Is Audible worth the membership?

[Ruthie in MS]

I'm sure this question has been asked before but I can't find a thread for it so I'll ask it here:

Is Audible worth the membership?

My children love audio books but we've never used digital copies before and not really sure how to use them. I can't always rely on library CD copies because they will be scratched beyond tolerable listening. Also some of the audiobooks that I'd love to own are no longer offered new on CD and the only way to get them is digitally.

I do have an auditory learner that devours audiobooks and some of her favorite books are on Audible's available list. Plus I saw a deal yesterday where I can get two free books instead of one!

Is Audible worth the investment? I want to cave in but really want to hear from more experienced homeschool moms.

 

ETA: Here is the link for the two free audiobooks deal. It's only for a limited time! http://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/audible-free-trial-get-2-free-audiobooks/

Edited December 31, 2016 by Ruthie in MS

[maize]

We love audible but you should first check your library and see if they have digital audio book lending; most do, though some have more books available than others.

[Jackie]

I joined Audible because they were the only place I could find History of US. It is worth it if the books you want are generally over $15, which is the monthly subscription cost of a credit. (1 credit=1book) After collecting the Hakim books, I looked around and most the rest of what I wanted was under that price, so I stopped my subscription.

 

Many of the Great Courses are available on Audible, and they can be great deals at that price. Also, sign up for their Daily Deal emails, which offer one book per day at a heavily discounted price (often $2-3). Ou can get those deals whether you're a member or not. There's only maybe one selection per month that I want, but I've slowly built a nice collection this way.

[Butter]

My husband and son are voracious listeners and in school my son (who has dyslexia) does his assigned reading using immersion on his Fire.  It is 100% worth the cost in our house.

[abcmommy]

It is so worth it for me.  God I adore it.  Will sadly cancel soon and miss it so so much BUT I have discovered that the library has quite a bit.

[Guest]

I got a free three month membership last year through Groupon, and stocked up all at once.

 

That was worth it to me. Fifteen it however many dollars a month for the privilege of buying things from them just gets on my nerves.

[CadenceSophia]

I like our audible subscription but most of our audio books come from librivox or are audible with the whispersync deal. If you buy a kindle book, you can get the audible book of it for 0-5$. Lots are $1.99 or $0.99. This works if you just rented the book with Prime Reading or Kindle Unlimited, or if the kindle version was free. I just bought 10 audible books last night for $8 by "buying" the free kindle book first.

[CadenceSophia]

That was worth it to me. Fifteen it however many dollars a month for the privilege of buying things from them just gets on my nerves.

The $14.99/month is for a credit, which is an audio book. You are not JUST paying for the privilege of discounted purchases, it is one cheap audio book AND the discount.

[Hobbes]

It is very worthwhile for us. Our kids listen to audiobooks during a daily 2-hour quiet time, so they go through a lot of books, even with frequent repeats. Audible has been great for us because:

 

- it is simple to use and everything is in one place

- I'm not dealing with CDs

- it has a much larger selection than our library Overdrive account

- I use at least the monthly credit and then frequently get books cheaply with a Kindle purchase, etc

- there tend to be reliable reviews

[Guest]

The $14.99/month is for a credit, which is an audio book. You are not JUST paying for the privilege of discounted purchases, it is one cheap audio book AND the discount.

Nm

Edited December 31, 2016 by OKBud

[Ruthie in MS]

We love audible but you should first check your library and see if they have digital audio book lending; most do, though some have more books available than others.

 

Sadly, out library system is very limited on their digital offerings. Most of the children's books are what most homeschool moms would consider "junk". This may be a viable option in the next couple of years, but for now, it's pretty pathetic.

 

 

. It is worth it if the books you want are generally over $15, which is the monthly subscription cost of a credit. (1 credit=1book) After collecting the Hakim books, I looked around and most the rest of what I wanted was under that price, so I stopped my subscription.

 

Many of the Great Courses are available on Audible, and they can be great deals at that price. Also, sign up for their Daily Deal emails, which offer one book per day at a heavily discounted price (often $2-3). Ou can get those deals whether you're a member or not. There's only maybe one selection per month that I want, but I've slowly built a nice collection this way.

