Daniel

Last one, I promise.

Here's a funny story.

So, as I am looking into buying some lighing equipment, I sent a letter to alienbee asking if they could give me the student discount which, as of now, only applies to post-secondary enrolled students in the US. the letter is as follows:

To alien bee (which ever one of you reads this email):

Let me first say, when I saw people using 'AB800's" I though it was some weird Canon flash. Then my friend told me that you guys were an actual company, and I decided to check it out. I love the whole informal image your company creates..kind of like flickr, where the writing isn't so litigous and it's actually an interesting site. plus I love how your equipment is affordable to non-millionaires! I was wondering why this is..in comparison to say, Lowel or Elinchrom?

Also, as a high school student, naturally the first place I turned to was the 'specials' tab. I was delighted to notice that you guys had student discounts, yet my heart broke when I read the restrictions.

I'll get straight to the point: you guys request it's a post-secondary institution enrolled student from the United States. I'm a high school student in Canada. can I grab the discount? here are my reasonings:

America, North America, same thing, right? we say 'eh' more, but who notices? Your grade 12 students (according to Maclean's) do 40% better in first year university calculus than canadian students..thats extra money I'll need to put towards a tutor, so I need all the savings I can get!
We both have red in our national flags.
Our dollar is cheaper than yours. even though outs is technically uses more gold metal by mass.
It's REALLY hard to put windows in igloos, so window light is out of the option.
Although snow is quite reflective (I am looking into a reflector), it is only available 4 months out of the year, and for the golden tint...well that's only possible if i drank too much that morning...)

Post secondary institution, secondary institution, they're close. Plus I will be attending a post-secondary institution next year, so I'm just down on the age-catergory.
High school students might have an even tighter budget - they're younger, less skilled, thus have lower-paying jobs. Again-our dollar is worth less up here. so my less paying job pays...well..even less. And I'm saving for university, which is just as expensive as attending it.

Plus, if i have some of your equipment, I can do some friend-to-frriend promotion up north..although word of mouth travels slowly when your only method of transportation is dogsled.

Well, I believe I covered some of the main points which will help encourage my cause. If, for some reason, this testament does not appeal to your financial generosity, hopefully it will appeal to your humor.

sincerely,

-Myles Tan (Toronto, Ontario, Canada.)

P.S. Just in case you didn't notice, some of my facts are not..as persuading as they should be..as a matter of fact, I downright lied in one of them, and for this I apologize...it is quite easy to make a window in an igloo :)

Apparently, it didn't appeal, or wasn't even read..here was the response:

Hey Myles,



Thank you for your interest in our company. The student discount is available only for students currently enrolled in an accredited college in the US. Since we have customers all over the world we limit the student discount to those attending an accredited college here in the US, were we can verify enrollment as needed. We do offer an accessories discount when you purchase light units with your order. The way it works is if you purchase one light you get 5% off all your accessories. If you purchase two its 10%, 3 is 15% and 4 is 20% off all accessories. You receive this discount either online in the shopping cart or over the phone with customer service. I hope this helps you and if you have any other questions or need anything else please let us know.



Have a wonderful day,

So, I am discount-less and helpless. I'm looking at getting a reflector or a strone, anyone have any suggestions?

AKA: REJECTION!!!