Audible… explain like I’m 5

[WildflowerMom]

Please and thank you! 
 

Some specific questions I have:  if you already have books, do you have to re-purchase them?   
how many credits do you get? 
is there a lot of nonfiction or is it mostly fiction and new bestsellers? 
can I listen on my iPhone?  My Alexa echo?   
 

[Katy]

I buy a bigger annual package instead of monthly. I get all the credits upfront, generally blast through them, and buy more at a discount. As long as you use the same account your old purchases remain. There’s a good split between fiction & nonfiction. Many older books & classics enter the “plus library” of stuff that’s free the as long as you have an active membership. Like right now I’m rushing to get through a few Great Courses that expire from the library next week.  I listen on my phone all the time. DH hates the idea of adding Alexa so I don’t know that. 

[vonfirmath]

12 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said:

Please and thank you! 
 

Some specific questions I have:  if you already have books, do you have to re-purchase them?   
how many credits do you get? 
is there a lot of nonfiction or is it mostly fiction and new bestsellers? 
can I listen on my iPhone?  My Alexa echo?   
 

One of the reasons I love Audible is that once you have purchased a book with credits, you get to keep it. I am still listening to books I bought with Audible back in 2001-ish.

I listen on my iphone. My kids listen on their ipad. We do not have alexa

There are a lot of books period. Some of my favorites are non-fiction but I do have more fiction than non-fiction in my personal library

 

[Farrar]

It's a subscription. You pay the fee and then it gives you one credit for one audiobook every month. You buy the book with a credit instead of by paying the cost. For new books, it's nearly ways cheaper. For older books, sometimes it's more expensive, though usually by so little that it's not worth thinking about too much.

You can buy extra credits to buy more books.

The credits add up and roll over when you don't use them, so there's no pressure to choose a new book each month. I have two sitting there right now, for example.

When you cancel the subscription, you lose the credits. So if you cancel, you should buy things with the credits you have. Otherwise you lose them.

You keep digital ownership of the books whether you have the subscription or not. I've had mine paused for years at a time. The books I bought ages ago are still there when I'm not paying for the subscription. Those are yours.

You can download the books or listen to them through streaming.

You can listen on nearly any device. It's an app. You download the app and log in. Again, your log in is separate from your subscription. 

They have nearly any title you can think of.

[Hilltopmom]

My little kids now listen to things in our library I originally bought for my adult kids. Love Audible! The pause feature is great when you need a break or run low on funds. 

[EKS]

43 minutes ago, Farrar said:

The credits add up and roll over when you don't use them, so there's no pressure to choose a new book each month.

If you accumulate 12 credits, then they stop accumulating.  Then it just sits at 12 credits while they keep taking your money.  

Oh, and if you cancel the subscription, you lose the credits.

Edited February 3, 2023 by EKS

[LaughingCat]

I thought they changed the max credit thing -- you have a year from when you got the credit until it expires and you lose it which probably works out the same for them actually LOL -- but it is much clearer on when/how you will lose credits and they alert you before you lose them.

The basic subscription I believe you don't get any credits at all -- just the free w/subscription books and the discount to buy books (and random offers to buy credits at a big discount).  You don't get to keep any free w/subscriptions books you've downloaded if you end your subscription. You do get to keep any books you've bought with credit (or at a discounted subscriber price).

You can listen on Iphone (and anywhere you can download the app) and on Alexa -- and switch back and forth between the two.

Also -- IF the kindle book supports it, you can read the book while Audible reads it aloud to you.  Haven't done this for a while though so not sure how that works for page turns etc.

 

[stephanier.1765]

12 hours ago, EKS said:

If you accumulate 12 credits, then they stop accumulating.  Then it just sits at 12 credits while they keep taking your money.  

Oh, and if you cancel the subscription, you lose the credits.

I remember it used to be this way but last year I was listening to a lot of things I already had so I ended up having way more than 12 credits built up.

[Jenny in Florida]

Sorry - Since I have a personal policy of not giving Jeff Bezos more of my money than absolutely necessary, I just have to pop in here with a recommendation for Libro.fm. It functions quite similarly to Audible -- in fact, I like their app better -- but it is not owned by Amazon. And all of your purchases support an independent bookstore of your choice. 

