Two Week Free Trial Not a Good Introductory Offer for Audio Books Right Now
You may want to wait a few days before signing up for the two-week free trial. If you're not one of the many subscribers who found this offer irresistible, you may be in for a surprise.
The introductory offer on Audible is great for people who want to test out audio books without committing to a subscription that might not work well with their busy schedules and limited budgets. But only if you're actually going to be using the service! Otherwise, you'll find that they've billed your card with the full price of anything else they've offered at that time instead of just giving your an indefinite credit trial period as promised.
Basically, I would recommend holding out for a two-week trial period! Otherwise, you may find yourself losing $10 or more in charges before you even get started… and then wondering why you were ever so excited about the service in the first place.
That's not to say there are no good deals out there for audio books right now. If you're short a few freebies (I just discovered one from Audible!), consider these other offers available as of September 25th:
Audible.com has three free audio books to offer up – all worth trying. One is a classic, but two more are from the authors of bestsellers – and only the higher-rated book is actually free. If you're looking for something to listen to in the car, these will add variety and a good story to your commute.
Audible.co.uk has three free audio books for UK users only – two highly-rated books and one not quite as highly rated, but still worth checking out.
AudioBooks.com has an exclusive offer for free monthly audio books every month in October – perfect for a new subscriber or someone looking to add something extra to their current subscription. Titles are based on what bestselling authors publish this month, and there's a wide range of genres available (from cooking to romance, from horror to humor). This deal is only good until 11/1/12, so be sure to sign up before then if you want it!
Audible.de offers one free audio book for German-speaking users only – a good-looking title by New York Times Bestseller Markus Zusak (author of The Book Thief ). There's also no limit to the number of free audio books you can redeem every month, so take advantage of this if you like German-speaking authors or if you've just been itching for an audio book of his.
Audible.it has a promotion for Italian users only on Amazon – not a particularly good deal (even at it's usual $6.99 price), but worth a look to see what else they might be offering up in the future.
Audible.co.jp has a similar deal for users in Japan, but with more free audio books to pick from. This is also the only country that offers a weekly free audio book each week – there are three available right now, so you'll want to sign up before they're all gone!
Audible.cn offers an exclusive offer for three free audio books in Mandarin Chinese. You can also redeem these on two other websites (Tudou.com and Youku.com), so you can listen to them in your preferred language.
Audible.com.au has two free audio books to offer readers in Australia – both of them from bestsellers, and one of them is actually free! Of course, you'll want to be careful that the titles you download are what are actually free, so use the sample pages provided here.
Audible.fr has a similar offer for French speakers – three free audio books for five euros each (about $10 US) – and now through November 26th you can redeem five titles per month instead of three (use this page to find out what books are currently being offered). The regular price on these is €6.99 (about $9 US) each, so you're saving a little bit by taking advantage of these books now.
Most of these audio books are only available through the end of October – or earlier if they run out and no more titles are being offered. So take this opportunity to try some new types of genres, listen to some bestsellers you've been meaning to get to, or test out the Audible subscription without losing your shirt over it!
Please feel free to share your thoughts on these offers in the comments section below – especially if you end up trying them yourself. I always like to hear if people feel they got their money's worth.
Update: This offer has expired. Refresh the page for more free audio book offers to come!
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Title: How to Get Free Audiobook Downloads on the iPhone or iPad Using the Overdrive App (iTunes Link) [ARTICLE START]
BOOKS FOR IPHONE/IPAD: iPhone and iPad users can now enjoy free audio books from thousands of public libraries around the country – including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. You can check out Overdrive to start listening to your first audiobook today.
BOOKS FOR KINDLE: You can also now download free audiobooks from thousands of public libraries on Kindle (not Kindle Fire) – here's how. Or, you can also get them through Amazon.com, which will transfer them to your device automatically.
BOOKS FOR ANDROID: Check out the selection at Google Play Books. You'll find them there!
BOOKS FOR NOOK: Here's a page that will help you with audio book downloads on the Nook Tablet or Nook Color – there are instructions for the original Nook reading device as well.
BOOKS FOR IPOD: Audio books are available through iTunes. The price is $14.99/month after a 30-day free trial if you don't have an audiobook credit.
BOOKS FOR iPAD: You can also grab free audiobooks from the OverDrive service, which also offers ebooks and apps for your iPhone or iPod Touch, though not yet for the iPad .
BOOKS FOR IPHONE: Here's an article that shows you how to download audio books to your iphone, ipad or kindle fire hd.
Conclusion: When you're evaluating the cost of a monthly subscription, be sure to consider all the features and benefits you get for your money. Free books are fun – and I think it's a great idea to keep a few on hand at all times. But when it comes to subscription audiobook services, remember how many other great perks come with them – like free ebooks, free apps, special offers and more!
Aside from that, it's always worth looking out for special promotions. You can score hundreds of dollars in free audio books every year if you put in the time to search out these deals.