Discounts for students

SGWills · 27 Dec 2007 at 18:24

i wouldnt give discount to students tbh, my misses finished in uni and they still accept her card in some places even thou it states the end date was last year, if ocuk were to give out discount evouchers for students they would most probably end up on a voucher site which would mean they lose even more money, its not as easy as it looks to give discount/deals without some people taking advantage

waso_dude · 27 Dec 2007 at 18:52

Students all the do is beg...

Don't you get enough of people as it is....

Captain_Slick · 27 Dec 2007 at 18:58

Why the hell should students get discounts? :confused:

They choose to study, therefore they should accept whatever financial limitations come with that (hardly any, looking at the deposits that go into my student brothers bank account... endless grants, loans, etc).

They get too much free/discounted stuff as it is, IMHO.

Spike · 27 Dec 2007 at 18:59

huh?

Students: they're alright at grammar though

A lot of jealousy going on here it seems

fini · 27 Dec 2007 at 19:10

Captain_Slick said:
Why the hell should students get discounts?

Statistically, degree owning citizens earn, on average, higher than non-degree owning people. As such, it is an important market to gain exposure with. The idea is that, due to the discount, the student will begin to use a product that he or she will then use for the rest of their life, perhaps upgrading eventually to the more expensive product. In addition, the bulk of students are late teen-early 20's. As such they can be seen as the 'cool' demographic and are thus of key importance in getting a product to reach that threshold where it is a 'must have' product. The more students who thus own a product, the more likely it is that a snowball effect will ensue and many many more products will be sold.

Werewolf · 27 Dec 2007 at 19:23

Spike said:
Surely it's their loss if they don't give you at least a small discount, else you might spend the grand somewhere else?

Given that a lot of computer hardware is sold with a fairly small profit margin from what i've heard, a student discount could potentially wipe out the profit on some items

(certainly if it's the sort of discount you get at some DVD retailers).

Some manufacturers can give a discount because they make and sell the goods, which gives them a much larger profit margin (if an Ipod is selling at £200 at X, and Apple is also selling it at that price, then Apple is probably making several times the profit on it than X is, even after giving a "discount")

Personally I prefer a shop that gives the same sort of pricing to everyone, without having to jump through hoops to get it (it costs money to admin things like student discounts).

dieschwalbe · 27 Dec 2007 at 19:32

YZFAndy said:
Students need discounts! I work 50+ hours a week and I haven't got over a £1000 to spend on a computer.

But this is a site for hardware enthusiasts who buy for performance/gaming etc. If you need a computer for Uni, you could get one for under £400 from 'other' sources which will run Office perfectly well. You don't need a performance system for Uni work. Would you buy a care from a Porsche dealer if you only wanted a runaround to take you to the shops?

Seft · 27 Dec 2007 at 19:49

I'm a student, so accept some bias:

OCUK may actually make more money by offering students a discount. Standard economic theory suggests that students are likely to have a different demand schedule from the rest of the public, and therefore prices set for the public are unlikely to be optimal when selling to students. Wikipedia explains it much better than I do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination

Also there's the idea of winning a customer for life, but that should be viewed as a bonus, rather than a rationale.

helmutcheese · 27 Dec 2007 at 20:01

Students are lazy, get off the drink and dope and partying every night and you can afford more.

P.S get a weekend job at Mc Donalds.

robjf · 28 Dec 2007 at 00:30

Again i will be presenting a student bias, but regarding the commentabout students being able to 'party every night', dont believe in this. Some of us do have to work because the student loans awards system cripals some of us. A discount would have been nice in my recent system build as i get the minimum loan despite my parents actually not being as well off as the student loan company believes.

As highlighted by the price discrimination link, it would generally result in higher loyalty for OcUk buti can see why others who werent students would be annoyed. Surely students should be given some form of financial reward (however small) for wanting to learn more as apposed to going into a job after mandatory education?

Either way, i can just about survive buying a fairly basic computer to support my studies and getting basic food on the student loan, but please do not believe the phalacy that students have even remotely enough to 'party every night' as i have found out that is a myth in my parents financial circumstances.

helmutcheese · 28 Dec 2007 at 00:37

It was a joke hense the

, but I know plenty who do what I claim and dont want a real job, they are just lazy.

Captain_Slick · 28 Dec 2007 at 00:41

Surely having people going straight into the work environment/ work based learning environment is more beneficial to the economy than having thousands of people spend even longer out of work? Sure, you may argue that when they do go into work they'll benefit the economy more than those that didn't go to university, but I find that hard to believe when I see shortages in skilled labourers (building, plumbing, etc) and other occupations. Having thousands of people become specialised won't help, IMHO. Sure, a small amount of specialising, but the economy probably benefits more from having the majority of people in mainstream jobs.