The one thing I don't love about Libro is that there are no options for subscription levels. It's a flat fee per month, and you get one credit. You can buy packages of additional credits, but you can't bump the monthly subscription to two credits a month, like I used to have with Audible. My solution to this problem is to have two accounts, but it's not ideal.

Otherwise, though, I really love the service. And I love that my money is supporting real bookstores instead of Amazon.

[EKS]

21 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

I remember it used to be this way but last year I was listening to a lot of things I already had so I ended up having way more than 12 credits built up.

It still stops at 12 for me.

[Lady Florida.]

I'm pretty sure you can still buy books without a paid subscription. If you only want, say 2 books this year just buy those 2 books. It will cost you way less than a membership. I believe you still have to sign up though I could be wrong, you just don't subscribe to a paid membership. Of course they change things all the time so I apologize if this is no longer true. I did a quick search though and it seems to still be in effect. If you think you'd get a book every month - one that you actually want to own - then a membership is probably the way to go. They also have some books you can listen to for free but don't own (only members can do this). When I use my credits I always use them on books that cost more than my monthly membership. I look at my audio book wish list and pick the most expensive one. I usually try to pick a long one as well. It seems a waste to me spending a credit on a 6 hour long audio book. 

 

[vonfirmath]

11 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

I'm pretty sure you can still buy books without a paid subscription. If you only want, say 2 books this year just buy those 2 books. It will cost you way less than a membership. I believe you still have to sign up though I could be wrong, you just don't subscribe to a paid membership. Of course they change things all the time so I apologize if this is no longer true. I did a quick search though and it seems to still be in effect. If you think you'd get a book every month - one that you actually want to own - then a membership is probably the way to go. They also have some books you can listen to for free but don't own (only members can do this). When I use my credits I always use them on books that cost more than my monthly membership. I look at my audio book wish list and pick the most expensive one. I usually try to pick a long one as well. It seems a waste to me spending a credit on a 6 hour long audio book. 

 

Yep. There was a guy on Facebook trying to convince me the "Optimal audio book" was 3 hours long and I was like "That's highway robbery" -- if I am paying $11-14 on a book, I really want length!

 

[sassenach]

Here's a little plug for checking in with your local library. I don't do audible, but I do use Libby through my library. The app works wonderfully and I get all of these audiobooks for free. Sometimes I have to wait awhile for new releases, however.

[Acorn]

I had a trial for several months at a low fee. I hadn’t decided how to spend the credits so I paused the account. I didn’t remember that it was only paused for a few months, until I started getting charged again. I need to buy 3 books before I cancel. I wish I could pause the account again but I think it has to be twelve months apart.

 

eta: There are different levels of membership. I’m paying $15 a month for 1 book credit. After I end my membership those titles should still be available to me. I think they can become inaccessible if audible doesn’t renew the license. There are also titles that are free to listen to at that level but I believe they will delete off my phone after I cancel. 
There is good mix of fiction and nonfiction. 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Acorn

[stephanier.1765]

2 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Yep. There was a guy on Facebook trying to convince me the "Optimal audio book" was 3 hours long and I was like "That's highway robbery" -- if I am paying $11-14 on a book, I really want length!

 

Right! Length is the first thing I look at after description. I don't care how interesting it sounds but it if is only 10 hours long, then I'll read the book. Recently, I needed a new audio book and the first one I looked at was 24 hours long. I threw my arms up in the air and loudly proclaimed, "Score!"

[Jenny in Florida]

2 hours ago, sassenach said:

Here's a little plug for checking in with your local library. I don't do audible, but I do use Libby through my library. The app works wonderfully and I get all of these audiobooks for free. Sometimes I have to wait awhile for new releases, however.

I consider myself a library evangelist, so I must agree 100% with seeing what your library has to offer. 

I do keep my Libro.fm subscriptions in addition to heavily using the library, because I listen to a fair number of audiobooks and am not always prepared to be patient about new and popular stuff. 

In general, though, absolutely. I think people often forget or just plain don't know what riches their local libraries have to offer.