 

Hmmmm, you make a good point. Not all the audiobooks on my wishlist are $14.95 and above. If I subscribe I will keep that in mind.

 

I will also sign up for the Daily Deals. Thanks.

 

 

I like our audible subscription but most of our audio books come from librivox or are audible with the whispersync deal. If you buy a kindle book, you can get the audible book of it for 0-5$. Lots are $1.99 or $0.99. This works if you just rented the book with Prime Reading or Kindle Unlimited, or if the kindle version was free. I just bought 10 audible books last night for $8 by "buying" the free kindle book first.

 

I did not know that Amazon did that!! I don't buy many Kindle books because the Kindle I own was a gift and the cheapest model (no light adjustment is a pet peeve to my DD10). I may save up for a Kindle Paperwhite and start amassing a Kindle book collection as well!!

[CadenceSophia]

You don't even need a better kindle to do this. Just buy the books on the computer. I have no intention of reading the kindle books. It's just an inexpensive way to get the audible book. They just pop up in your audible app right after purchase. You COULD use it to listen and read but you don't have to.

[sewingmama]

Yes...the people reading are experienced and that alone is worth it. We tried Libravox and so many of the readers were beyond awful..I developed a hate list of people I couldnt stand to listen to ....plus hearing ..this is a libravox recording drove me crazy.

 

Love it here.

[Hunter]

I also "buy" Whispersync books, and borrow Kindle books from the library, to be offered super cheap audio books.

 

I only sign up for Audible when they offer 1/2 price subscription and cancel as soon as the 1/2 price is over. As soon as they know you will only stay subscribed at 1/2 price no matter what, they offer it more and more often. I have never paid more than $8.00 for an audio book. I save the subscription credits for things I cannot get cheaply by "buying" or borrowing a Kindle book.

[ondreeuh]

I really like Audible because I can effortlessly download purchases to my laptop or phone via the app. With MP3 audiobooks I have to sync to my computer which is more burdensome.

 

One of my kids is an audiobook addict. He plays with Lego or Playmobil for hours a day while he listens. We listen in the car or while doing puzzles.

 

Most of my audiobooks are mp3s managed by iTunes, because that is a cheaper way for me to get them, but Audible fills a need. Plus, there are some books that I can only find on Audible.

[ondreeuh]

Oh and don't feel pressured to buy books during this 2 for 1 sale. They have frequent sales. I even gott a free credit for reading through one of their promotional emails. At the end, it said, "To reward you for your patience, click to add a free credit to your account." I was definitely happy about that!

 

Not sure if it's still a current deal, but I resubscribed to Audible through TravelZoo's promotion and got the first three months for $1.95 per month.

[Farrar]

I found it nice to do for a few months, stock up, and then drop.

[maize]

Sadly, out library system is very limited on their digital offerings. Most of the children's books are what most homeschool moms would consider "junk". This may be a viable option in the next couple of years, but for now, it's pretty pathetic.

 

 

 

Hmmmm, you make a good point. Not all the audiobooks on my wishlist are $14.95 and above. If I subscribe I will keep that in mind.

 

I will also sign up for the Daily Deals. Thanks.

 

 

 

I did not know that Amazon did that!! I don't buy many Kindle books because the Kindle I own was a gift and the cheapest model (no light adjustment is a pet peeve to my DD10). I may save up for a Kindle Paperwhite and start amassing a Kindle book collection as well!!

I mostly use the kindle app on my phone for kindle books.

[bfw0729]

I too have been very interested in subscribing to Audible. This may have already been answered, but with multiple kids, each of them listens to one audio book every week, I easily could have up to 12 books a month. These books tend to be series books like the Chronicles of Narnia, the series for the Wizard of Oz, the Jungle Book, etc... Would I pay the price advertised for each book? I don't want to keep the books, I just want to have my kids listen to them and I guess "return" them when done. Do I get that money back when the audio book is returned? 

