are the reduced offers of FCP genuine

Legal copies of Final Cut Pro can only be bought via the App Store for the standard price of £250.

Any copies bought elsewhere are NOT LEGAL VERSIONS AND CANNOT BE UPDATED.

The websites you are talking about look very plausible and claim to be working in conjunction with Apple but quite simply they are not. They are telling lies. Yes, surprisingly where money can be made, some people don't tell the truth!

If a website sells you a copy for £50 it does not mean it is likely to be a legal one . . . it just means they are making £40 more profit than a £10 one.

Anything not bought via the AppStore is a pirated one.

If it looks too good to be true then it usually is.

The only legitimate way to purchase FCP is via the App Store. The problem with buying elsewhere is that you have no idea what the software has been hacked with, and what you might be adding to your computer, unknown to yourself. It's a security nightmare.

Comparing the cost of a pro-level video editor with a suite of office apps? Really?

I completely agree with Yer_Man.

And also: Apple frequently updates Final Cut Pro. If you get what is really a pirate copy of the software, you will not be able to update it. Maybe the version you get now for a "discount" will not work next year in macOS 14, and you are out.

I bought FCP when it came out in 2011. Eleven years have elapsed, and after dozens of updates, I did not have to pay a single extra cent. That's an extremely good value for a professional application. Totally worth it. Whether it's worth it for you, that's your call, but I urge you not to fall, for what is an illegitimate sale. Whoever is selling does not have a right to do so.

If you can't afford it, there are alternatives - iMovie, to begin with, is free. For many users, it will do everything they need.

There is also the free version of DaVinci Resolve, which is far more powerful than iMovie, and at least as powerful as FCP (though I do prefer FCP; but who can argue with "free"?)

Follow Luis' advice.

Try iMovie which is already on your Mac. It's an excellent program and many editors find it can do everything they require.

If you eventually find there are certain things that you require that are not part of iMovie, you can download and use the free version of DaVinci Resolve which can do everything Final Cut Pro can and more.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/

£250 is a lot of money to waste on an app which may have a feature you will only require occasionally . . . or even never.

Don't take my word for it.

There are countless articles and YouTube videos available.

This one compares FCP and DVR . . . https://crumplepop.com/davinci-resolve-vs-final-cut-pro/ . . . whilst here is

a comparison between FCP and iMovie . . . https://crumplepop.com/imovie-vs-final-cut-pro-which-nle-is-better/

As Ian said, see if iMovie good enough for your use, otherwise, DaVinci Resolve is definitely worthwhile to consider. It is slightly more difficult to learn for beginners but can be more useful than FCP, and very competitively priced - you get the whole package: Cut + Edit + Fusion + Fairlight, basically a direct competitor to FCP + Motion + LogicPro. I do want to point out Fusion learning curve is very steep compared to Motion... at least to me.

Free version of Resolve is likely to be enough for home use, go for Studio if you really want to get serious. Around the same price as FCP but you get more.

I have just googled for the websites you mention and found one offering Final Cut Pro for $150

They have virtually every expensive app for sale and they are all pirated.

However, look at the prices . . . the poor saps who fall for it are paying almost as much as the legitimate versions but are saddled with something that can't be updated from someone who got a pirate copy free in the first place.

Whenever people want to save money they frequently throw themselves straight into the arms of scammers.

I was searching for scammers in an idle moment a couple of years ago and found an advert for a fantastic "state of the art" audio editor on eBay.

It was going really cheap for around £5 and really was legitimate.

It's just that it was Audacity which is a (well-known) free open source sound editor.

The scammer had simply downloaded it from the free website and was selling it to unsuspecting bozos.

They are all illegal pirated versions as Tom told you.

A typical scenario is that someone downloads an app completely free of charge from a pirate website and then advertises the app for sale at a "reduced" price whilst claiming to be an "official" distributor for that app.

The search results you show are very low quality ones with numerous typographical mistakes but some sites can look very professional.

Unfortunately for trusting people it is extremely easy to create impressive looking websites. I had an acquaintance who tried to set up a small freelance business and produced an incredible looking website.

You would have gained the impression you were dealing with a nationwide company with numerous employees whereas the simple truth was that he was just a lone, self employed operative. I must stress that his work was perfectly legal but his website did not convey the fact that he was just a lone worker!

Caveat emptor.

They’re all pirated software. It’s pretty disgusting that it’s being promoted, but it’s about what you expect from Google. There’sa name to shame.