Scribd Unlimited again

[booklover6]

Oddly enough, I was able to download and listen to an audio book today, which was NOT on my saved list. (Ready Player One). So not all titles are currently limited to me.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I only listened to 2 audiobooks this month so I didn't run into any restrictions. Well, technically 3 but it was started a few days before my subscription cycle began so I don't think it counted.

[booklover6]

So, to report in, on 3-07 all of the "available soon" banners disappeared, and the search function was restored to "normal" (not that I am fond of searching on Scribd). I listened to a total of 5 1/4 audio books in Feb, plus one that was in March but before my date of service. I am highly satisfied with that. I've added quite a few more to my Saved List in hopes that they will remain "available now" when I get to whatever throttling limit arbitrarily kicks in. (Although, adding many to the Saved list, may result in throttling earlier than otherwise).

[Bookworm_Girl]

Hi, booklover6. I am wondering how your experiences with Scribd were in March and April. Did you run into throttling again?

[booklover6]

Yes and no...some audiobooks I was able to add immediately, others show "available soon." In April I listened to 10. Even after that I was able to add some to "saved." I have several downloaded that I won't get to this month. So I am very happy with Scribd at this time. Hopefully they won't go out of business due to people like me!

[booklover6]

Scribd has a pleasing selection of nonfiction. If I had only one subscription, I would choose Scribd due to its wider range of offerings.

[Akillian]

So I'm kind of resurrecting a thread here, sorry, but it came up at the top of my list when googling this subject.

I ran out of available audiobooks after finishing 2, which was kind of a bummer. I mean, it's still a better deal than Audible, and I knew it wasn't REALLY unlimited going in, but I can listen to books pretty fast since I can wear headphones all day at work, and was hoping to get a few more before getting cut off.

Of course I notice this new limitation 30 minutes after getting to work and finishing up my second book, leaving me bookless for the day. :'-(

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Akillian

So I'm kind of resurrecting a thread here, sorry, but it came up at the top of my list when googling this subject.

I ran out of available audiobooks after finishing 2, which was kind of a bummer. I mean, it's still a better deal than Audible, and I knew it wasn't REALLY unlimited going in, but I can listen to books pretty fast since I can wear headphones all day at work, and was hoping to get a few more before getting cut off.

Of course I notice this new limitation 30 minutes after getting to work and finishing up my second book, leaving me bookless for the day. :'-(

From what I can gather Scribd's algorithm on limits is by price. Some months I get 3, some months 4 or 5. I think it's dependant on the publisher. The original plan was 1 a month and yes unlimited is very misleading. I know several who are upset by the deception.

There's Playster which is really unlimited if you are looking for something like that.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Blossom

From what I can gather Scribd's algorithm on limits is by price. Some months I get 3, some months 4 or 5. I think it's dependant on the publisher. The original plan was 1 a month and yes unlimited is very misleading. I know several who are upset by the deception.

There's Playster which is really unlimited if you are looking for something like that.

Sent from my Nexus 7

Unless Playster has improved significantly since I used the service a couple of years ago, I don't recommend it for audiobooks. The app was wonky; skipping and other problems were frequent in playback (on downloaded content). It was frustrating and I didn't like it.

[ddockery]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Unless Playster has improved significantly since I used the service a couple of years ago, I don't recommend it for audiobooks. The app was wonky; skipping and other problems were frequent in playback (on downloaded content). It was frustrating and I didn't like it.

It has not improved. I signed up for my month long free trial 3 days ago. In that time I have managed to finish one 10 hour book, but it was difficult to say the least. Multiple times playback randomly stopped, app crashed and closed, playback controls stopped working etc. My favorite is when I try to pause the book and it starts playing music from a different app. Selection seems worse than Scribd as well, but I haven't done a very thorough comparison.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Akillian

So I'm kind of resurrecting a thread here, sorry, but it came up at the top of my list when googling this subject.

I ran out of available audiobooks after finishing 2, which was kind of a bummer. I mean, it's still a better deal than Audible, and I knew it wasn't REALLY unlimited going in, but I can listen to books pretty fast since I can wear headphones all day at work, and was hoping to get a few more before getting cut off.

Of course I notice this new limitation 30 minutes after getting to work and finishing up my second book, leaving me bookless for the day. :'-(

What I want to know is, were you trying to listen to a book that was already in your saved list? And also, do you already have a lot of books in your saved list?

You should be able to listen to more than 2. In my experience, if you added a bunch of new titles to your saved list after the last billing date, you will run into a wall trying to listen to something new. It's like all the books in the saved list are checked out.

[wallflower75]

Originally Posted by booklover6

What I want to know is, were you trying to listen to a book that was already in your saved list? And also, do you already have a lot of books in your saved list?

You should be able to listen to more than 2. In my experience, if you added a bunch of new titles to your saved list after the last billing date, you will run into a wall trying to listen to something new. It's like all the books in the saved list are checked out.

I've given up trying to figure out how many books I get to hear before I end up getting throttled each month. Some months I get two books, sometimes three. I've wondered if it's because I listen to books for long stretches of time instead of in dribs and drabs. I've wondered if, like many believe, I'm throttled for having such a large saved list. But my saved list has enough titles that I've got a selection to choose from even when I'm throttled.

What frustrates me is that sometimes Scribd will let me add something to my saved list after I've been throttled with the caveat "this will be available" after my next billing date, and sometimes it won't let me add the title. Look, I get that I'm throttled, but at least let me add something so I can listen to it when I'm no longer throttled!

[Catlady]

I'm thinking of a trial membership for Scribd when my KU subscription runs out in a couple of weeks. Those of you already using it, what's the best approach for maximizing the number of audiobooks I can listen to from Scribd? Should I create a wish list and stick to it? Or just borrow books one at a time?

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm thinking of a trial membership for Scribd when my KU subscription runs out in a couple of weeks. Those of you already using it, what's the best approach for maximizing the number of audiobooks I can listen to from Scribd? Should I create a wish list and stick to it? Or just borrow books one at a time?

I use lists. I mostly wishlist books that aren't readily available at other sources like the library. Then, when I am ready to listen to one, I browse the list and download it to my phone. My main strategy is to sprinkle the Scribd books in with my other audiobook sources. Like an audiobook playlist based on rotating sources. I have not had a problem with throttling, but I only listen to 2-3 audiobooks per month from Scribd.

One thing I have stopped doing is using Scribd to sample items. I'll use another source to sample.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

I use lists. I mostly wishlist books that aren't readily available at other sources like the library. Then, when I am ready to listen to one, I browse the list and download it to my phone. My main strategy is to sprinkle the Scribd books in with my other audiobook sources. Like an audiobook playlist based on rotating sources. I have not had a problem with throttling, but I only listen to 2-3 audiobooks per month from Scribd.

One thing I have stopped doing is using Scribd to sample items. I'll use another source to sample.

Throttling is what I was most wondering about--if I wanted to access, say, 6 to 10 audiobooks, would they let me?