Edited January 2, 2017 by bfw0729

[Jackie]

I too have been very interested in subscribing to Audible. This may have already been answered, but with multiple kids, each of them listens to one audio book every week, I easily could have up to 12 books a month. These books tend to be series books like the Chronicles of Narnia, the series for the Wizard of Oz, the Jungle Book, etc... Would I pay the price advertised for each book? I don't want to keep the books, I just want to have my kids listen to them and I guess "return" them when done. Do I get that money back when the audio book is returned?

It is a purchase system, not a rental system. For your purposes, I would stick with library options - either online options or checking out CDs.

[tuesdayschild]

We find Audible worth it!

We do use it differently than most: we have an Inactive Light Annual subscription - you can ask for this once you've become a member - which comes with a one off, annual, cost of $9.95.  

$14.95 a month equates to $21.59 in our currency, and is more than I want to spend on an audiobook we may not listen to again. 

With our ILA subscription we can only ask for a refund on 2 audiobooks a year.

ILA gives us access to daily deals, specials generated by purchasing whispersync titles on Amazon first; and, then we also get to purchase really wanted audiobooks during the bi-annual sales. (Sales are up to 50% off).

Works for us :)

 

Edited January 2, 2017 by Tuesdays Child

[DawnM]

We find Audible worth it!

We do use it differently than most: we have an Inactive Light Annual subscription - you can ask for this once you've become a member - which comes with a one off, annual, cost of $9.95.  

$14.95 a month equates to $21.59 in our currency, and is more than I want to spend on an audiobook we may not listen to again. 

With our ILA subscription we can only ask for a refund on 2 audiobooks a year.

ILA gives us access to daily deals, specials generated by purchasing whispersync titles on Amazon first; and, then we also get to purchase really wanted audiobooks during the bi-annual sales. (Sales are up to 50% off).

Works for us :)

 

Thanks.  I was wondering how this worked.

 

I may end up doing that at some point.

 

What is a refund on books?  Books you tried and didn't like or books you listened to?

[DawnM]

And for those whose kids have been diagnosed (officially) with something and you want kids books:

 

Learning Ally offers access to all the books you can handle.  They aren't professionally read, but they are good.  $99 annual subscription but that is less to all they have.

 

My son (Asperger's and LDs) qualified but we ALL listened!  HAHAHA!

 

He has outgrown that now (almost 19) and even though we could still get it, we haven't in a couple of years.

[Butter]

The $14.99/month is for a credit, which is an audio book. You are not JUST paying for the privilege of discounted purchases, it is one cheap audio book AND the discount.

 

And that price is if you are doing the most expensive membership level.  We do the 24 per year, paid annually.  It ends up costing $9.56 per credit.  You can roll over 12 credits, but my husband and son listen so much to audiobooks that we're out long before the year ends (currently have 20 credits and our plan year started less than a month ago).  They also buy really cheap ones of some of the Kindle books I've gotten, sometimes get the Audible Deal of the Day, rarely a book they want will have a cost (with the discount) less than $9.56 making it silly to use a credit on it, etc.  In total, they probably get 50+ Audible books a year.  And they both regularly re-listen to those audiobooks.

[Hunter]

We find Audible worth it!

We do use it differently than most: we have an Inactive Light Annual subscription - you can ask for this once you've become a member - which comes with a one off, annual, cost of $9.95.

$14.95 a month equates to $21.59 in our currency, and is more than I want to spend on an audiobook we may not listen to again.

With our ILA subscription we can only ask for a refund on 2 audiobooks a year.

ILA gives us access to daily deals, specials generated by purchasing whispersync titles on Amazon first; and, then we also get to purchase really wanted audiobooks during the bi-annual sales. (Sales are up to 50% off).

Works for us :)

Doing this makes you ineligible for another 1/2 price subscription a few months later. I do like Farrah. I sign up, stock up, and unsubscribe. And then I do not resubscribe until I need some more books badly and have them in my wishlist. Usually just surfing the site results in a chat window popping up asking if they can help. I ask if I'm eligible for a 1/2 price. They know from my record I am dead serious I won't pay more..

