Hello, I’ve been lurking on the forum for the past year or so, and my company finally approved my request to take the CFA level 1 exam this December. I was curious if anyone had any experience buying 3rd party (in this case Schweser) materials from ebay? I’ve done some searching but couldn’t really find a good answer. I’ve been searching for PDF versions of the study notes since Schweser does not offer them so that I may do some extra studying at work and while commuting on my ipad. I came across the items below and am rather suspect on how all of the products can be offered for 1/10th of the price on the Schweser website (even the qbank is included). Thanks http://cgi.ebay.com/2011-CFA-level1-schweser-study-notes-exams-Qbank-bonus-/110714210110?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c714c73e
It’s probably a hot bootleg from Asia. Asians have a vice about breaching copyright laws.
Looks pretty legit. The seller has perfect feedback and it’s coming from NYC.
Yo son that’s bootleg.
Very sure that’s pirated stuff.
Are you sure Schewser stopped providing PDFs ? They used to send out the PDFs first until they print out the hard copy and mail them. Personally, I used to sell all the videos, flash cards, secret sauce,… on Ebay, the PDFs are password protected and can only be opened on one computer. PS: Why do you need your employer’s approval to take the tests ?
Thanks for the replies. I contacted the seller and his reply was, “The books are international edition, same material, much lower price.” Could some one explain what if any difference there is for the international edition? What edition would I be buying if I bought material directly from Schweser? I’m not sure if Schweser stopped providing PDFs, I didn’t see an option in any of their packages so I assumed they didn’t offer them. I will contact them to see if they still do, that would be great. I should have phrased that I was waiting for my employer’s approval differently. My work offers reimbursement for certifications, and since the CFA isn’t directly applicable to my job (performance reporting), they had to approve it which took several months. Usually the CIPM is what my department perfers we work towards. Sorry for all the questions, I appreciate the help.
If you buy your material from them ( legit) you will get access to PDFs that you can download only on one machine ( you’re not allowed to print them directly, but there are ways around ). They do this in case you want to start studying before the printed books come out.
I contacted Schweser and they said that they do not provide any PDF versions of their notes. Is someone able to tell me what the difference (if any) between the International edition Schweser books, and the books I’d get from Schweser if i buy directly (i’m in the US)? Thanks
International edition means it’s the same content but put together in Bangladesh for sale in countries where copyright enforcement is lax. Sounds a lot more legit than calling it bootleg.
When I was in business school, professors would get visibly upset if they saw international versions of textbooks. They maintained that the IP holders for the material were generally not getting paid for these publications. I’ve never looked into it but it is possible that the international versions are illegal to sell/buy in the US for this reason.
Errr… there is little question that this package is pirated or contains some pirated material. Qbank sent via email? Yeah, that sounds really legitimate. In any case, I’m pretty sure the material itself is identical to the US versions. Why would Schweser modify their material for sale outside the US?
I really dont think there’s an international version. As someone said it’s just the seller trying to add some authenticity to illegal copies to push the sale.
I would buy the originals from Schweser and then buy the pdfs on ebay. To my mind that would be defensible in a court of law as there is no law to stop you scanning your books, and therefore there should be nothing stopping you paying someone to scan your books (although in this case the scans were done on other books).
I don’t think buying pirated PDFs is defensible. Just buy the originals.
All up the CFA is going to cost no more than a couple of grand - adding a few hundred more for Schweser isn’t going to break the bank. Anyway, just use the CFAI texts, that’s what many people do who manage to pass.
If I were you, I’d buy the originals.