I haven't ever actually bought Windows, so I wasn't aware the discrepancy would be that crazy. I just assumed it was a reputation/escrow problem as there's no shipping information and no way to validate who used the key.
I wonder why Microsoft doesn't region lock them or do some kind of audit if they don't want that market to exist. I'm also not sure why someone would buy an obviously grey market key when there are KMS activation solutions on github.
If Microsoft did want to allow for resale at any price and at least capture the fees, an NFT solution would let them do it without a lot of effort (building an exchange, processing payments, handling fraud, etc in each locale).
That's the sort of problem NFTs solve, generically, for digital ownership and transfer (licensing, tickets, club membership, etc).
With some amount of network effect and ease of use (the web3 wallet experience is actually quite good), I think NFTs will look like the obvious answer.
In practice, Microsoft doesn't really care because they just tie the Windows license to your physical motherboard (that's why you can reinstall Windows on your laptops over-and-over again without a license prompt). This only matters in hobby builder circles where you build your own computer
So yeah, its not really a thing NFTs solve, and something that a very simple chip on a motherboard solves perfectly.
People don't really "buy Windows" in practice. They buy a laptop, or a Dell computer. And they sell the laptop, or Dell computer, in its entirety.
I wonder why Microsoft doesn't region lock them or do some kind of audit if they don't want that market to exist. I'm also not sure why someone would buy an obviously grey market key when there are KMS activation solutions on github.
If Microsoft did want to allow for resale at any price and at least capture the fees, an NFT solution would let them do it without a lot of effort (building an exchange, processing payments, handling fraud, etc in each locale).
That's the sort of problem NFTs solve, generically, for digital ownership and transfer (licensing, tickets, club membership, etc).
With some amount of network effect and ease of use (the web3 wallet experience is actually quite good), I think NFTs will look like the obvious answer.