[Hilltopmom]

Stop the presses- my library finally has Libby!! I just checked. 

Eta- not the best audio selection but I listen to a lot of books so it’ll help! Nothing for the little kids though- and they go through a lot

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Hilltopmom

[Farrar]

5 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I'm pretty sure you can still buy books without a paid subscription. If you only want, say 2 books this year just buy those 2 books. It will cost you way less than a membership. I believe you still have to sign up though I could be wrong, you just don't subscribe to a paid membership. Of course they change things all the time so I apologize if this is no longer true. I did a quick search though and it seems to still be in effect. If you think you'd get a book every month - one that you actually want to own - then a membership is probably the way to go. They also have some books you can listen to for free but don't own (only members can do this). When I use my credits I always use them on books that cost more than my monthly membership. I look at my audio book wish list and pick the most expensive one. I usually try to pick a long one as well. It seems a waste to me spending a credit on a 6 hour long audio book. 

 

When I've looked in the past, I think it depends. If the two audiobooks you want are $25 each, then I think getting the membership for two months is still the better deal. You just have to remember to cancel it. But a lot of audiobooks are less than that. Some are even less than $10. 

[Ottakee]

5 hours ago, sassenach said:

Here's a little plug for checking in with your local library. I don't do audible, but I do use Libby through my library. The app works wonderfully and I get all of these audiobooks for free. Sometimes I have to wait awhile for new releases, however.

I agree.   The bit of Dutch in me wants to utilize the free library as much as possible.   I might have to wait a bit for new books but they take recommendations and if they buy a book I suggest I am first in line.

[Ottakee]

3 hours ago, Hilltopmom said:

Stop the presses- my library finally has Libby!! I just checked. 

Eta- not the best audio selection but I listen to a lot of books so it’ll help! Nothing for the little kids though- and they go through a lot

 

Talk to your library and see if they have Hoopla as well or if they partner with other libraries.  I get Lots bigger selection that way.

also, sometimes you can pay a small fee a year to access a larger city library.

[Storygirl]

About the Libby app -- I have four library cards attached to my Libby app: the three library systems that are close to me, plus one from a different part of the state, where I used to live. That fourth card I added recently and only had to input my phone number to get a card. So you can add multiple library cards to the Libby account. I do find some audiobooks are available at one library but not another. And a few are available from Audible only, which I do not subscribe to.  I have over 70 audiobook holds on my Libby app, so I use it heavily. I have listened to some children's literature on it.

[Matryoshka]

6 hours ago, sassenach said:

Here's a little plug for checking in with your local library. I don't do audible, but I do use Libby through my library. The app works wonderfully and I get all of these audiobooks for free. Sometimes I have to wait awhile for new releases, however.

YES. I listen to 2-3 books a month on Libby.  Completely free, enormous selection. Can't fathom why I'd pay for audio books, no less $14/month or whatever it is Audible costs.

ETA: My own consortium has an extensive collection,  but if there's one they don't have, I can almost always find it in one of the other consortium-  through Libby I can access any library in my state with just my one card.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Matryoshka

[Ottakee]

2 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

YES. I listen to 2-3 books a month on Libby.  Completely free, enormous selection. Can't fathom why I'd pay for audio books, no less $14/month or whatever it is Audible costs.

Exactly.   I usually have 2-3 audio books and 1-2 Kindle books out at a time.  I read/listen heavily and have paid about $10 total over the past 5 years or so and have 500 books on my kindle alone as I can get them through Libby but also I get tons of free kindle books that I hear about through a few daily emails.  Often the books are not anything I am interested in but even 1 a week is great. And if I see one’s listed that cost money I just head to my lobby app and request them from the library.

[stephanier.1765]

Those of you who use Libby and Hoopla can you listen to the books through Alexa? That's how I listen to books 99% of the time.

[Storygirl]

1 hour ago, stephanier.1765 said:

Those of you who use Libby and Hoopla can you listen to the books through Alexa? That's how I listen to books 99% of the time.

I don't have Alexa, so I don't know. I listen on my phone or the speaker of my car, but I also could use my IPad. I also have a small speaker that I sometimes use. I think I can link to anything that has bluetooth capability.