 

I got lucky and downloaded every free Whispersync set they offered a few years ago when they first came out with it. And I have bought many of the 99 cent and reduced price sets. And the credit books. I have a very very VERY large library. But I also have never paid over $7.95 for a book. I'm not playing with them and they know it.

[mykidsrmyjoy]

I also "buy" Whispersync books, and borrow Kindle books from the library, to be offered super cheap audio books.

 

I only sign up for Audible when they offer 1/2 price subscription and cancel as soon as the 1/2 price is over. As soon as they know you will only stay subscribed at 1/2 price no matter what, they offer it more and more often. I have never paid more than $8.00 for an audio book. I save the subscription credits for things I cannot get cheaply by "buying" or borrowing a Kindle book.

How often do they offer 1/2 priced subscription? I really want to sign up but want to take advantage of a good deal.

[tuesdayschild]

 

What is a refund on books?  Books you tried and didn't like or books you listened to?

Yes, the refund system allows you to return books for various reason, 'didn't like' is one of them.  (These can be books your fully listened to.)

 More pricey subscriptions allow you to return many more unsatisfactory listens.

[tuesdayschild]

Doing this makes you ineligible for another 1/2 price subscription a few months later. I do like Farrah. I sign up, stock up, and unsubscribe. And then I do not resubscribe until I need some more books badly and have them in my wishlist. Usually just surfing the site results in a chat window popping up asking if they can help. I ask if I'm eligible for a 1/2 price. They know from my record I am dead serious I won't pay more..

 

I got lucky and downloaded every free Whispersync set they offered a few years ago when they first came out with it. And I have bought many of the 99 cent and reduced price sets. And the credit books. I have a very very VERY large library. But I also have never paid over $7.95 for a book. I'm not playing with them and they know it.

Interesting, Hunter.

Appreciate you detailing that.  Thank you!!

[Hunter]

How often do they offer 1/2 priced subscription? I really want to sign up but want to take advantage of a good deal.

I was told, at one point that I needed to be unsubscribed a year to be offered a free credit and/or 3 months of half price. Now, I can be unsubscribed for 3 months and offers 6 months at 1/2 price. I don't pay full price period. Ever. End of story. Not playing.

 

If you say it, and prove it enough times, and keep your wishlist full, you can get at least several months a year at half price. I use the monthly free credit on books that are usually over $25.00 and do not have any way to use a library or free Whispersync book to drive the price down.

 

Typically, the first time you sign up, they give you a free month. Take that. A week before the free month runs out, start going through the cancelation process. At some point you will be asked why you are cancelling and one of the choices is hart you cannot afford it. Click that choice. They will offer you 3 months at half price.

 

Cancel at the end of three months. Mostly likely they will try and get you to stay with the offer discussed above that I suggest you do not take. Refuse to sign up unless it is half price. Do that enough and they believe you. Do that enough and the periods between half priced offers become shorter. If they do not contact you, contact them and ask when you next qualify for half price. Usually the answer will be "now".

 

I have been offered 6 months at half price, just 3 months after I unsubscribed. I canceled after 5 months. All the books I wanted I was able to get even cheaper than a half price credit by borrowing a library ebook.

[DawnM]

This is going to be a dumb question, but if you have an inactive Audiobooks account, can you still get whisper sync books added if you purchase through Amazon?

[tuesdayschild]

This is going to be a dumb question, but if you have an inactive Audiobooks account, can you still get whisper sync books added if you purchase through Amazon?

Not a dumb question.

 

Yes, you can still purchase whispersync options; and, the purchasing platform for that is through Audible's parent company, Amazon.

 

ETA: adding for others that are also non U.S based: not all the titles that are available on Audible (US)  can be downloaded by us - some are not available for our region :(       SWB  history  books were like that for a good while. 

And we've found that Audible (AU) does not have the range, or specials, that the US site has.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Tuesdays Child

[tuesdayschild]

 

 

I do like Farrah. I sign up, stock up, and unsubscribe. And then I do not resubscribe until I need some more books badly and have them in my wishlist. Usually just surfing the site results in a chat window popping up asking if they can help. I ask if I'm eligible for a 1/2 price. They know from my record I am dead serious I won't pay more..

