# Why is Audible so aggressive in trying to get me to use free credits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [October 24, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771 "2020-10-24T16:57:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/21 "2020-10-25T18:03:29Z")
The catch is you have to spend the credits before you do or they’re gone. That never made sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/22 "2020-10-25T18:39:37Z")
Yeah, I’ve always found the “Membership costs $X per month, which gives you one credit for the purchase of one book, but if you lapse in payment, we take away all credits you have accumulated!” part a bit shady, too. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/23 "2020-10-26T06:48:24Z")
The last option listed is probably the key to this situation “\* Use credits to [purchase audiobooks as gifts” You’re acting as their marketing arm in getting potential new customers. As I said above, getting a customer through the door or to your website costs money. Sometimes a lot of money. It’s a win-win situation for the company. As long as you use your credits, they can claim you as a continuing customer. If you use it to give a gift someone who’s not a member, their potential customer acquisition cost is nothing. The only possible losing proposition I can think of is if you used your credit to gift an existing customer and then cancel immediately after. Rinse and repeat by each recipient. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/24 "2020-10-26T07:10:35Z")
I shop at Longs Drugs which is owned by CVS and ever since the takeover, I continually get coupons either on the back of my receipt or via email. It’s usually $X off $Y amount. But if I haven’t visited in few weeks, I’ll usually get “We’ll give you $X to spend” coupons. Again, paying for customer retention is cheaper than customer acquisition. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/25 "2020-10-26T13:02:35Z")
Last year I posted a thread about buying from Audible versus alternatives. {Option 1} A used bookstore near me has an audiobook rack, I started buying cheap CD sets uploading them into my computer and then downloading them onto my iPhone. Very cheap, but a very limited and inconsistent selection {Option 2} I found there were newer books that I really wanted to read that they didn’t have and I was debating the decision to use Audible versus buying from Apple. I posted here asking for Doper’s thoughts. The cost of buying audiobooks from Apple vs Audible was about 20 to 25% less per individual book on average. My impression is that Audible really inflates the “cover price” of their books to make it look like you’re getting a steep discount if they offer promotions. No one here could really explain why an Audible membership was a better option, so I just buy individual audiobooks from Apple now. I still don’t really understand the subtleties of one gets with an “Audible Membership” but I’m happy with the everyday 25% discounts through Apple ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/26 "2020-10-26T13:25:47Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > Yeah, I’ve always found the “Membership costs $X per month, which gives you one credit for the purchase of one book, but if you lapse in payment, we take away all credits you have accumulated!” part a bit shady, too. The whole model puts me off. Save too many credits? Lose them. Want to cancel? Lose them. Actually like the product and want to buy a second book that month? Pay far more than the $15 that got you the monthly token. It feels like they aggressively don’t want to me to subscribe to their service. As is, I only sign up if there’s some “Get three books” offer or something similar, pick out my titles and unsubscribe again. Staying subscribed to them feels like a racket. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/27 "2020-10-26T13:34:16Z")
> [@GMANCANADA](#): > > No one here could really explain why an Audible membership was a better option, so I just buy individual audiobooks from Apple now. I still don’t really understand the subtleties of one gets with an “Audible Membership” but I’m happy with the everyday 25% discounts through Apple As of a month or two ago (i.e. since that thread), Audible memberships now come with “Audible Plus”: unlimited listening to a limited (but still fairly large) selection of titles. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/28 "2020-10-26T13:38:57Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Save too many credits? Lose them. FWIW, about a year ago they upped the number of credits you could have saved at one time, from 6 to (I think) 12. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Actually like the product and want to buy a second book that month? Pay far more than the $15 that got you the monthly token. On the other hand, some of their books cost less than $15 (for members), and it feels “wasteful” to use a credit on them. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/29 "2020-10-26T13:48:06Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > On the other hand, some of their books cost less than $15 (for members), and it feels “wasteful” to use a credit on them. True. But then no one is making you use the credit on them either. As I recall, even if you own a credit, you can still opt to pay the $8 for some ninety minute long recording if you want to. Although that still puts you at risk of bumping against their stored credits limit since now you’re not using them. I have just found their entire system very off-putting. I paid for the credits, let me store or save them how I want. Don’t keep threatening to take them away from me. Instead, it felt like they were trying to game me into losing them. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/30 "2020-10-26T14:37:18Z")
A friend of mine used to develop firmware for AIO (All In One) printer/fax/scanner machines. The machines were sold as ‘loss leaders.’ The money was in you perpetually buying their (highly profitable) replacement ink cartridges. The business people directed that, when the AIO ran out of ink, the scanner and fax functions should be rendered inoperable. IOW, if you didn’t buy more ink, you had a boat anchor on your hands. Marketroids. You just have to love them, huh ? But there’s a bit of a Nuremberg thing here: they truly _are_ just following orders in a profit-above-all environment. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/31 "2020-10-27T08:23:36Z")
$15? I pay less than that. If I paid that much, I’d cancel. I pay $6.99/month. And I frequently get offers for “2 books for one credit!” I wonder if I have a mistake? Maybe I joined under an introductory plan where my first _n_ months were supposed to be $6.99, and it was supposed to convert to the more expensive price, but it never converted. I can’t remember. I have some vague memory of an introductory plan, but I was thinking is was way less-- like $2.99 for the first 3 months, then it converted to the regular price, and I didn’t take the offer, because there was some “catch” that sounded onerous. I have Amazon prime, though. Maybe Audible is cheaper for prime members. I also have Kindle unlimited. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/32 "2020-10-27T08:25:54Z")
Oh, I use credits for short or cheap things all the time. I have _never_ paid for anything, except with credits. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/33 "2020-10-27T11:15:08Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > $15? I pay less than that. If I paid that much, I’d cancel. I pay $6.99/month “Gold” with one credit per month is $14.95. “Platinum” with two credits per month is $22.95. I can’t guess about your monthly charges. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771/34 "2020-10-27T12:41:21Z")
Hmm, that is odd. I have both audible and prime, both for many years now, and definitely pay $15/month. Most of the books I buy tend to be 40+ hour monstrosities, with normal price tags well over $50, so the $15 feels like a steal to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-audible-so-aggressive-in-trying-to-get-me-to-use-free-credits/923771.md?page=1)