I seriously don’t know the level of lameness of gifting an Audible subscription for Mother’s Day.
Or if Audible is a solid, worthwhile purchase.
Pros:
*She listens to audio books almost daily during her commute. She currently gets them from the local library (which has a limited selection).
*It solves my annual what-to-give-someone-who-doesn’t-want-anything dilemma.
*I don’t have any other ideas at this point.
Cons:
*It costs a little more than I thought it might ($14.95/month) (but I can live with that).
*Lame?
I know some think it’s weird for a guy to buy his wife a Mother’s Day gift, but it’s sort of a tradition 'round here.
Who here uses Audible? Is it the bee’s knees? Are there other options?
I’m open to any input, including better gift ideas.
I’m not sure where you are located. Is she using the Overdrive app or going physically to the library? Overdrive has a huge selection available as most libraries reciprocate.
I do use audible because the library often doesn’t not have new releases or they have limited copies. I also use it when I know it’s a book that will take me a long time to listen to.
In short, If my library had a limited selection, I’d love Audible.
I’d say it depends on whether there are audiobooks she really would like to listen to that she can’t get from the library, but could get from audible. Does the gift have to be a surprise? If not, I’d suggest she do some browsing through Audible’s selection first to see how much they have that she wants. They do have a very extensive selection.
Note that what you get for your membership fee is one monthly credit that you (i.e. she) can use to buy any one selection. They also have occasional sales, freebies, and special promotions (e.g. low prices or two-for-one-credit deals on certain selections), some of which are only available to members and others of which anyone can take advantage of.
I have it, and both my kids do too. We all love it and it has a good reader (the 30-second rewind feature is nice too). My only problem is waiting until my next credit each month. I usually break down and buy another, especially if it’s a series.
I like Audible’s app and selection. I have a small collection of books from there. What I dislike is that (unless things have changed) you can only bank up to six credits before you lose them and, if you cancel, you lose any unspent credits. This might not be a problem if you’re constantly consuming books but I personally went through periods where I’d listen Audible on my commute for three weeks but then spent a couple weeks listening to music or something else before starting my next book.
Even if I’m consuming books at a rapid clip, just on principle, I dislike any system where I paid money for a credit and then can forfeit it at their discretion.
I use Audible. It’s a good service. They’re owned by Amazon so if you have your accounts linked via the “Household” feature on Amazon (assuming you have separate Amazon accounts), you can both freely access everything in your Audible library.
I run through around 50 Audible books a year. It’s very handy. Whether it’s a good gift probably depends on the kinds of gifts that are considered appropriate in your relationship. My mother loves it when I send her Audible money as a gift.
It’s great to a point. I find that I get credits faster then I use them., and it becomes a chore. The promotions also, like a free credit that has to be sued by a certain date. If credits accumulate, just cancel and you keep your unused credits, then sign back up when you need more. Hey just thought that this may work with the platinum plan( 2 credits per month), get the number of credits I want for a while then cancel. Cheaper then the 1c/m plan on a per credit basis.
On edit it looks like they closed that door, roleover would only be for one month it now appears.
I think it’s a great gift if she listens to audiobooks frequently. You could personalize it a bit by getting a her good first book along with the subscription.
A suggestion that pretty much everyone I’ve recommended it to loves - Angela’s Ashes, read by the author. It’s particularly good as an audiobook, because Frank McCourt’s deadpan delivery in his Irish accent is just perfect.
For what it’s worth, Audible are great with returns. I assume (like Amazon) that they monitor to make sure that you are not abusing the system, but you can “return” a book (i.e. get the credit back) for pretty much any reason, including “I didn’t like it”.
I’ve enjoyed my audible subscription. They’re pretty good at getting new books (as in, the audiobook comes out about the same time as the hardback is released). So if her library (or Overdrive) is slow, then she won’t have to wait for new books.
With platinum, you pay $229.50 up front and receive 24 credits all at once. I’m not sure how the rollover works because I always use them up before the year is out.
I use and enjoy Audible. I actually canceled my subscription because I had six credits pending use, so I bought spent all six of the credits and then canceled so I wouldn’t accrue any more, but I still use the app regularly. (Though apparently there’s a way that you can cancel the subscription and keep your credits. They don’t tell you that until after you click Yes on the “Are you sure you want to cancel?” screen, though.) Anyways, my point is that given that she does, indeed, listen to audio books on a regular basis, I think it’s a good gift.
If she likes audiobooks and can spread out the credits to last her enough time, then I don’t see why not. I got my mom a subscription to Kindle Unlimited for Mother’s Day once. It’s not really a big gift holiday.
I’ve used Audible for 6 years now and really enjoy it. The app also has Channels, which are podcasts. I listen in my car, at home doing chores, and at work.
