Using a friend's educational discount...

stim

Is it possible to have a friend buy powerbook for me at the Apple Store using his student ID to get the educational discount?



Would they let me pay for it on my credit card but using his student ID? Or, if he paid for it, how would this affect the warrenty? Do you need to show your original receipt when you need servicing?



I've got a bunch of gift cards for the apple store, but I'd love to avoid paying tax -- and my friend's educational discount would nullify that.



Any help would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks!

cam'ron

you are gonna get a lot of people harping on you for this. there is no tax in an edu purchase???

yikes600

I think they won't care as long as he's present with his student ID. In fact, in my experience they just give me the student discount without even asking for ID.

rok

a few things to think about...



- any warranty would be in your friend's name (and any additional warranty would have to be done in their name as well)

- purchasing under the educational license is limited (apple limits one cpu per year purchased via the educational store)

- telephone support for educational purchases is handled by a separate area within apple. you will be transferred there every time for any support phone calls.



so it's not a perfect system. my wife's a professor, so being married makes the whole joint-warranty-and-support issue a lot easier.

amorya

Quote:

Originally posted by rok

a few things to think about...



- any warranty would be in your friend's name (and any additional warranty would have to be done in their name as well)

- purchasing under the educational license is limited (apple limits one cpu per year purchased via the educational store)

- telephone support for educational purchases is handled by a separate area within apple. you will be transferred there every time for any support phone calls.



so it's not a perfect system. my wife's a professor, so being married makes the whole joint-warranty-and-support issue a lot easier.

Applecare isn't handled in a separate area for education customers - I just phone the normal Applecare number. Dunno what happens if you don't buy Applecare though.



I've never had to prove I'm a student, or give any student ID... you may just be able to order through the education store online. Even if you just put some random junk in the school name field it lets you order. If I'm correct about that, you wouldn't need to get a warrantee in their name.





Amorya

chikara

I don't think it would be much of an issue. If anything act like your related. When I bought my G5 I walked into the apple store and was about to get it, but my Dad who had just finished a dinner asked them if he would get one since he taught part time at a little college.



So he went home grabbed his pay stub and then I payed with my cc.





....when I think about it my situation is way different so IDK if that helped :-D but I would say go for it...

greggwsmith

You still pay tax on an EDU purchase but you do save about 10%. I just got a 12inch superdrive powerbook this week using a edu discount. While I do qualify for the discount I was amazed that there was no required documentation to get it!?

ibook911

I asked the support what would happen, if I sold my computer, which was bought on the educational pricing. They told me that you can always sell your computer, and that they will service it no matter who calls in.

ipodandimac

Quote:

Originally posted by Stim

Is it possible to have a friend buy powerbook for me at the Apple Store using his student ID to get the educational discount?



Would they let me pay for it on my credit card but using his student ID? Or, if he paid for it, how would this affect the warrenty? Do you need to show your original receipt when you need servicing?



I've got a bunch of gift cards for the apple store, but I'd love to avoid paying tax -- and my friend's educational discount would nullify that.



Any help would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks!

the edu discount is for students. if youre not a student, you shouldnt be getting one. i hope you have many difficulties with this if you go ahead with your plan. dont cheat the system.

chikara

I guess I have to agree with the "cheating the system" thing from ipodandimac. If to many people were getting educational discounts and apple, or even worse companies like Adobe that give huge educational discounts, had to lessen the amount of the dicounts or do away with the program altogether, that would suck dong.

hardhead

Openly discussing this would/might incline Apple or Adobe to be more rigorous in screening for "true" students.

dave k.

Quote:

Originally posted by Cam'ron

you are gonna get a lot of people harping on you for this. there is no tax in an edu purchase???

Yes there is tax on all education purchases.

jgpippin

Quote:

Originally posted by Cam'ron

you are gonna get a lot of people harping on you for this. there is no tax in an edu purchase???

However, few states have higher than 8% sales tax, and the edu discount is somewhere near 10%. I think that's what he meant when he said the discount would nullify it.



On a separate note, what does three question marks accomplish that one does not?

ichiban_jay

have him get it, then transfer the warranty to your name after... say a month. Problem solved...

rok

Quote:

Originally posted by ipodandimac

the edu discount is for students. if youre not a student, you shouldnt be getting one. i hope you have many difficulties with this if you go ahead with your plan. dont cheat the system.

sorry, gotta disagree with you here. it's the STUDENT'S CHOICE to purchase the item for his/her friend. once apple sells the item, they have no control over its use or ownership once it's in the purchaser's hands. it is not "cheating the system." what if the student decided to purchase an ipod for a friend for the holidays? would you suggest they go to a retail store and pay full price because the end recipient will not, in fact, be a student, and ignore the discount they are entitled to? now how about a mac mini for his/her mom? where does the line get drawn? is it a price line in the virtual sand, or only when the recipient asks for it? if you say that the person has to ask for them to use their discount knowingly to avoid higher prices, what if his mom has been wanting to buy an ibook, but doesn't think she can afford it? think that's unlikely that a poor student would buy his mom an ibook? okay, what if it isn't a student, but really a professor/teacher, who is just as eligible for the discounts? again, do they ignore the discounts set up specifically for them because the final user will not be academically related?



oh, and by the way, the "system" is not exactly bullet-proof. have you ever gone to the apple academic online store? care to guess how they verify your status? they make you click a button swearing you are a student or teacher, and that you understand the limits of purchases you can make under such an agreement per calendar year. that's it. and it's been that way for YEARS... call me crazy, but if they were that concerned about abusing the system, they might shore up that little weak point.



as long as both parties at the receiving end accept all headaches potentially caused by such a transaction, then let it be. it's a willing purchase, by a willing adult parties, and a gift transaction occurs. case closed.

rok

Quote:

Originally posted by Amorya

Applecare isn't handled in a separate area for education customers - I just phone the normal Applecare number. Dunno what happens if you don't buy Applecare though.

really? the one time i had to call up about a support issue, they transferred me to the educational store... but it was about a missing part (the scsi card i ordered), so maybe they had to transfer me there to get the info.