 

Hunter what is Farrah?  I've tried google searching but can only manage to pull up books about, by, or read by a Farrah?

 

(We are international too so not all platforms/books/offers that are available to U.S subscribers are gifted to us here.)

[Hunter]

I found it nice to do for a few months, stock up, and then drop.

  

Hunter what is Farrah?  I've tried google searching but can only manage to pull up books about, by, or read by a Farrah?

 

(We are international too so not all platforms/books/offers that are available to U.S subscribers are gifted to us here.)

Sorry, auto spell check edits my posts and sometimes I don't catch it.

 

I meant one of our very knowledgeable and long term members, Farrar.

[tuesdayschild]

  

Sorry, auto spell check edits my posts and sometimes I don't catch it.

 

I meant one of our very knowledgeable and long term members, Farrar.

Right.

Got it.  :) 

Thanks.    

[DawnM]

Wait!  What is this?

 

I clicked on Audiobook Channels and I now have many options for streaming and listening, at no additional cost.

 

Does this change?  Monthly?  Ever?

 

Wow, a whole lot more options just became available.

[mykidsrmyjoy]

I was told, at one point that I needed to be unsubscribed a year to be offered a free credit and/or 3 months of half price. Now, I can be unsubscribed for 3 months and offers 6 months at 1/2 price. I don't pay full price period. Ever. End of story. Not playing.

 

If you say it, and prove it enough times, and keep your wishlist full, you can get at least several months a year at half price. I use the monthly free credit on books that are usually over $25.00 and do not have any way to use a library or free Whispersync book to drive the price down.

 

Typically, the first time you sign up, they give you a free month. Take that. A week before the free month runs out, start going through the cancelation process. At some point you will be asked why you are cancelling and one of the choices is hart you cannot afford it. Click that choice. They will offer you 3 months at half price.

 

Cancel at the end of three months. Mostly likely they will try and get you to stay with the offer discussed above that I suggest you do not take. Refuse to sign up unless it is half price. Do that enough and they believe you. Do that enough and the periods between half priced offers become shorter. If they do not contact you, contact them and ask when you next qualify for half price. Usually the answer will be "now".

 

I have been offered 6 months at half price, just 3 months after I unsubscribed. I canceled after 5 months. All the books I wanted I was able to get even cheaper than a half price credit by borrowing a library ebook.

Thanks for this very helpful info! :)

[DawnM]

Oh, and BTW:  I got two audible subscriptions this past month for the $1.99 per month for the first 3 months deal (one for my son and one for me.   For some reason, and I didn't even know they would do this, I got a $20 gift card bonus to each of my Amazon accounts for signing up.

 

So, 6 books for $12, plus a $40 sign on bonus!  

 

No idea if is still available, but yay!

[DawnM]

We find Audible worth it!

We do use it differently than most: we have an Inactive Light Annual subscription - you can ask for this once you've become a member - which comes with a one off, annual, cost of $9.95.  

$14.95 a month equates to $21.59 in our currency, and is more than I want to spend on an audiobook we may not listen to again. 

With our ILA subscription we can only ask for a refund on 2 audiobooks a year.

ILA gives us access to daily deals, specials generated by purchasing whispersync titles on Amazon first; and, then we also get to purchase really wanted audiobooks during the bi-annual sales. (Sales are up to 50% off).

Works for us :)

 

Do you have to call to request this or can you do it online?

 

Thanks,

 

Dawn

[Farrar]

  

Sorry, auto spell check edits my posts and sometimes I don't catch it.

 

I meant one of our very knowledgeable and long term members, Farrar.

 

What's funny is that the pronunciation of my name is basically "Farrah" with the last R being more or less silent. Several people have written it as Farrah, and I was like, gee, it's like they know me (because that's a mistake that people who know me IRL make routinely, understandably). It never occurred to me spellcheck was doing it! Ha.

