I like to start by stating that I am very thankful for the educator and student discounts at J.Crew. It is a great incentive to shop with our favorite retailer. I know the application (and explanation) of the student/ educator discount has varied over the years. The recent being that promotional items or universal promotions (for example, an additional 25% off everything) are not eligible, but specific promotions (for example, an additional 30% off sale) are eligible. Of course, full priced merchandise are eligible for the discount as well.
However, JCAs have been hearing and experiencing different situations at J.Crew. The following are a few examples of the feedback received when trying to use the discount:
"Thanks!" to Gretchen, who shared the following response from a J.Crew associate via email about J.Crew's student/ educator discount:
...Our student/teacher discount isn't usually applied to purchases that already have discounts or promotions applied. Because store exceptions are at the manager's discretion, additional savings are dependant on their approval. I apologize for this inconsistency, but we need to maintain a base level discount for our customers and are unable to freely apply as many discounts as possible, though eligible. Any additional savings received will be at the store managers discretion as individual stores have unique promotions and discounts week by week that we're unable to apply to online orders--this is also why the student/teacher discount is only eligible in-store. I apologize for any inconveniences this may cause. Feel free to contact us with any future questions or concerns--we're always available by phone or email..."Thanks!" to cagliari67 (in this post), who shared last Thursday the following:
...Have not been into a regular JC since the Discountgate episodes of 3 weeks ago. Still getting emails regarding this from JC central and from local managers. Policy still seems inconsistent. Apparently retail JCs here will no longer stack the educator discount with ANY other promo, including the extra % off sale. However the Factory stores are blithely carrying on, offering it on everything and promoting it verbally to everyone as they arrive. ..."Thanks!" to math teacher (in this post), who shared last Thursday the following:
...My PS told me months ago that the teacher discount now only applied to full price items or items with a dollar amount discount. I appreciate that JC offers the discount, I just wish they would decide on a policy and stick with it. And that all b&m's would follow through. I emailed JC about some things (my PS has been asking me to email my complaints since they listen to us more than them) and I addressed this. I was told "As far as our student/teacher discount, this hasn’t changed - it’s still 15% off your entire order. If there’s another promotion going on like the current promotion TIMETOSHOP for 30% off full priced styles, we cannot combine the two. The only other time this discount cannot be applied is if it’s a branded partnership item or a wedding item." ...It seems that J.Crew is changing the parameters of the student/ educator discount again.
If you have shopped recently (in the past week) at a J.Crew store, please let us know if you were able to apply your student/ educator discount.
Did you know about this change? What are your thoughts on this latest change? Will this have an impact on your future purchases?
I haven't shopped at J.Crew in quite a while, but I shopped at Madewell in store about a month ago and was able to stack my student discount on top of the %-off sale promo (the items I bought were price-matched to the online price, and the online %-off was applied and then the student discount). My fingers are crossed that my local J.Crew stores are still stacking because there is no incentive for me to shop in store anymore if they did away with that.
ReplyDelete- Kimi
I've been consistently told by the VPS and the B&M stores that the educator discount may be applied only to full-price purchases. Hmmm . . . Scratching head trying to recollect the last time I made a full price purchase at the Crew. Seriously--it's been years.
ReplyDeleteI went to the University Village store in Seattle on Sunday and was able to use my teacher discount on top of 50% off final sale, but not in addition to the 20% off full price with the card. Odd, but okay!
ReplyDeleteI have always been able to use the student discount on top of percentage off sale items, but never to the promo percentages for the entire store's full-price items. I wish there was ANY CONSISTENCY whatsoever. I have definitely had SAs try to not give it to me, but I always ask to speak with a manager and they do it correctly, but it can be an annoying process for sure.
ReplyDeleteDoes the discount work for Museum Educators or only classroom teachers?
ReplyDeleteHave not been back to a JC store since first being told that the discount would no longer apply to any items with a % off already - including the sale room stock. Have however been to 2 different Factory stores recently and there was no problem with stacking the discount on every item I purchased (and you know how everything is constantly on sale % at Factory). The entire situation has turned me off Crew for the time being, particularly as the SAs were quite snippy about it and made me feel as though I was somehow just being cheap asking for a further discount. Too bad, J Crew - the extra % covered the sales taxes charged here, and made me feel like I was getting a great deal. Which of course made me spend more there, and made me a very regular customer.
ReplyDeleteThis was what was sent to me by my local manager:
"What has recently changed is that we are no longer able to stack any additional % off promotions with the Student/Teacher discount. The discount is applicable on all full-price and price-point promos (for example, Tippi Sweater on promo for $70) and is applicable on markdown styles ending in .99, as long as there is not an additional % off Markdowns. The discount can not be combined with transaction level discounts such as 25% off your entire purchase or Full-Price styles - in this case, you would just choose the better discount, or additional % off Markdowns. Lastly, the discount can not be applied to branded merchandise."
So, not confusing or anything...
I have loved and appreciated this little perk at J Crew for many years. I've often wondered when the policy might change and no time like the red-ink present for the company. Offering it on full price merch only renders it useless for most customers - as Hexicon noted, who actually pays full price for anything there?
ReplyDeleteI'll be sad to see it go that way, but it won't affect my spending much because I always wait for sale-plus-promo anyway. I'm almost always happy with the prices I pay because they're usually 50+% off.
I will venture a guess that Factory will be more lenient about this and continue to stack because J Crew believes that the Factory customer will be more sensitive about price. Just a guess.
I've always appreciated this little perk as a career student and educator at a public university, as many of you know our jobs are crucial but poorly remunerated so that extra 15% made all the difference for me and made me shop almost exclusively at J. Crew. I seriously hope they reconsider!
ReplyDeleteI shopped twice last week and both times they stacked off of the 50% sale promotion. Was going to stop in today to see if they had any of the new sale items in stock. Will report back if I end up purchasing anything.
ReplyDeleteupdate: my VPS just applied both the 40 percent off sale and my 15 percent off discount to some items. so I think maybe it's on a case-by-case basis, which sadly is kind of how it always was, given the inconsistency of application by various SAs...
ReplyDeleteWent in today and made two separate purchases (had two $20 off coupons). They did the $20 off first and then the educator discount on the first one, which initially irrited me slightly as it changes the discount amount. However, on the second one he ran the educator's discount first and then the $20 off and it negated the 15% off. He overrode it anyway. This was stacked on top of the 50% off final sale promo, so no complaints! Plus, he threw in 4 more $20 off promos!
ReplyDeleteWow, you got to do both discounts?! I've never heard of them doing that before. It's usually one or the other (whichever one is better).
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