Students and Teachers: Get Deep Discounts on Popular Software Titles

January 3, 2008 By Matthew Paulson

The Record Industry Association of America has used strong handed tactics in making sure content their artists produce is only used in the cookie cutter manners they deem appropriate and profitable, but some other companies and organizations have chosen a new route. Instead of litigating their younger customers into oblivion, companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, and others have offered deep discounts on many of the pieces of software that we know, love, and use on a daily basis.

The premise behind these discounts is that if students learn to use a piece of software while they’re in school and make good use of it, they’ll want to make use of it as a productivity tool when they get out of school and either buy it for themselves to do freelance work or ask their company to purchase it for them. The actual physical cost of the media that’s sold to students is just a few dollars, and since 98% of the students wouldn’t have otherwise purchased the software, they are still making additional profit. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Microsoft Office 2007 Professional which will normally retail for around $400.00 can be purchased for about $150. QuarkExpress 7 which retails for $879 can be purchased for about $290 online. Adobe’s massive suite that contains all of their productivity tools, “CS3 Design Premium,” normally retails for around $1,750, but can be had for around $580 through some of the online academic discount retailers.

In order to make use of these deals, you will likely have to send in paperwork proving that you are a student. Usually this would be some sort of registration receipt, an official class schedule, a transcript or something like that. What the actual retailer will require will vary from site to site, but the bit of hassle is well worth all of the savings that you will reap.

You have to be a bit wary when shopping on these sites, because they are not all legitimate. There are some stores selling pirated copies of software at deeply discounted rates and claiming they are offering student discounts. As whenever you are shopping online, research the retailer offering the discounted products ahead of time. Look them up on RessellerRatings.com and make sure they have a good history of customer reviews and are providing good value to their customers.

If you’re looking for one of the larger and more seasoned sites, AcademicSuperStore.com is a place to check out. However, you might be able to find better deals by searching on Google’s Product Search service.

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