[DawnM]

Bumping since not all the questions were answered.

[tuesdayschild]

Do you have to call to request this or can you do it online?

 

Thanks,

 

Dawn

I arrange this via online chat - really easy.

[summerreading]

We love it. If money gets tight I send in an email to put my account on vacation. No fees or new credits for 3 months but you can listen to everything in your library.

[Mrs. Y]

I like our audible subscription but most of our audio books come from librivox or are audible with the whispersync deal. If you buy a kindle book, you can get the audible book of it for 0-5$. Lots are $1.99 or $0.99. This works if you just rented the book with Prime Reading or Kindle Unlimited, or if the kindle version was free. I just bought 10 audible books last night for $8 by "buying" the free kindle book first.

This.

 

I didn't read all the responses, but I initially got my audible subscription to collect the History of US books. Apologia science had some on there at one time, too. Also Your Story Hour.

 

You can often buy credits for cheaper than regular price, which keeps the cost of the books down.

 

I just discovered Overdrive. It is a free app that lets you check out books and audio from your public library. It works great on my Kindle but badly on my Droid phone.

 

P.S. definitely check Amazon for Kindle book plus Whispersync. Those are often way cheaper than the $15/mo credit. Use the Whispersync for like $2/book and save your credit for a more expensive option.

Edited January 12, 2017 by Colleen OH

[Mrs. Y]

Oh, and BTW: I got two audible subscriptions this past month for the $1.99 per month for the first 3 months deal (one for my son and one for me. For some reason, and I didn't even know they would do this, I got a $20 gift card bonus to each of my Amazon accounts for signing up.

 

So, 6 books for $12, plus a $40 sign on bonus!

 

No idea if is still available, but yay!

Is there a reason you got 2 subscriptions? I have one account. All my kids have the app on their devices and tap into mine. Edited January 12, 2017 by Colleen OH

[DawnM]

Is there a reason you got 2 subscriptions? I have one account. All my kids have the app on their devices and tap into mine.

 

My son, for some reason, wanted his own.  I tried to explain that he could just share, but he wanted his own.

 

For now, with the $1.99 per month for 3 months, he has his own.  I don't know what we will do after the 3 month period.  I am still discussing it with him.

 

Dawn

[lailasmum]

I use audible a lot. I've got a 2 credit a month membership which costs £14.99. A single credit a month is £7.99. I might switch to an annual membership though. I do buy extra credits quite often.

[theelfqueen]

I make sure to use my credit on something more expensive and buy the cheap stuff (with my member discount) out straight and watch for specials and sales (a few days ago there was a three credit deal, I've bought a bunch of $1.99 books during sales/specials, etc.)

 

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I found it nice to do for a few months, stock up, and then drop.

 

This is how we use audible.

[Ruthie in MS]

Since I made the OP I decided to come back and update. I did choose to join Audible and have maintained membership for the past two months and have acquired six audiobooks. I really do love being able to listen to my books on my tablet or on my phone. My children love it especially. My middle Girl (my auditory learner) who started out her school life hating to read has chosen to listen to the audiobook and then go back and read the book herself. Just in the last two months I have seen/heard an amazing jump in her vocabulary. So far for me, it is worth the investment. I will keep my subscription as long as I find audiobooks that are worth using my credit. Hopefully by then I will have bought all the audiobooks on my wish list using my discount.

 

Some favorite audiobooks by my children:

Matilda by Roald Dahl (read by Kate Winslet)

An Ordinary Princess

The Little House series (read by Cherry Jones)

Ella Enchanted (I personally find the narrator's voice annoying)

Pride and Prejudice (read by Rosamund Pike)

The Tale of Despereaux

[fourisenough]

Didn't read the rest of the thread, but does your library subscribe to Hoopla? If so, download the app and check it out. I've cancelled my Audible subscription because so many of the books (tons of Great Courses) are available free and so easily through Hoopla. No more waiting for the ONE digital copy my library owns to be available. I can check out 30 titles per month- way more than I could use. Might be a nice addition for your family if you have access.