[WildflowerMom]

I'm doing a free trial of audible and Libro now and I'm going Monday to the library to check on what they have available.   I'm glad I made this thread!    I'm hoping my library will have something to offer and I can support them more.   💛

[Matryoshka]

6 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said:

I'm doing a free trial of audible and Libro now and I'm going Monday to the library to check on what they have available.   I'm glad I made this thread!    I'm hoping my library will have something to offer and I can support them more.   💛

The great thing about Libby is that you don't even need to set foot in the library.  Just download the app, find your library, sign in with your library card (first time might need a trip to the library to help if you don't know your password), then just search.  I keep a wishlist, and then you can have up to X titles on hold (number varies by library) and you can also search by what's available.  I always have the 10 simultaneous holds my library allows maxed out at all times.  You can suspend holds to manage it so you don't get more titles than you can handle at the same time.  If you miss a hold and something comes available before you're ready, you can also throw it back into the queue without losing your place in line.

If a title I want is available on Libby (or Hoopla which I haven't figured out yet) it also shows up when I do a search in my library's regular database as well.  I'll bet multipe results for the title, each for if the book is print, audio CD or playaway (older, physical audio formats), ebook, or audio on Libby or Hoopla.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Matryoshka

[Matryoshka]

32 minutes ago, Storygirl said:

I don't have Alexa, so I don't know. I listen on my phone or the speaker of my car, but I also could use my IPad. I also have a small speaker that I sometimes use. I think I can link to anything that has bluetooth capability.

Same.  I have no idea how Alexa works, but it connects to anything with Bluetooth - I listen in the car all the time.

[Ottakee]

I listen to Libby in the car and a Bluetooth speaker 

[shawthorne44]

Oooh, ooooh, oooh, I can add something.   

Also check if your library has Kanopy.    That has a bunch of Great Courses on it.  Both Libby/Overdrive and Audible Plus have several too, but those are audio only.  I still use the older app, Overdrive so that is how I think of it.  Kanopy has mostly movies.   My library allows 5 credits a month.   I worried at first that one lecture would be a credit.   But daughter has listened to many lectures (it is just the professor talking)  and we still have 5 credits remaining.  So, yeah!   DD loves her History now.   She listens to an Ancient History lecture and I allow her to play a mindless game on the internet during.  

This was mentioned already, but I want to stress this.  The recommendations on Overdrive are awesome.   I've been first to get things like Stephen King's latest.  If they buy something you recommended then you start out on the Hold list in the order that something was recommended.  So, for favorite authors, I check every few months if there will be something soon and I'll put in a recommendation.   

With library audiobooks it is always feast or famine.   This was true even back in the dark ages when my dad got unabridged audiocassettes from the library when only people with certified sight problems could get them.   Nice thing about Overdrive is that you put a book on hold and then pause.   You move up in the queue.  Then when you are almost ready for a book, you un-pause the hold. You will probably be first in the queue and you'll get it next.  

One thing that annoyed me recently with Audible.   They got rid of the Audible for Windows app.   Then they labeled that as a "service improvement."   No longer supporting software is never a service improvement.   They also used to let you keep the credits after the membership expired, but now they disappear.  

Something you can do if you only want a few Audible books a year.  (That is true for me unless I find a long series I want to listen to that the library doesn't buy)   You can have a friend gift you the audiobook and then reimburse them whatever the "buy another credit" cost.   My Dad has had a membership for forever.  So we sometimes do this.

Also, sometimes buying a Kindle book and then adding on the Audible book is cheaper than the cost of each credit.  For example, when I was listening to the Honor Harrington series (really really long books) I could get the Kindle + Audiobook for around $8 when the cost to add a Audible credit was $10.   I imagine both prices have gone up.   It isn't always true but something worth checking out.  

I'd also tried Scribd for awhile.  It sounds really good for people like me that almost never re-listen.  Price per month is about the same as Audible but you can supposedly listen to as many books as you want.   Trouble is, after you listen to one book a huge chunk of the library is unavailable until the next month.   After listening to two books the only thing that was available to me was the Librox books (which are totally free for download from Librox.  I had been redoing the Dune series in Chronological order.   For the same price I could have done Audible and kept access to the books, since with Scribd I could only listen to one book a month.  
 

