Education price limit

[pulsewidth947]

I didnt know how else to word that

I've read somewhere on here that if you use the Edu discount you can only buy one system a year. Is that true? The reason why i ask is i want a mini now.. RIGHT NOW! but i want to buy an ibook/powerbook when Tiger is released.

Obviously, i'd rather use the discount on a more expensive product, and so i wondered if anyone could clarify this?

Thanks!

[iSaint]

There are limitations to your purchases through the education store. When you surf around the Apple Store, and select Education, it will take you to a screen where you will select your school. Then a screen will pop up telling you the limits of your yearly purchases.

[iGary]

It's like one iPod, one computer, two displays...

They didn't seem to complain when I purchased an iMac G5 and an iBook at the same time...

[ncoffey]

I bought an iPod mini and later bought a 40 gig. (Within a couple months I think) and they never complained.

[yippy]

Apple says:

Who is Eligible To Purchase
The following education individuals are eligible to purchase through the Apple Store for Education individuals:


Faculty or staff member of a public or private Higher Education Institution in the United States
Student currently attending or accepted into a public or private Higher Education Institution in the United States


Qualifying purchases per academic school year (July 1 - June 30):
Power Mac, iMac, eMac, PowerBook, or iBook - One per year
Printers - One per year
Displays - Two per year
Software - Two per year

So you could buy a Mac mini now and then an iBook in July because that is when Apple breaks the year.

[pulsewidth947]

i suppose it depends on what you buy. if you buy - say, a laptop and a desktop, then that'd work.. wheras if you bought 2 power macs then they might question it

on a different note -

i've been reading into the mini. and if what i have read is true, then you dont void your warranty by installing ram yourself (although apple are not liable if you snap a tab or scratch something while doing it). if that is indeed true then thats really admirable of apple.

EDIT: Just seen yippys post. Thats really good to know, because its easily going to be July 1st before i can buy my laptop. That might give me enough time to save for a powerbook

Thanks for all your quick posts guys.. damn i love this forum

[Koodauw]

I dont think they police it very heavily. I bought two PB's from them in one year before.

[iGary]

They don't police it very heavily, and frankly I don't feel bad about it - I'm an enrolled student, and I buy a lot of stuff from them (two computers, three iPods and a 20" display in the last year).

My boss wanted me to use my discount to buy some stuff for the office. That I said no to.

[yuck]

my friend bought 3 FCP for ebay, he bought it at once
he bought it at campus bookstore

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

Apple's special pricing purchase limit is in place to prevent enterprising would-be retailers from purchasing apple branded hardware and software at a discount and selling the items afterward for a profit. Without the policy, anyone could purchase systems in bulk for educational pricing, then turn around and sell the systems for more than the edu pricing, but for less than normal pricing.

Apple would then lose the difference between edu pricing and regular pricing for each of these sales to non edu customers involving middlemen who happen to qualify for edu pricing.

The limit on items purchased with discount thereby protects Apple's higher margin on units sold to non edu and gov customers. It is probably not enforced on anyone purchasing one or two additional computer or ipod units because it is unlikely that the buyer intends to reap the small profit he could make by selling those few units by himself.

[wwooden]

I'm pretty sure that what the stuff in Yippys post means is one per year of each. So you could buy one PowerMac, one PowerBook, One iBook, etc..... Anything you can buy as many as you want ( iPods, Displays ).

[kaylee]

What I've always been told is that it's one desktop and one laptop per year allowed with education discount, although that might be just in Australia. I've no idea on limits for iPods or anything else though.

[magicharm]

As has been said already, the one per year is really not to hinder the average student from buying more than one, but to keep people from buying in quantity and then reselling. In cases like this I would tend to look at the "spirit" in which the policy was decided, and not the technical wording.

My brand-new PB was stolen 3 weeks ago, thankfully my parent's homeowners insurance covered it, even though I am at college. When I went back to apple to purchase another PB they had no problem giving me the student discount. It really comes down to if you are going to legitimitly use the product for edu purposes or not...if you are then I see no problem with buying both, Apple won't say anything.

[mad jew]

Apple wouldn't let me buy two Airport Express(es?) at the same time for education prices. One of them had to be full price which is a bit annoying.

I think Apple has left the rules fairly open so that the resellers can interpret them as they see fit.

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

Originally Posted by mad jew

Apple wouldn't let me buy two Airport Express(es?) at the same time for education prices. One of them had to be full price which is a bit annoying.

I think Apple has left the rules fairly open so that the resellers can interpret them as they see fit.

Advice for people seeking to similarly buy two of the same units at edu pricing: buy them at seperate times. I'm pretty sure Apple doesn't keep a record of the quantity of items you've purchased at educational pricing. All the clerk has to go by is what he sees on the counter at the time of purchase.