Apple's US Education Store Now Requires Institution Verification to Buy Discounted Products

[cardfan]

I'm curious how much this will help. My school gave us a lifetime .edu email address, and I've been out of college for quite some time. I actually just signed up for UNiDAYS a couple months ago to see if it would work, and it did... Have not used it yet though since most things seemed to be geared for college kids.

Yep no worries there since I have an alumni email. Wife is teacher as well. But usually use veterans discount.

 

[formerpc]

Apple used to require verification in the US. I was surprised when they dropped that check, so it’s not really shocking to see this return. I work for a school, so it’s no skin off my back. LOL

 

[SuperCachetes]

BTW regarding educational discounts. I've been in academia for a long time, and I've almost never used the educational discounts. Most often you can get similar discounts by just buying from Amazon or other retailers (never Apple of course). For example, last year I bought an iPad Air and saved $80 on RRP from Amazon. This Unidays thing looks like a pain, I'm not rushing to sign up for it.

This. As I have said for years, you can often get an equivalent discount by either price-matching another store, or simply just being nice and asking. In my experience at multiple Apple Stores, the education price has been the "hard stop" for downward haggling, but to me it is worth a few minutes of conversation and/or internet shopping to save $100 or more.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I'm curious how much this will help. My college gave me a lifetime .edu email address, and I've been out of school for quite some time. I actually just signed up for UNiDAYS a couple months ago to see if it would work, and it did... Have not used it yet though since most things seemed to be geared for college kids.

I think I’m going to do that too. Since I’m out of college. My student ID still works. I wonder if UNiDAYS can still verify my student status.

 

[adamjackson]

The discounts do add up.

My computer below, $4698 with AppleCare
Education pricing, $4277.88

That's a $420 discount (lol). Anyone with 2 extra clicks can save $420 on a BTO machine from Apple that's a higher end speficiation. That's stealing money from Tim's pocket so I'm not surprised at all they've 'fixed the glitch'

 

[Carrma]

The discounts do add up.

My computer below, $4698 with AppleCare
Education pricing, $4277.88

That's a $420 discount (lol). Anyone with 2 extra clicks can save $420 on a BTO machine from Apple that's a higher end speficiation. That's stealing money from Tim's pocket so I'm not surprised at all they've 'fixed the glitch'

Is a BTO MBP still available through Unidays for USA?

 

[ikramerica]

Back in the beforetimes, one actually had to purchase the equipment directly through one’s educational institution such as the campus bookstore or school district purchasing department and the orders would take a while to deliver. Of course, the discounts were very significant back then as well.

 

[ikramerica]

Back when I was in university, Apple's educational 'discounts' were $100.00. It seemed an insult. I could walk off campus and get what I wanted quicker than saving the hundred bucks and having to wait for it at the campus computer store. Other discounts were near giveaways. Office for something like $30. FULL OFFICE. Statistical packages for pennies on the dollar. The discounts on some things were so good, I bought some stuff just to play with. Lightspeed C for $40, etc... When the wife needed a new MBP, we checked Apple ed discounts, and they were just as stingy, so we bought at the Apple Store. Many people that could qualify for that pittance likely do the same, which makes the discount that much more ridiculous. *shrug* Go ahead and require verification. They probably should have done that years ago, but now that people have to PROVE they are what they claim, how about making the discount more of a discount?

True. Software discounts are/were enormous, sometimes even free. But they have a catch: it is against the EULA to use the software professionally.

But if not for the discounts, how would a graphic design student afford what they needed to learn the 20+ programs expected of them?

And of course the difference is the marginal cost of providing it. For software, the marginal cost is near zero to give it to a college student who otherwise wouldn’t pay anyway but who might become a paying customer later in life. The marginal cost of giving a physical computer to a college student for near free is enormous…

 

[adamjackson]

Is a BTO MBP still available through Unidays for USA?

IDK, that's just the education pricing when I looked at it back when the MBPs came out.