[Pam in CT]

So glad this thread turned to Libby and Kanopy.  I ** puffy heart ** my library, and during COVID finally learned to really avail of their digital offerings.  No late fees!!! 

I mostly listen to audiobooks through my phone (over to the car or Bluetooth speaker if driving or gardening); exclusively read Kindle on an oldfashioned black-and-white nicely lit easy-to-adjust-the-font Kindle, and watch Kanopy on a laptop or iPad. But all of them work on anything that can download.

[Matryoshka]

12 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

Something you can do if you only want a few Audible books a year.  (That is true for me unless I find a long series I want to listen to that the library doesn't buy)   You can have a friend gift you the audiobook and then reimburse them whatever the "buy another credit" cost.   My Dad has had a membership for forever.  So we sometimes do this.

Okay, after I just said I'm library-only with my audiobooks, I have two audiobooks I'd kind of like to own - one is really, really long so will be hard to finish before the library wants it back, and this isn't a book I want to power-listen to; it's also one I'd rather get to when I'm in the mood and maybe even listen to a bit at a time alongside a second one (from Libby).  The second book is just obscure and Audible has it but it isn't even on the recommendation list on Libby.

Right now, there's a 3-month free trial of Audible at Amazon.  Could I get these two books for free with the trial (isn't it one free book per month with the 'credits' or whatever) and then cancel right away?  Or how does this gifting thing you mention work (how much is a 'credit' - how would I reimburse it?)  The whole thing is beyond confusing for me!  The audiobooks end up in some kind of App on my phone and are available forever once I've bought them?

[Katy]

1 hour ago, Matryoshka said:

Okay, after I just said I'm library-only with my audiobooks, I have two audiobooks I'd kind of like to own - one is really, really long so will be hard to finish before the library wants it back, and this isn't a book I want to power-listen to; it's also one I'd rather get to when I'm in the mood and maybe even listen to a bit at a time alongside a second one (from Libby).  The second book is just obscure and Audible has it but it isn't even on the recommendation list on Libby.

Right now, there's a 3-month free trial of Audible at Amazon.  Could I get these two books for free with the trial (isn't it one free book per month with the 'credits' or whatever) and then cancel right away?  Or how does this gifting thing you mention work (how much is a 'credit' - how would I reimburse it?)  The whole thing is beyond confusing for me!  The audiobooks end up in some kind of App on my phone and are available forever once I've bought them?

I think you might get 2 free credits with the trial,  but you can cancel before you pay.  So you could sign up, use the credits on the free books, try the library, and cancel. And yes, keep those books in your account.  There are odd stories here & there of books disappearing, but if you can prove you owned them you can get them back, so you might want to keep an email folder of receipts.  It's never happened to me.

[shawthorne44]

You would have to know someone who has audible that you also trust.  

This is how they would gift an audible book.  

https://help.audible.com/s/article/how-do-i-purchase-an-audiobook-as-a-gift?language=en_US
 

As far as the money, you send the money via paypal or cashapp or however you'd buy used curriculum.  
I don't know what the price is.   It used to be $10 a credit to buy an extra.  But I think it has gone up.  

Or you could look at the monthly price of a membership.   $14.95 per month.   I did annual when I've had it.   

Also look into the Kindle price + audiobook.  

 

 

[MagistraKennedy]

On 2/2/2023 at 7:32 PM, WildflowerMom said:

can I listen on my iPhone?  My Alexa echo?   
 

Yes, you can listen on Alexa. 

"alexa, play the audiobook XYZ"

[ktgrok]

Yeah, for shorter books it isn't always a good deal. That said, I still do have an Audible account. But I also have kindle unlimited, and often if you borrow a book using that, or buy the book, then buying the audio book is discounted to just a few dollars. At that point, I will save my Audible credit for something else. I also use Libby quite a bit. But mostly listen to suspense/romance and use kindle unlimited "read and listen for free" books.