Here is an interesting experience I had with ordering Camtasia Studio 4 from JourneyEd.com. It shows why it is sometimes better to go straight to the manufacturer instead of to an educational discount store. When I discovered that I had run out of my 30 day trial period for Camtasia on both of my computers, I realized I needed to purchase Camtasia Studio. I know that Camstudio is free, but I wanted the best quality on this project. At $179 from Journey Ed, this program is at least less than the Dreamweaver suite for the web design class.
I ordered from JourneyEd because I wanted the educational discount. Also, they already have on file the information verifying that I am a teacher. When I placed my order, I paid $17.50 for 2nd day mail service. When I still hadn’t received the product days later, I called JourneyEd to find out what was taking so long. Their customer service said that it could take more than a week before my product was shipped, because it was coming directly from TechSmith, which makes Camtasia. I asked why I was paying JourneyEd $17.50 for 2 day shipping when they weren’t even the ones shipping my product. I cancelled my order with them.
Surprisingly, when I went to TechSmith’s website, I discovered that I could purchase the educational version directly from them, and for the same price of $179! The best part was that, as soon as I placed my order, they e-mailed me the key to unlock my trial version. For just $8 more, they are sending me the box version as well. Ironically, I did not have to produce any proof that I am an educator. All I had to click was that I qualify for the discount!
So, if you want to purchase Camtasia Studio 4, my recommendation is that you buy it directly from TechSmith.
