Online Activation Succeeds, Website Registration of same Serial Key Does Not

I need to ascertain the validity of software I purchased. It passes one check (online activation) and fails another (registration of a software title at the manufacturer website).

I am a belated buyer of Adobe CS6 on disc. I did not buy it cheaply off of CL but at a standard price; however, the individual is a non-authorized reseller. (Most of the legit sources for hard copies of this software have dried up since Adobe discontinued physical software sales in 2012, and those that remain are principally student/teacher editions.)

The disc arrived in a visibly open box with a "serial key" printed on a box insert. I did not unseal the installation DVD contained in a sleeve, but instead used the serial key on the insert to activate my existing (legitimately downloaded) Adobe CS6 trial. The online verification went by very quickly. I entered my Adobe ID and information began transmitting (URLs passed too fast to see while in communication with Adobe). The entire suite activated and has been working properly for the past three days. It appears to have passed validation check (online activation). However, in attempting to manually add CS6 to my list of "plans & products" on the Adobe site the serial entry returns "invalid", with no further explanation. This is in contrast to an earlier piece of Adobe software I installed that went through the same online serial check but within the hour also appeared under my Adobe ID as a registered product. [I do note that every other time I attempt to login to my Adobe account over the past week the server returns a "bad request" error, forcing me to reattempt login. Honestly, I don't know if they're experiencing technical issues or if my license is truly invalid.]

I have read numerous accounts of Adobe software users running one or more programs two, three or four years at a stretch, who insist their copies were lawfully obtained, only for their Adobe software to disable upon either buying a new computer or upon attempt to install an upgrade (with their prior version declared "invalid" only upon attempt to upgrade it). I have also heard of an instance where a buyer of Adobe software on the likes of Ebay or the Amazon Marketplace contacted Adobe to confirm that the software license they received is legitimate — to the affirmative — having even gone so far as to successfully register the product, only for Adobe to yank it well after the fact because another user is said to have a prior claim on the same license. (Why this wouldn't be immediately apparent at installation but instead determined weeks or months later is what's scary. That's the scenario I aim to avoid if at all possible.)

I personally think there are a confluence of problems/causes in that Adobe policy only allows for upgrades of the most current prior version, and thus a user of CS3 with a CS6 upgrade could run into an installation and/or registration failure because it is not in compliance with Adobe's upgrade policy. It would also appear many Adobe software users fail to deactivate their software before they uninstall it (to make use of a new computer or because a hard disk failure precluded deactivation) and are unable to reinstall their legitimately serialized software because Adobe deems it to have exceeded the number of allowable installations.

In view of this, here are my questions:

• Assuming I received a serial number generated by a keygen can such a serial number pass Adobe's online check during installation without the "help" of a cracked installer?

• Wouldn't a keygen-generated serial number be expected to fail immediately thanks to the fact that Adobe employs online validation?

• Does Adobe use a one-time online activation process or does the serial number undergo a fresh check each and every time the application(s) launch?

• How does one reconcile the fact that one Adobe verification server (or routine) says "Yes" (online software activation) while the other one says "No" (manually-entered user registration at Adobe's website)? For example, if Adobe's registration validator can instantly ascertain whether the serial is valid (or already in use) why would their activation routine (during installation) seemingly check against a less complete database?

I didn't pay a too-good-to-be-true price that would raise any pre-sale red flags. Additionally, I don't want to accuse the seller of perpetuating a fraud if the error lies with Adobe's website. (It's not even clear to me if Adobe allows users to add non-current, non-supported legacy software products under their Adobe IDs.) To complicate matters further, Adobe supports only software that is sold by authorized sources — meaning that even if I have a legitimate copy of the software, from their vantage point I am not entitled to any support whatsoever.

My dilemma, in view of the above, is this: I have an opportunity to obtain a refund on the software; however, if the hassle isn't necessary I don't want to relaunch my search for a hard copy of CS6 Design/Web Premium all over again. There just aren't enough authorized sources left for non-download/non-academic copies of CS6, and more to the point I could easily end up right back in the same boat (questioning authenticity). On the flip side, there's no way I want to fork this kind of money for an illegitimate copy after having gone in search of a genuine retail copy. Before I accuse the seller of passing off a fake serial OR prompt Adobe to investigate, I need a better handle on the risk/benefit.

Thank you for your assistance.