MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Audible subscription vs. "add narration" on Kindle titles

taosaur · 08-25-2013, 07:49 PM

What do you think? I re-upped with Audible this summer after years away and I did use my first couple credits, but then I started looking at the Kindle titles and the cost to "add narration." In every case, the cost for the audiobook was less than a monthly Audible credit ($14.95 for 1 credit/mo). In fact, each of the titles I purchased was less than $10 for ebook and audiobook combined, though a couple were novellas and one of the others was Wool, originally self-published on the Kindle store.

It looks like most mainstream, full-length titles run $12.99 for audio on top of $7-10 for the ebook, which makes subscription credits look a little better if you don't mind doing without the text. Also, Audible does offer additional discounts and promotions to members fairly regularly, from what I've heard--I've had a $10 coupon myself, which can also be applied to "add narration" buys via Amazon.

I'm sure Amazon crunched the numbers after the acquisition to avoid totally cannibalizing Audible's business model, but there are a number of titles where you can get both ebook and audio for less than either a credit or the members' discount price of audio alone.

Have any of you ditched your Audible subscription because of Whispersync? Has anyone gone the other way, and picked up a subscription after getting a taste via Whispersync?

08-25-2013, 07:49 PM	#1
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	Audible subscription vs. "add narration" on Kindle titles What do you think? I re-upped with Audible this summer after years away and I did use my first couple credits, but then I started looking at the Kindle titles and the cost to "add narration." In every case, the cost for the audiobook was less than a monthly Audible credit ($14.95 for 1 credit/mo). In fact, each of the titles I purchased was less than $10 for ebook and audiobook combined, though a couple were novellas and one of the others was Wool, originally self-published on the Kindle store. It looks like most mainstream, full-length titles run $12.99 for audio on top of $7-10 for the ebook, which makes subscription credits look a little better if you don't mind doing without the text. Also, Audible does offer additional discounts and promotions to members fairly regularly, from what I've heard--I've had a $10 coupon myself, which can also be applied to "add narration" buys via Amazon. I'm sure Amazon crunched the numbers after the acquisition to avoid totally cannibalizing Audible's business model, but there are a number of titles where you can get both ebook and audio for less than either a credit or the members' discount price of audio alone. Have any of you ditched your Audible subscription because of Whispersync? Has anyone gone the other way, and picked up a subscription after getting a taste via Whispersync?