Reading on a Budget: Pros and cons of Amazon’s Audible

 

1. it is a reliable membership program for audiobooks

Few audiobook apps have a reputation like Audible. You can give it a 30-day trial if you want to give it a whirl, you will get two free credits to spend how you wish. Audiobooks are “bought” with credits. You earn one credit monthly but can buy more if needed. Your credit stack as long as you have an active membership. Audible runs 2-for-1 sales, credit sales, and audiobook sale often. There are a few other perks with the membership and more so if you have an Amazon Prime account and an Audible account.

2.Whispersync

If you have the Kindle ebook version and the audiobook you can switch between reading and listening. SO you can listen to your audiobook and then switch to the ebook and your progress will sync and will automatically locate where you left off. You have to agree that is a fantastic feature, so much so it is almost the selling point to get a membership (for me).

3. Audible will accept returns, no questions asked.

All you have to do is contact customer service and say you didn’t like the book. As long as you bought the book in the past 365 days, your credit will be returned.

Audible will only do this is you are a member. I tried to “return” and audiobook I currently have that I do not like, but it is feature for members only.

That being said, 3 reasons you DON’T NEED an Audible membership.

1. You can rent audiobooks from your local library for FREE.

Most Libraries use the Overdrive/Libby or Hoopla app, you can use those to borrowing audiobooks to listen from your phone. Your local library might not carry the newest titles, but you might find what you are looking for there. You will be borrowing the audiobook for a certain amount of time so you won’t have the freedom to listen for as long as you like.

2. Might be cheaper to buy the audiobooks as needed.

In my case, I do not listen to current/popular audiobooks near enough to pay for a membership ($14.95 a month). I buy them as I want to listen.

3. There are other audiobook memberships.

Audible is not the only audiobook membership out there.

So, do I have a membership?

I do not have an Audible membership but I do have an account. I have been tempted to pay for a month or two just to get the credits for that time period and grab as much as I can. You can start and stop your membership as needed, which is a nice feature.

The only thing holding me back is the membership price–$14.95 a month. I can get a discount on the annual price for an Audible membership with my Amazon Prime account, but it isn’ worth it for me. As I keep saying, I use LibriVox for audiobooks. I do not listen to current titles often enough to benefit from a program like this. IF I do want to listen to an audiobook of a novel or series I want to read I will check out free avenues (library/overdrive) before purchasing.

All in all, it depends on what type of reader you are and your current budget! I love audiobooks, but choose to seek out free ones.

Are you an audible member? Do you love it? On the fence? Tell me below