Buying from Apple Store

[Shookster]

Apple software. I bought FCP Studio and Shake. I paid $1300 for FCP and a friend of mine ordered it online for just under $800. I could have asked him to order it for me but I was told in the shop that Apple did not offer student discounts on software at all. When I went in with him a few months later, I discovered that this had changed to: Apple does not offer student discounts on software purchased in their stores. I mentioned that to the salesman and he said that they'd made a mistake. One that cost me $500 extra and god knows how much extra for Shake.

[mdnky]

That's weird. The Cincinnati, OH store was the one I bought iWork at and they gave me the discount (on a non-local college ID at that), also a discount on an iPod Video and Nano I bought at the same time. I was going to buy Aperture ($249 edu, $499 normal), but my credit card had took a big hit during the x-mass season already and I really didn't "have to have it". The only reason I even considered it was the EDU price they quoted me.

It might be different at each store or in each region. Doesn't make a lot of sense (other than for what's wrote at the end of this post) if it is, but I've seen weirder things in retail than that before. You might want to call the store and ask to speak with the manager...it could be that associate was new or just didn't know what the heck he/she was talking about.

One other possibility has to do with the disclaimer that appears on the website when you select the school you're affiliated with. It says:

**The above purchases can be made either online or through your Authorized Campus Reseller.

The Cincinnati Store I visit is the only Apple Store in the area (Cincinnati Metro) and is also located in the middle of some major colleges (UC, Xavier, Miami of OH, Northern KY Univ, Thomas More) and quite a few minor ones (technical colleges, community colleges, etc.). They might actually be an authorized reseller for one or more of those campuses. Doesn't make sense to put one on each campus when you think about it...the majority are easily within a 10 min drive (UC and X are 5 minutes), with Miami being within 20 to 25 minutes away. That might explain why the Cincy one gives the discount and other stores don't.