Kindle Unlimited is it worth it? - Page 5

HLS · 12-10-2017, 04:02 PM

If you read 2 books or more a month then its worth it but if you like me that takes a while to read a book its actually cheaper for me to buy books for it takes me 6-8 weeks to read 1 book

Jo69 · 02-22-2018, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcladyz

If you read 2 books or more a month then its worth it but if you like me that takes a while to read a book its actually cheaper for me to buy books for it takes me 6-8 weeks to read 1 book

I read 3 books a week lol
Had the 3 months free Kindle Unlimited over Christmas.
But many of the books I downloaded were not as good as the reviews.

PeterT · 02-22-2018, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jo69

But many of the books I downloaded were not as good as the reviews.

Do you mean the reviews were worth reading and the books were not?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

GlenBarrington · 02-22-2018, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jo69

I read 3 books a week lol
Had the 3 months free Kindle Unlimited over Christmas.
But many of the books I downloaded were not as good as the reviews.

That's the beauty of KU, in my eyes. If a book stinks, you simply stop reading it and return it. No harm, no foul. Move on to a different book. There are lots of good books in the KU(niverse), and lots of great new authors.

Yes, there are some stinkers, but where in our lives are there NOT stinkers?

HLS · 02-23-2018, 12:33 PM

In my opinion no unless you read more than 2 books a month. None of my favorite authors are on kindle unlimited and definitely no new releases that im aware of. If you join you may want to look and see if they offer the books your interested in. I read John Grisham, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Phillip Pullman rather exclusively. If Kindle Unlimited offered all new releases and past books of these authors i would do it

Jo69 · 02-24-2018, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

Do you mean the reviews were worth reading and the books were not?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

I usually rely on the reviews for new authors
Have found a lot of them that way.

GlenBarrington · 02-24-2018, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcladyz

In my opinion no unless you read more than 2 books a month. None of my favorite authors are on kindle unlimited and definitely no new releases that im aware of. If you join you may want to look and see if they offer the books your interested in. I read John Grisham, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Phillip Pullman rather exclusively. If Kindle Unlimited offered all new releases and past books of these authors i would do it

I fully read about 2-3 books a month, so the monthly cost of a paperback book is a valid subscription cost in my eyes. However, KU allows me to try far more books, in greater depth than I could otherwise. And I don't have to decide if I want to be the first to buy a book that sounds interesting just because no one besides the author's mom has reviewed it.

One of the things I like doing is finding new (to me, at least) authors. If the user only wants to read established authors, KU is not worth the money. But I think KU is a great way to find new authors and reward them with a little spending cash.

Little.Egret · 03-18-2018, 08:38 PM

Amazon UK offer

Kindle Unlimited: 3 months for £1.99 open until March 31
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect....a-d896b42e9e7c

Jo69 · 03-19-2018, 04:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Amazon UK offer

Kindle Unlimited: 3 months for £1.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect....a-d896b42e9e7c

Thanks very much. I usually just subscribe for just a month now.
So eligible.
I create an Unlimited Wish List then when I have a few books in it I sign up for a month.

Tazling · 09-24-2020, 06:49 PM

I thought it was a pretty interesting idea and the "free trial" offer was on, or at least some deep sale offer where your first month costs you only $3.99 or something like that. My main interest was in older, nearly OOP books (stuff that is getting harder to find in ratty old paperbacks via Abebooks) -- am starting to get a little embarrassed about the air miles my used books are putting in.

For example it's not so easy to find all the Edmund Crispin Gervase Fen novels any more. Or the Applebys. And some of these "old fashioned" authors are in the KU "free to read" programme. And they do let you DL a copy so you can read even if your internet connection is out (which mine fairly often is -- rural location, lots of power hits). 10 book limit is not bothersome. That keeps me happy for a week or so.

BUT... I think there's a bit of upsell monkey biz going on. After selecting an initial reading list I did some searching for specific hard to find authors and titles and did find a few in KU (yay). A day later I visited Amazon.ca and found that all those titles I had found were mysteriously marked back up to full price.

I have a bad feeling that Amazon might be pulling a wee bit of bait and switch here -- remembering what titles a new KU subscriber searches for specifically by author or title, then next time you look, they mark them up so if you REALLY want that book you have to pay full (Kindle) price. And they already know you want it :-)

Hmmm. That would make KU more of a marketing tool than a "discount shelf".

shalym · 09-25-2020, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazling

I thought it was a pretty interesting idea and the "free trial" offer was on, or at least some deep sale offer where your first month costs you only $3.99 or something like that. My main interest was in older, nearly OOP books (stuff that is getting harder to find in ratty old paperbacks via Abebooks) -- am starting to get a little embarrassed about the air miles my used books are putting in.

For example it's not so easy to find all the Edmund Crispin Gervase Fen novels any more. Or the Applebys. And some of these "old fashioned" authors are in the KU "free to read" programme. And they do let you DL a copy so you can read even if your internet connection is out (which mine fairly often is -- rural location, lots of power hits). 10 book limit is not bothersome. That keeps me happy for a week or so.

BUT... I think there's a bit of upsell monkey biz going on. After selecting an initial reading list I did some searching for specific hard to find authors and titles and did find a few in KU (yay). A day later I visited Amazon.ca and found that all those titles I had found were mysteriously marked back up to full price.

I have a bad feeling that Amazon might be pulling a wee bit of bait and switch here -- remembering what titles a new KU subscriber searches for specifically by author or title, then next time you look, they mark them up so if you REALLY want that book you have to pay full (Kindle) price. And they already know you want it :-)

Hmmm. That would make KU more of a marketing tool than a "discount shelf".

