand, but it is just too easy to let TT do it. By the way, the ESPP/NQSO wizards used to be in Deluxe, but years ago they moved it. I guess that worked so well for Intuit they tried the same strategy last year on Sched D. And then a riot occurred.

 

[nwsteve]

The amazon deal from cyber monday was still valid today. Premiere for $20 less than turbotax.com charges.
(I need premiere because of rental property.)

Costco also is offering on their website the same prices and free shipping for all. ;-)
Nwsteve

 

[stephenson]

rodi,

Why do you need Premier for rental properties? Capital gains comps?

I have a separate thread on the topic and everyone says Deluxe is sufficient for rental properties ...

Help!?

 

[523HRR]

Just got word from my Fido Private Client rep, they are using the same processes as last year for TTax. For me, that means I buy the version, I want and they credit my account.
Nwsteve

I was told by Fidelity that I would qualify for free TurboTax, but that it was only the on-line version this year, not the desktop version (download/CD), and that it would not be available until January.

 

[Texas Proud]

Well, it has been awhile and I had not seen this thread pop up so I had not put down my info.... but, since it got bumped I will...


I did write to my rep and was told that offering TT was not in the interest of Vanguard etc. etc. etc.... if you write to them they will give you the canned answer... nothing special about mine...

I did mention to them that I thought that taking away such a visible perk that probably cost them nothing for regular investors and maybe $20 for the top customers was not a smart decision... I think that the negative feelings will cost more than the dollars saved....

However, since this is such a small expense to Vanguard they will probably never really know the true cost of this decision....


BTW, I said that if it was due to TT making a stupid decision last year on their product then they could have offered another tax program.... I am sure a number of them would LOVE to have their product sold through the Vanguard site...