How is it illegal to order from one of the university websites?

nm, not even going to worry about it...ill just wait for a regular discount.

 

not sure what you're talking about but it required my student id and school

 

huh, I went through the entire process of ordering but then cancelled after seeing people refer to it as being illegal here.

I got all the way to payment information then backed out. Didnt ask for student id or anything...

 

If you're trying to export it to Iran or N. Korea then it may be illegal. Anything else is fair game. If you can get the discount, through whatever means, then go for it. You might break their rules (who gives a $h!t) but who really cares- you can't break any law by doing ANYTHING to buy a Dell computer.

 

If you are not a student at the university, you may get into trouble with the authorities.

 

LOL How can you get into trouble ?

 

From the land of no gum...

 

You can access these pages and deals by listing yourself as a "Prospective Student"

I'm pretty sure you're safe

 

School authorities. Erm, probably i should put "unneccessary trouble."

 

You do not have to be a current student to use the discount it works for alumni too. All you need is a school email address.

 

you don't even need that

 

Illegal my ass, it's there for you to use. What are they going to do, put you in jail for purchasing a laptop via uni website and saving $200? They gave you a .edu address for a reason.

 

No, it's merely morals and ethics.

 

Very correct. Although I find it hard, personally, to apply a noble attitude of ethics and morals towards a large business such as dell.

...Luckily for my karma regardless, I used a legit EPP deal! phew!


EDIT: I thought it was necessary to include Elvis in this thread. Thank you for you time.

 

http://www.cents-off.com/faq.htm

Actually, it's illegal. But it is highly unlikely you'd be punished for it. If you, however, feel that it's okay to do illegal things so long as you won't get caught.. I really wish you'd leave my society kthxbai

 

I configured my system through the home site (w. -$300 coupon) & the epp site (8% off & -$200 coupon) & it came out cheaper through the home site this week! who'da thunk it?

 

do you download music or videos?

 

As a friend pointed out, I'd like to clarify. If you do illegal things which are also unethical. Violating an unethical law is more than acceptable, and DRM is potentially very unethical.

Stealing discounts from students who are essentially paying for those discounts through their tuition or tax dollars..

That's unethical. kthxbai :|

 

that link is for when you redeem a coupon for a product you did not buy. it is effectively stealing...

like I said in the first post, im going to wait for a back to school deal or just keep my inspiron...

 

I ordered through EPP and I never had to input any student ID number...

I did have to create an account with my .edu email address though and I had to sign in at one point during the checkout, but I don't ever remember having to verify my account through my .edu email ever.

 

No one is going to bother you...

 

What makes it your society? I find it absolutely hilarious that your so eager to defend a corporation with an ethics and morales debate, but we're not going to discuss the type of **** that goes on behind the scenes of a corporation are we?

kthxbai?

 

I think that was supposed to be a cute way to say "ok? thanks, bye!"

 

I think the crucial distinction here that people aren't making is that just because you aren't likely to get caught or face a consequence doesn't make the action legal. People seem to be making the argument that Dell/the government won't ever catch you or do anything to you and thus the action isn't illegal or is somehow legally "OK". That doesn't follow as a proper conclusion. People made this same argument when everyone was sharing songs on the original Napster.

I'm not a lawyer, but the elements of fraud are:
1. A misleading or false statement (Telling Dell that you are a prospective or current student when you aren't)
2. Knowledge that it's false or misleading (You'd clearly know if you were a prospective or current student)
3. Intent to deceive/defraud for financial gain (You want to get a computer at a price that isn't offered to you/your class of individuals and thus are lying to get a discount)
4. Reliance on the false statement (Dell is relying on you to be truthful about your education status in allowing a discount)
5. Damages (The damages would be the amount of the discount you don't deserve and the difference in the taxes owed to the state)

I mean it seems pretty clear to me that it is a fraudulent purchase. If people want to argue they'll never get caught, that's a totally different thing. If you want to argue it's morally permissible because it's just a corporation - again fine. But, I think if the question is...is it technically illegal? I think the answer is yes.

 

100% on point Topspin... Ever consider law school? On second thought, forget I said that. I have the bar exam in 9 days. I'll spare you the torture.

 

Sigh...we've already dealt with this enough in other threads. Bottom line: you are lying about your student status, and those deals are supposed to be exclusive to students and you're taking advantage of their current deals could potentially spoil future deals for students.

Example: my school software prices doubled, and we can no longer request replacement media because a small handful of students decided to request a lot of replacement media and decided to sell it for full retail price (something explicitly illegal under the terms of agreement we signed with MS). Those few kids spoiled our deals to a good extent, and literally 30000+ students suffered because of the actions of about 5.

Seriously, this is highly unethical and probably illegal...so thread closed.