
Why I don't offer “student discounts” - kadavy
https://medium.com/startup-grind/why-i-dont-offer-student-discounts-2a2c78df3803
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bmer
You're comparing the courses you're offering to a Lamborghini? Cool, but I
don't see why I should place as much value in your product. In fact, you might
simply be going for a Veblen goods effect, just like the Lamborghini.

That's only one part of the problem in your essay.

The other part is that it assumes that:

1) every student in the world is in the US and

2) every student in the world is poor _entirely_ because of university fees.

Frankly, whenever someone wants to shell out money for an online course, I
caution them. There are _tons_ of free resources out there, some legal, and
some not, but all provide quality education.

~~~
perl4ever
It occurred to me (unfortunately long after I had obtained my formal
education) that education could be kind of an inversion of a Veblen good -
it's more valuable, and should be viewed as more valuable, the _less_ you pay
for it (in money anyway). The willingness of people to educate you for free or
cheap is perhaps the most salient signal of your talent. Maybe the widespread
problems people have in choosing how and where to study can be characterized
as mistaking education for a Veblen good.

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rahimnathwani
If you will increase your total profits by offering a student discount, then
offer a student discount. If not, then don't.

Cinemas don't offer preferential pricing to children just to be nice. They do
it to maximize profits as, overall, children are more price-sensitive. And
it's much easier to enforce 'child-only' prices than it is to enforce
'disposable-income-less-than-X' pricing.

~~~
kadavy
Do you not believe that sometimes a principle – or something you believe in –
might be more important than profit?

For example, if it were legal and profitable to sell babies to whomever wanted
to buy them (no background check), would you still do it?

~~~
rahimnathwani
Yes something I believe in might be more important than profit. But my point
wasn't about whether I think students deserve discounts for some moral reason.

Student discounts are almost always a price discrimination mechanism aimed at
maximising profits, rather than an altruistic gesture toward a disadvantaged
group or an effort to encourage further learning. With that context, I thought
the complaints of the author were strange. It's rational for him to refuse a
student discount, but it's also rational for a student to ask for a discount,
as there is no downside if the request is refused.

As to whether I would sell babies? Probably not. But if I were to sell babies
for a living, I almost certainly wouldn't offer a student discount.

~~~
kadavy
Right, it probably is more profitable for me to offer student discounts.

My choice may have a lot to do with the distinction between being an
independent creator and being a large company.

The large company is probably more likely to take the profit over some sort of
"stand." Plus, large companies are a part of the "establishment" that higher
institutions are. The large company also can handle the operational complexity
of student discounts better.

This touches on a topic I ignored in the article: Is it "right" for a company
like T-Mobile to offer student discounts. In other words, are they ever so
slightly perpetuating credential inflation, the need for unnecessary degrees,
and the resultant predatory student lending?

It may sound like a stretch. And could anyone imagine T-Mobile saying "We no
longer offer student discounts because the higher education is a bully that
needs to stop victimizing 17 year olds. We're taking a stand!"? Ha.

Just a thought that passed through my mind that I haven't explored a great
deal.

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msie
He gives a poor and what i believe to be a dishonest reason that im not
inclined to examine his courses anymore.

~~~
kadavy
If you believe my reasons are dishonest, what do you think my real reason is?

~~~
msie
Profit. You say that students are victims of overpriced education yet you
punish them again by not offering a discount.

~~~
kadavy
Do you not think, as discussed elsewhere in this thread, that I would make
more money if I did provide a discount?

I don't want to enable the bully.