....except that Amazon has nothing to do with which books are in or out of KU--it's the publisher's choice, and the publishers don't know when people look at their books, only when they buy them. Many publishers will put a book in for a 90 day period, then pull them out at the end of that period and put them back to full price.

Sounds like it was just bad luck, sorry.

Shari

Deskisamess · 09-25-2020, 08:30 AM

I love KU. I've found new authors I enjoy, and genres I've not read before. A lot of "Religious fiction" authors are in KU, and KU is a great way to weed out the decent authors from the ones who believe that anyone who can type can write a book.

issybird · 09-25-2020, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tazling

BUT... I think there's a bit of upsell monkey biz going on. After selecting an initial reading list I did some searching for specific hard to find authors and titles and did find a few in KU (yay). A day later I visited Amazon.ca and found that all those titles I had found were mysteriously marked back up to full price.

I think it’s likeliest to be bad timing as that kind of price switch is harder to pull off with digital goods, but. I know more than once I’ve run across an item at Amazon at a good price, but when I looked for it shortly thereafter, the price had gone up. Again, bad timing, except that when I checked the price on a different browser where I had no Amazon cookies, the price was the original lowball price. At that point, if you sign in, you get the lower price.

Quote:

Hmmm. That would make KU more of a marketing tool than a "discount shelf".

Everything at Amazon is a marketing tool. Once you accept that, you’ll be happier. And why not, in fairness? Can’t expect them to be our best friend unless it’s in their own best interest. I’m quite sure that’s why I’ve never got the sterling customer service others cite; I’m just not a good enough customer.

issybird · 09-25-2020, 09:50 AM

Moved from the General Discussion forum.

DuskyRose · 09-25-2020, 10:06 AM

Easy enough to test. Start a wishlist of all the KU books you come across that you'd like to read. Wait for a special offer on the deal, then recheck to make sure the books are still available on KU before jumping in.

I found it was pretty easy to get a huge KU wishlist set up before getting the deal. But I stopped after the free time because I found I didn't like feeling like I was reading with a timer. One of the reasons I don't do library books much anymore.

But I found that if I'd paid full price for the books, I'd have come out ahead on KU.

03-18-2018, 08:38 PM	#68
Little.Egret Wizard Posts: 3,168 Karma: 37800000 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK Device: Kindle Keyboard 3G, Kindle Fire 2, NOOK ST, Kindle HDX, Fire 7"	Amazon UK offer Kindle Unlimited: 3 months for £1.99 open until March 31 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect....a-d896b42e9e7c Last edited by Little.Egret; 03-19-2018 at 07:29 AM.

09-24-2020, 06:49 PM	#70
Tazling Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2020 Device: iPad, Marvin	Kindle Unlimited... thoughts after giving it a try I thought it was a pretty interesting idea and the "free trial" offer was on, or at least some deep sale offer where your first month costs you only $3.99 or something like that. My main interest was in older, nearly OOP books (stuff that is getting harder to find in ratty old paperbacks via Abebooks) -- am starting to get a little embarrassed about the air miles my used books are putting in. For example it's not so easy to find all the Edmund Crispin Gervase Fen novels any more. Or the Applebys. And some of these "old fashioned" authors are in the KU "free to read" programme. And they do let you DL a copy so you can read even if your internet connection is out (which mine fairly often is -- rural location, lots of power hits). 10 book limit is not bothersome. That keeps me happy for a week or so. BUT... I think there's a bit of upsell monkey biz going on. After selecting an initial reading list I did some searching for specific hard to find authors and titles and did find a few in KU (yay). A day later I visited Amazon.ca and found that all those titles I had found were mysteriously marked back up to full price. I have a bad feeling that Amazon might be pulling a wee bit of bait and switch here -- remembering what titles a new KU subscriber searches for specifically by author or title, then next time you look, they mark them up so if you REALLY want that book you have to pay full (Kindle) price. And they already know you want it :-) Hmmm. That would make KU more of a marketing tool than a "discount shelf".

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12-10-2017, 04:02 PM	#61
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,027 Karma: 15107670 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	If you read 2 books or more a month then its worth it but if you like me that takes a while to read a book its actually cheaper for me to buy books for it takes me 6-8 weeks to read 1 book

02-23-2018, 12:33 PM	#65
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,027 Karma: 15107670 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	In my opinion no unless you read more than 2 books a month. None of my favorite authors are on kindle unlimited and definitely no new releases that im aware of. If you join you may want to look and see if they offer the books your interested in. I read John Grisham, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Phillip Pullman rather exclusively. If Kindle Unlimited offered all new releases and past books of these authors i would do it

09-25-2020, 08:30 AM	#72
Deskisamess Wizard Posts: 2,607 Karma: 42697471 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Device: iPhone 7+, iPad mini, 2021 iPad Pro 12.9",Paperwhite 6.8"	I love KU. I've found new authors I enjoy, and genres I've not read before. A lot of "Religious fiction" authors are in KU, and KU is a great way to weed out the decent authors from the ones who believe that anyone who can type can write a book.

09-25-2020, 09:50 AM	#74
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,205 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	Moved from the General Discussion forum.

09-25-2020, 10:06 AM	#75
DuskyRose Guru Posts: 725 Karma: 9209502 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Virginia Device: Boox Palma, Kdle Scribe & Paperwhite, Kobo Eclipsa 2e & Libra 2, Ipads	Easy enough to test. Start a wishlist of all the KU books you come across that you'd like to read. Wait for a special offer on the deal, then recheck to make sure the books are still available on KU before jumping in. I found it was pretty easy to get a huge KU wishlist set up before getting the deal. But I stopped after the free time because I found I didn't like feeling like I was reading with a timer. One of the reasons I don't do library books much anymore. But I found that if I'd paid full price for the books, I'd have come out ahead on KU.

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