 

[jkozlow3]

BTW regarding educational discounts. I've been in academia for a long time, and I've almost never used the educational discounts. Most often you can get similar discounts by just buying from Amazon or other retailers (never Apple of course). For example, last year I bought an iPad Air and saved $80 on RRP from Amazon. This Unidays thing looks like a pain, I'm not rushing to sign up for it.

Educational discounts are very useful for custom/build-to-order configurations however (i.e. when you want 16GB of memory in a MBA). For these configurations, you're stuck paying full retail price 100% of the time.

For example, the base M1 MacBook Air with 8GB/256GB retails for $999. It was available at multiple retailers for $799 before Christmas. If you wanted to simply upgrade to 16GB of memory however, you'd have to buy it through Apple directly, pay the full retail price ($999) plus $200 for the memory upgrade for a total of $1199. That's a $400 upgrade vs. the sale price at a retailer which is ridiculous.

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

Fair enough, I just thought you were a dude playing the dude, disguised as another dude!

Oddly enough, many of my fellow MBA students were engineers.

Me?, i know who i am!. i'm the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude. You don't know what dude you are!. ?

Can't take life too seriously, its too short.

And yes, engineers are curious as well. if they're seeking an MBA they're trying to join the employer class. IMHO

Not stay in the *employee* class.

my 2-cents


Oh and my posts were taken down for being off topic......

So yeah, taking away this casual discount for EDU sucks. such a bum bum bummer....

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

What happens if you show your student ID at the Apple store? Do you still have to go through UNiDAYS.

I used my student ID back in June 2021 (last year) all I had to do was flash it (Mardi Gras style) and it was "cool! discount applied!" no verification or questions asked. but things might be changing.

I'm not planning on making any purchase that allows student discounts in the near future but I'm also very curious so I can be prepared for my next purchase

 

[mollyc]

I don't mind that things have to be verified now; I think that does make it more fair.

I do wish they would open up students to more than just college. Plenty of high school and middle schoolers (and even elementary students) use a device for school. My son's school does give them a device, but my daughter's school does not, even though it's required. She already had a laptop from middle school, so it isn't a huge deal, but it would be nice to see the discounts dropped down to at least high school (with verification).

 

[Chevysales]

A verification check is fine but it is Stupid how Apple is ferrying you into some random company’s service. You must sign up for UNiDAYS to even see the discounts which means trusting some entity one is unlikely to remember they’ve even given trust to, accepting another third party TOS and Privacy Policy, and dealing with them trying to push their services/sales/ads. Mind you, they do this under the guise of ensuring that they’re “keeping check of your eligibility to purchase”, but bs it could be a one time thing at the current moment. The excuse from their TOS:



And their PP follows the dubious vague language found in Most — you bet they ensure the use of the data they collection / find / curate from other services can be utilized at your expense, shared, and/or even sold without your permission or notice. Here are just a few snippets that are open ended…



Sad to see Apple contradicting themselves and their privacy stance by forcing you into another company’s hoops, using the advantage to the consumer (a very weak discount in this case) as an excuse.

the discounts have been consistently 10% on MacBook Pros for me as I bought for my daughters while she went to college then again for her masters... when she got her Teaching license I got her the last one. I had looked at phones and other stuff during past 6 years and never saw discounts on those comparing and those items were the same at both edu and retail store.

 

[Chevysales]

I don't mind that things have to be verified now; I think that does make it more fair.

I do wish they would open up students to more than just college. Plenty of high school and middle schoolers (and even elementary students) use a device for school. My son's school does give them a device, but my daughter's school does not, even though it's required. She already had a laptop from middle school, so it isn't a huge deal, but it would be nice to see the discounts dropped down to at least high school (with verification).

it does just look deeper on support. my understanding is nothing changed but verification.

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

I don't mind that things have to be verified now; I think that does make it more fair.

I do wish they would open up students to more than just college. Plenty of high school and middle schoolers (and even elementary students) use a device for school. My son's school does give them a device, but my daughter's school does not, even though it's required. She already had a laptop from middle school, so it isn't a huge deal, but it would be nice to see the discounts dropped down to at least high school (with verification).

