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We'veall be there, poor college students, looking for the cheapest way to get booksfor our courses. Now days though, booksare just the half of it. In our computerage students are also saddled with having to purchase software programs andtools. This is where Journey Education(JourneyEd) comes in.

            JourneyEd hasbeen around for 18 years and bills itself as the leading multi-channel softwaremarketer to the K-12 and college academic markets. JourneyEd was the firstoff-campus software reseller to students, Director of Marketing, AllanFischler, told MacDirectory that the company started as a small educationalresale outlet in 1990-91. At the timethey were only authorized to sell AutoCAD at about "75 percent off of thecommercial price, but it was limited to private career school students."

            As tine went on, the firm added moresoftware, eventually building a comprehensive catalog of more than 100,000items. They were also able to increasetheir discounts and offer them to all students, as well as faculty.

            A few years ago, when Barnes andNoble College Bookstores began to realize that managing software as a a part oftheir inventory was too difficult, JourneyEd stepped up and stepped in. Said Fischler: "They were looking for asolution... so wee became their online solution."

            As an example of the discountsstudents can get using JourneyEd, Fischler told MacDirectory about Maya, whichis software used to create movie special effects. It comes in a variety of types, and runsabout $6,000 commercially. Students canget it through JourneyEd however, for about $400.

            So ho do they keep commercial usersfrom taking advantage of their site? Says Fischler: "We have an online verification system as well as adedicated academic verification department." The verification process takes about aminute, and, once verified, orders are shipped out, usually the same day"because most students have an immediate need for what they order."

            As to how they avoid running intothe inventory problems experienced by a commercial bookstore, Fischler says,"We're always looking to see what we can do to stay ahead of the game. Ourvendors are always looking ahead and always working on new stuff. For instance, last year Microsoft and adobehad two new major releases and sales just went through the roof becauseeveryone wanted to get the new version - and we were able to communicate thesenew academic offers to our customers." JourneyEd also continually updates its site, not just in terms of thelook and design, but also to make it more user-frendly. "Last time we split it up into storesand added bags and hardware and those have been fast growing categories forus. We're also always looking at whatelse students might need."

            It is in this spirit of keeping upwith students needs that JourneyEd recently embarked on a program withMicrosoft, called Microsoft Student Select. This is where schools (including high schools) sign a contract withMicrosoft to buy their software. Inreturn the schools are given something called a Student Select Addendum, whichallows Microsoft to extend deals to individual students enabling them to getMicrosoft software from Journey Education at an additional discount. Their biggest seller under this program isMicrosoft Office Pro, which is discounted down to $85.

            Looking ahead, Fischler says thebiggest challenge JourneyEd currently faces is getting the word about itsservice out to parents and students. But, says Fischler, "every year isbetter than the year before. 2007 wasour best year to date. We may berecession proof because our customers are students and there's no shortage ofthem, every year there is a new crop and they need software."

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