I was searching for the best places online to get audio book downloads from and came across 5 main sites which are listed below and compared each website on their specials, # of audio books, interface usability and price. Here are the sites I compared:
1. Audible – best interface, biggest selections, and best prices, plus their owned by Amazon.com. For your first 3 months you can get one credit each for $7.49 ( 1 credit = 1 audio book). Then on your fourth month it goes to $14.95. Even at the $14.95 price it still beats all other options.
If you go with the Platinum option you can get 2 credits for $22.95 which gives you better pricing. Plus with Audible you don’t have to worry about your audio book being compatible with your player, as they work with nearly everything, (in case you don’t have an iPod).
2. Audio Book Rentals through SimplyAudioBooks.com - yes there is a Netflix for audio books. You can get one book at a time for $18.00/month mailed to you and then you can listen to it via CDs. This doesn’t make that much sense to me. Maybe only for people that don’t have an iPod or mp3 listening device.
You can listen to as many audio books as you want but keep in mind the delay in sending the CDs back and getting new ones just like Netflix. They also have a download per month plan of one book a month for $14.95, which is same price as Audible.com, but simplyaudiobooks.com only has around 11,000 book titles, while Audible.com has around 60,000, so you get a lot more to choose from at Audible.
3. Audio Books from Barnes and Noble – has maybe slightly better prices than Borders and way better interface than Borders.com, but prices range just like you would pay on iTunes ( iTunes is usually less than Borders or Barnes and Noble) or Borders, so why would anyone buy from here.
The way I see it is that most people will either buy from iTunes if they can find a cheaper audio book price and also have a subscription to Audible.com for the additional price break since most audio books I would say average around $22.95.
4. Audiobooks.Borders.com – Borders Book Store – not all compatible with ipod and crappy interface, prices are higher than you would pay for a book around $25-$35 range. Doesn’t make any sense to purchase retail for an audio book any more by going to a book store or the online book store version.
5. iTunes Audio Books – no specials, tons of audio books, uses iTunes interface and prices range from $9.95 -$34.95, Depending on the popularity and how new the book is you’ll pay more, but not always.
One thing to be aware of though is that iTunes sells audio books from Audible.com. I compared some various titles and found that iTunes is sometimes a couple dollars less than Audible.com for their one time retail purchases.
6. Audible Clones – theres a couple sites out there that look like their the own company but are just affiliates of Audible.com, like TheAudioBookStore.com and AudioBooks.net.
7. The Free Audio Book Sites – they offer wacky interfaces, and titles I’ve never heard of. I stay away from these sites.
Heres what I do.
I use to occasionally buy a retail version on iTunes every couple of months or so. Now I just use Audible.com and listen to one audio book a month on the Gold option. I find that most the books I end up buying on Audible.com end up being in the $20 to $25 dollar range on iTunes so I’m getting a better deal.
One time I forgot to listen to the narrator of the audio book as sometimes its not the author and they were really hard to listen to. TIP: Make sure to listen to the audio book before you buy it.
Another Tip: Unabridged versions are the FULL versions of the audio book and often range from 4-7 hours long. Abridged versions are shortened concise summaries of the book that are usually between 30 min to 2 hours.
What’s your take on this review…?
Where do you buy your Audio Books…?
How often do you buy audio books…?
What kind of device do you use to listen with…?
Do you prefer getting CDs or just downloading…?
Do you even like audio books… what do you and don’t you like about them…?
I’m really interested in this from a learning and overall marketing perspective, ie: how we learn and comprehend vs. just reading compared to listening to audio books.
Please share your thoughts below in the comments!
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Great article, I thought I would mention a couple of other things. If your local library has online audiobooks you can get them with your library card free, kind of like checking them out but over the internet. If they do not, ask them if any affiliates have this. I lived in a town of 1200 and our library did not have it, but they were connected to Chicago’s library so I was able to use my card for books there. You can get physical copies by going in and checking them out as well. And many times they will order a book if you request it.
There are some small sites with small groups who share. Out of a group of say, ten they each get a popular title and share with each other. They are buying the books so I don’t find it to be wrong. Most can only afford a title a month so no one is losing sales. It is a fun way to find new authors as well. Audiobooks can get expensive if you listen to allot of them.
There are many free titles in Audible, and iTunes has some very good podcasts that are audiobooks, some even are series. eBay is a good place to get 2nd hand audiobooks as well as Amazon. If you need more information email me. Hope you find this helpful.