...it is possible to purchase second hand software, but there is a risk when buying online second hand versions, as you could easily end up being sold an illegal copy using serial numbers from software crackers. It is usually better to buy second hand from someone you know...

http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/faq/a/softwarescams.htm

...essentially you have educational versions that are priced much less than the retail versions for students in further education, you need to provide proof of student identity to buy that software (http://www.academicsuperstore.com/)

...next you have upgrade versions, which require you to have a previous version of adobe software so you must have a serial number for that old software to install the upgrade. These versions are a bit cheaper than the full retail versions...

...finally you have the full retail price install, which i imagine you will need...

...unless you happen to have an old version of macromedia freehand 9, 10 or MX, then it is actually possible to upgrade to CS4 with special up sell versions...

...a good place to start is using the google shopping search engine, you might be able to find a good price here:

http://www.google.com/products?q=adobe+illustrator&hl=en&scoring=pd&;show=dd&sa=N&start=70

...just be sure you are careful though...

andrew

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