Get two free audiobooks from Audible
Like audiobooks? Here's your chance to get two for free.
(Credit: Audible)I'm a longtime fan of Audible, an audiobook-download service that lets you burn your own CDs and/or transfer books to portable devices (iPods, BlackBerrys, etc.).
The company has offered various free trials and promotions over the years, but this is the best one I've seen: Sign up for a 30-day trial of AudibleListener Gold and get two free audiobooks.
So here's how it works: You sign up for a new account (which does require a credit card), then download the Audible software (available for Windows and Mac, or as an iTunes add-on if you're doing the iPod/iPhone thing). You'll automatically receive two credits in your account, which you can use to download the books of your choice.
After the 30-day trial expires, you'll start getting billed $14.95 per month for your Gold membership, which entitles you to one audio credit, 30 percent off any additional purchases, and a free subscription to The New York Times or Wall Street Journal (the audio versions, natch).
If you routinely buy one audiobook every month, the Gold plan is pretty solid. For example, Jonathan Tropper's "This Is Where I Leave You" (a terrific read, by the way) costs $23.95 on iTunes. If you used your Audible credit, it'd effectively cost you $14.95. Already burned through your credit? Your membership price is $19.59--still cheaper than iTunes.
Of course, you can always cancel your account before the end of the trial, end up paying nothing, and walk away with your two free books.
But if you spend a lot of time in the car, on the train, or even on the biking/hiking/jogging trail, nothing beats a good book. Like I said, I'm a longtime Audible fan. It's a great resource for scoring audiobooks for less than you'd pay elsewhere.
Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog. 
Go online, 'checkout' an audio book kind of just like a real book, and use their software to download it to my Sansa e200. Works like a charm and is 100% free. I will say they may not have as near the selection but they have PLENTY of books to keep me busy reading, oops I mean listening...
Main reason I personally don't do it very much is because my mp3 player does not support bookmarking, which really is an issue with the player than the library. Just a pain if I switch off the book. If I don't I am fine when it restarts.
question - did they say they would not send you the adapter or just that they were out of stock and would be sending it at a later date?
If they said it would be coming later that is one thing. If you actually bought and purchased an item they charged you for then they did not send or refuse to that is 100% different IMO
It's true that you could lose your credits after you purchase them if you don't use them. But once you use them they are good forever, unless Audible goes under, in which case you might have a hard time downloading books you purchased, but could still have the ones you have downloaded. And there are no signs that Audible is going under.
But audible charged my credit card 1.00$ three times.
I'm not exactly sure why.
You did the same thing with Microsoft some time ago. Just what do you consider unethical?
And the fact that cnet still supports you doesn't say much for their corporate ethics either.
Perhaps you're confusing this behavior with one in which someone actually purchases something, uses it, and then returns it. A young woman's purchase of a prom dress worn just on the big night and then returned the next day is a perfect example of the type of unethical behavior to which you allude.
well ,we all go through life along our own paths. luck, man.
All they are doing is offering you a chance to sign up and try their product before you commit.
They have done this by both providing you 2 free samples as well as a 30 day membership in the Gold level. They fully realize it is unlikely they will be able to get near the number of folks to sign up for their service without first seeing if they like the service. Is it easy to use? how long does it take to get the books downloaded? Does it work well on my MP3 player? is the audio quality good enough that I would want to commit $15.00/month to this service.
Now -onto the part where you ripped Rick. He never stated you should instead take this as a chance to steal 2 books. He did clarify that if you wanted to you could cancel after the 30 days and not owe anything for the 2 books. A key piece of info that would be important to me, to make sure I don't just assume that and then find out when I did cancel I actually had to pay for the gold package and books, they were only free if I for example then signed up for a 6 month deal at the conclusion.
When you go into the supermarket and are offered a free sample of cheese and takes it but then decides not to buy a whole brick of it that is not a loack of morals issue. The company has made a choice to offer you their product in hopes that you will try it and like it. It is a business equation where the small costs of the samples to them are believed to be lower than the profit they will get that they otherwise owuld not have from sales this may generate.
NOW - if in turn someone signs up for this with full knowledge all they are doing it for is to grab the two books and cancelling that is on the person doing that, not Rick. He did not propose that and even made a comment later to someone who did that perhaps they should have some guilt in thinking that.
I do not consider clarification that you can cancel if you don't like it to be the same as proactively suggesting you do just that (which again he did not).
- by eagleatdawn November 18, 2009 3:17 AM PST
- thank you cnet this website is really very helpful with my downloads to improve my personal laptop's performance
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