
(Michael Danser)
Late night Pluckers, weekend outings, clothes for the Boulevard and even books take a toll on the SMU student’s budget. The stereotrype of the college student trying to stretch a dollar is not far from the truth.
Shopping centers around town and the SMU campus offer discounted rates to their closest and target consumer: the college student.
Sophomore Journalism major Summer Dashe said, “I think for privately owned and small businesses it is especially important to offer student discounts. We are their major clientele and appealing to us is smart. Draw us in with a quick discount and assure our return.”
Many times people, especially students, fall into the trap of paying full price because they are not aware of the discounts available.
In regards to J.Crew’s 15 percent off student discount, Junior Bianca Marzullo said, “Love it! Found out about it over a year ago because my friend works there. It benefits the company because it encourages students to shop there.”
Fashion items are not the only things SMU students can receive discounts on; they are eligible for discounts on food, electronics and entertainment as well.
Vapiano, the Italian restaurant and bar located in Mockingbird Station, offers 50 percent off an entire meal on Sunday nights exclusively for SMU students.
The Angelika Theater in Mockingbird Station sells movie tickets at discounted rates for SMU students and the Park City Nail Salon in Snyder Plaza also offers a 15 percent discount.
The SMU Campus Coupon Book, another great discount source, is provided free to all students.
The spring/summer 2010 Book featured coupons for Pluckers, Betty’s Best Around Chinese Food, Roly Poly, Park Cities Tan, the SMU Bookstore and many more.
Sign up for free online memberships at your favorite companies and you receive endless coupons and insider savings advantages.
Sophomore Jordan Bowles said, “I signed up with the Amazon.com college student membership for free and now I can find extremely discounted books and get free shipping for a year.”
Another component of becoming a smart consumer is timing. Wait for the sales and for certain items to go on clearance, this could mean extra cash in the piggy bank.
Dashe said, “My best way to get discounts is simply by waiting for the sales. Yeah, you risk not finding your size or not finding the item all together, but it’s worth the wait if you do.
Save yourself some gas with online shopping. Many websites provide discounted rates on in-store items.
Some include overstock.com, bluefly.com, rulala.com, ebay.com, craigslist.com, retailmenot.com, twitter.com and more.
Outlet stores also provide great alternatives for savings on designer name brands.
The Allen Premium Outlets located 20 miles outside Dallas in Allen, Texas provide the same products in department stores at largely discounted rates.
An excited Dashe said, “Only a few minutes down the highway are some of the discount stores like Nordstrom Rack and Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth. Those are both amazing! Great quality and designer brands at half the price…doesn’t get much better than that!”
There is no need to sacrifice quality for a good discount.
Pay attention and exhaust your resources to become an informed customer and save some money.