Challenge accepted.

 

[Ifti]

Has been like this for a while in the UK - I have them email me a quotation to my work address, then I generally just send in a payslip or my work ID when ordering.

The discount is reasonable - pretty much covers the cost of adding AppleCare.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

Degrees at “University of Life” are no longer eligible.

Okay, but what about the "School of Hard-Knocks"?

 

[jlc1978]

Me?, i know who i am!. i'm the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude. You don't know what dude you are!. ?

Can't take life too seriously, its too short.

Yup.

And yes, engineers are curious as well. if they're seeking an MBA they're trying to join the employer class. IMHO

Not stay in the *employee* class.

my 2-cents

I resemble that remark, although I decided I didn't want to work for a living anymore and became a consultant...

I'm not planning on making any purchase that allows student discounts in the near future but and also very curious so I can be prepared for my next purchase

Dude, you're veteran, or at least we are trained actors.

I used my student ID back in June 2021 (last year) all I had to do was flash it (Mardi Gras style)

That is a scary picture...

and it was "cool! discount applied!" no verification or questions asked. but things might be changing.

I just asked for when I bought an Air in November. No problem...

For example, the base M1 MacBook Air with 8GB/256GB retails for $999. It was available at multiple retailers for $799 before Christmas. If you wanted to simply upgrade to 16GB of memory however, you'd have to pay the full retail price ($999) plus $200 for the memory upgrade for a total of $1199. That's a $400 upgrade vs. the sale price which is ridiculous.

I'm guessing a retailer doesn't get the same deal on a BTO as for a standard config, thus no discount. Plus, hey probably need to move a certain amount of stock so pushing sales of in store available products does that, vs. BTOs which may not help their numbers.

 

[gfbane]

My wife and I are home school teachers. We have paperwork that we filed with the appropriate authorities according to our state's laws.

From the UNiDAYS website: https://www.myunidays.com/US/en-US/support/verifying/home-schooled

I’m homeschooled can I have a UNiDAYS account?​

To be able to get a UNiDAYS account, you must be able to provide us with either an institution portal login, an institution issued personal email address or an institution issued student ID card.
If, being homeschooled, means that you do not have access to these, we are not able to continue with the verification process.

So... I tried the apple store support chat. it's about as useful as talking to a robot.
"How can I help you"
I would like help with the education discount
"Here's a link to the student discounts"
I would like to chat with a human
"what is your question related to: shopping help, an order I placed, technical support?"
Shopping help.
"Which product are you interested in?"
education discount issue
"Here's a link to the student discounts"

So, I guess you have to call. We'll just have to wait and see about ordering my wife a new MacBook (Air) when it comes out.

 

[alex2792]

Pretty much anyone who has ever had a university email address can sign up for UNiDAYS. I get a discount on my phone bill, Apple Music and other services even though I haven’t been to school in many years.

 

[827538]

All it takes to verify a Unidays account is a .edu email address. Pretty sure almost every alumni gets to keep their .edu email address after they graduate (that was the case for me).

Cheaper MacBooks for life, thanks Apple!

 

[827538]

Pretty much anyone who has ever had a university email address can sign up for UNiDAYS. I get a discount on my phone bill, Apple Music and other services even though I haven’t been to school in many years.

Yup, I get to keep my .edu emails for life. 20 or 30 years of this will add up given how much I spend on Apple products.

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

All it takes to verify a Unidays account is a .edu email address. Pretty sure almost every alumni gets to keep their .edu email address after they graduate (that was the case for me).

that's a mega Nega-tive here.

my state university deactivates 2 years after graduation/unenrolled.

so definitely YMMV

 

[russell_314]

It’s been like this for a while to save like $5 a month on Apple Music so I’m not sure why they’re just starting when it comes to buying expensive MacBooks ?

Any discount should require some verification of eligibility. Otherwise you might as well just lower the price and not call it a discount