My brother and sister both decided to go to university, and I generally have more money than either of them, so I can see where the lack of finances come from. However, I don't see how that should be requisite for a discount.

I work for B&Q and the discounts we have are for either employees/ trade members or people aged 60+ and I'm willing to bet that those discounts are neither loss causing or profit generating. They may help with brand loyalty, but I doubt it has a significant impact on profits (compared to advertising and general pricing strategy).

stevenazari1 · 28 Dec 2007 at 00:56

give them a -30% discount if they are cheeky enough to ask

if they complain - tell them to work it off.

Cupra · 28 Dec 2007 at 01:21

students get enough hand outs

bikes · 28 Dec 2007 at 05:51

Cupra said:
students get enough hand outs

I agree.

It makes me laugh when I see posts on here by students saying their grants are due and asking, either what latest new high-end part they should get, or a complete new high-end spec build. I thought these grants were to help with things like accomadation, food and books etc, not for some computer bits,

Dist · 28 Dec 2007 at 05:56

bikes said:
I agree.

It makes me laugh when I see posts on here by students saying their grants are due and asking, either what latest new high-end part they should get, or a complete new high-end spec build. I thought these grants were to help with things like accomadation, food and books etc, not for some computer bits,

not all students are in that situation though, Im with the OU and although they do provide nice funding, it ONLY covers course costs, with a 1 time only grant to cover the cost of a laptop for me (which is £250, so its not like it will cover a gaming machine or anything like that).

So dont assume that just because some people can afford to spend all their grant on non-essentials and such that others can as well, there are lots of students who just strugle to get by and discounts of things like windows, or microsoft office can help a lot.

willhub · 28 Dec 2007 at 08:22

Students need student loans to pay for uni... If there parents cant pay for them then its going to be a struggle to pay for uni fees with a part time job unless the answer is everyone take a gap year to earn money for students.

dieschwalbe said:
But this is a site for hardware enthusiasts who buy for performance/gaming etc. If you need a computer for Uni, you could get one for under £400 from 'other' sources which will run Office perfectly well. You don't need a performance system for Uni work. Would you buy a care from a Porsche dealer if you only wanted a runaround to take you to the shops?

You think students just do work? Just because your are a student does not mean you dont have time for other things like gaming and going out, I plan on upgrading my PC before I go to uni so its most up to date to get me through a year then I'll be upgrading it again through uni.

dieschwalbe · 28 Dec 2007 at 11:11

willhub said:
You think students just do work? Just because your are a student does not mean you dont have time for other things like gaming and going out, I plan on upgrading my PC before I go to uni so its most up to date to get me through a year then I'll be upgrading it again through uni.

There used to be an old saying: 'you cut your cloth accordingly'

If I was a student who depended on subsidies and loans, then I wouldn't consider spending money on high performance hardware. My first priority would be to get through my studies....afford the materials, and afford food & accommodation. Too many people in this day and age think they have a god given right to everything and anything that someone else has, and that others should subsidise their pleasure and flaccidness. Every day I drive past a pub whose patrons I KNOW don't work for a living, but my taxes help pay for their pleasure.

If you have enough money on subsidies to afford luxuries (own personal monies notwithstanding), then you are most definately being given too many handouts.

After studies, and when earning money in that high powered job that a Degree can help you achieve, then go out and spend money on cutting edge technology.

I just cinsider that if you don't have the money, or can't afford the credit terms, then you should wait until you are in a position where you CAN.

My 2 cents worth.

PinkFloyd · 28 Dec 2007 at 11:16

bikes said:
It makes me laugh when I see posts on here by students saying their grants are due and asking, either what latest new high-end part they should get, or a complete new high-end spec build. I thought these grants were to help with things like accomadation, food and books etc, not for some computer bits,

I've got a reason to have a high end machine though

I do a huge amount of rendering in 3dsmax at uni.

The vast majority of students, give students as a whole a bad name though. We're not all completely careless with money.
I for one work as hard as I can over holidays earning as much as I can to afford to keep myself away from my overdraft as much as I can (failed this xmas though, £250 under)

robjf · 28 Dec 2007 at 11:31

Cupra said:
students get enough hand outs

This couldnt be further from the truth. Well in my position anyway, but from those ive spoken to so far ive been had over a barrel by the SLC. After ive paid for accomodation i have £150 a year left to cover living expenses, im not eligable for any grants or bursaries, and my parents are expected to pay me £100 a month to survive on. This is hugely lower than anyone else i know.

So yeh, im obviously the most unlucky student in the world.