Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
In a lot of cases, what you get with a sample is not enough of a sample.
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I know I've mentioned this in other threads, but this reason explains what I mostly use Kindle Unlimited for.
When Amazon puts up a deal on KU for cheap, I subscribe. Then I download a fairly high amount of books, reading them sometimes, but more often using them as "samples". If I like the book from reading part of it, I will put it on my "potential buys" list and then return the book and get another KU book (and do the same thing with that next book). This way, the "samples" are as large or as small as you need them to be. I go back later, usually after the KU subscription has expired, and buy a few from my "potential buys" list that I just created.
I have had a few of the normal Amazon samples that never even made it into the book's story itself. There were so many preliminary acknowledgements, advertisements for other books in a series, etc., that the sample ran out before I got to read even the first word of the story. This is relatively rare, but it has happened to me. More often, I get to read a few pages, but it is a really short sample to base any judgments on.
Of course, my "extended sample" use for KU only works on books that are part of KU in the first place. So while this technique is of value, it's of limited value. That's why I only use it - subscribing to KU - when Amazon has some cheap deal on KU in the first place. I'll dedicate a few dollars to finding books that I'd like to purchase, but not the normal $9.99/month that KU costs.