You can do better elsewhere when ordering educational discount software
Written: Apr 23 '07 (Updated Apr 23 '07)
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One of the perks I rediscovered upon returning to school after 27 years is the good-old “student discount”. (I remember very cheap train tickets in Europe, free admission at many museums, low-cost bank accounts, car insurance discounts, etc.) The most tantalizing for me now is the significantly reduced price on some computer software. All you need is proof of student (or educator) status, and you can save as much as 75% on the price of some quite expensive programs.
I arrived at JourneyEd.com via a link on Folletts.com, which was in turn linked to my school’s bookstore website. Never having done this kind of thing before (even in my student days in the previous century), I assumed this was the “official” channel. First thing I noticed about the website was how slow it is. Over the six days or so I visited JourneyEd daily, each page took anywhere from 15-45 seconds to load. Each page, each time. [fingers drumming on desk]
I registered on the site and placed an order for an Adobe CS3 suite, and was then informed that there were several ways to verify student status. One is to use the site’s instant verification, with data from 1500 schools (they say), but it costs an extra $2. I opted to scan my student ID at home and e-mail it to them, figuring that was free and probably wouldn’t take long to approve. I received a confirmation e-mail for my order, e-mailed them my proof, and noted that my order appeared in my account on their website. Pretty good so far, except for the slow loading.
The next day, I noticed that my order had disappeared from my account, and the site was taking even longer to load. So I called customer service, and after a five-minute wait, was told that they were having computer problems, and IT was working on it. Uh-oh. I asked about my e-mailed student proof, and the CSR had me e-mail it again, directly to him, then told me it looked fine, but would take 24-48 hours to be approved. What?
I also noticed that there is no link on JourneyEd to access your account; I could ONLY do that from a link in their confirmation e-mail. Overall the site is not very navigable, and there are various flaws (there is actually no log-out function; perhaps because there seems to be no direct way to access your account info…)
So I figured this whole process is going to take a lot longer than the average online product order, and resigned myself to wait. What JourneyEd’s CSR was NOT telling me was that Adobe had not even released the program yet, and it would be at least 10 days before it could be shipped out. I found that out elsewhere. JourneyEd’s stated sales policies are fairly standard: returns allowed for 30 days on unopened software (14 days on hardware); 30 day low-price guarantee; customer service is available by phone 7:30am-7:00pm CST.
The following day, I realized I had really ordered the wrong suite for my needs, and wanted a different one. On reading some of the excellent advice here on Epinions, I checked cdw.com and shoptrc.com, which have now merged and formed cdwg.com. I placed a phone call to this firm, was asked the name of my school, and received a return call less than five minutes later from the CDW rep who handles my part of the world. I established an account online while we spoke, e-mailed him my student proof, which he said was quite acceptable but is subject to approval by the software vendor, and informed that, in all honesty, the software would probably not ship for two weeks. The rep was friendly and accommodating to a fault. Great customer service.
I went back to JourneyEd to get a firm out, and after about five minutes on hold, got an unhappy-sounding CSR (he didn’t even state his name), who agreed to cancel the order. To their credit, I received a cancellation e-mail within 30 minutes, and another CSR responded (the next day) to my e-mail enquiry confirming the cancellation.
The bottom line here is that there are alternatives to JourneyEd, and I find it a bit misleading that Folletts.com links only to them for software sales. I did not shop at academicsuperstore.com, but I can confirm that cdwg.com is an excellent choice. There are just a few too many bumps at JourneyEd, and considering how much money you may be spending, they should be glitch-free and very customer-friendly. (On cdwg.com your account page shows a photo of your account rep, his direct phone number and direct e-mail, and whether he is in the office at the moment- VERY cool.)
The prices should not vary much on most software, since the discount is off the retail price and is a percentage set by the manufacturer. But JourneyEd wanted $21 for shipping, while cdwg charges $13. Academicsuperstore.com was charging $25 more for the same program, but offering free shipping- the total bill was still $12 more than cdwg. At JourneyEd the software I wanted, with shipping, would have been $44 more than cdwg. None of the sites charge your credit card for back-ordered merchandise until it is shipped.
For student and educators buying discount software, I suggest checking out JourneyEd.com’s prices and products before going to the other academic software supplier sites and ordering from one of them. I'm giving them only two stars (relative to similar merchants), but recommending them simply because you should check their prices before going elsewhere.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Tampa Bay
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me: I now provide creative services, after a 30 year career in radio news and management.
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