Summary
- Amazon’s Kindle app is a one-stop-shop for browsing, purchasing, and reading ebooks across your mobile devices.
- Despite being a digital storefront, purchasing ebooks via Kindle can lead to accruing costs over time.
- Here are some lesser-known tips and tricks for saving big on your next Kindle ebook purchase.
For the most part, Amazon’s Kindle ereader ecosystem is pretty great. Putting aside the multi-year effort of iterating on and perfecting the hardware side of the formula, the Kindle ebook store is a thriving and diverse marketplace of written works.
However, as avid readers know all too well, being a bookworm can be somewhat costly. Building a digital library of novels is a satisfying endeavor, but costs certainly accrue over time. Some are opting to scale back on ebook purchases, and the reasons are multifaceted.
Recent controversies surrounding the removal of the ability to transfer Kindle books over USB, the inherent lock-in of Amazon’s proprietary digital book format, and growing consumer push back over the lack of ownership in the digital age, are all factors playing a role here — to say nothing of increased costs of living among other economic concerns.
If you’re like me and are looking to save some money on your next Kindle ebook purchase, then these 4 lesser-known tips and tricks are the perfect jumping off point. Your wallet will thank you, and you won’t have to give up your page-turning habit in the process.
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1 Check out the Deals section within the Kindle app
Amazon frequently highlights discounted and on-sale ebooks
Amazon Kindle
Amazon’s first-party Kindle app for downloading and reading all your favorite ebooks across your mobile devices.
One of the best ways to search for Kindle ebook deals is to go straight to the source — Amazon itself. Thankfully, the e-commerce giant makes it pretty easy to browse through currently discounted book listings.
As pointed out by Reddit user dragonstkdgirl over on the r/kindle subreddit, it’s possible to find excellent deals in the $3 or less price range if you do a bit of digging around.
To access the Deals section within the Kindle app on iOS, iPadOS, or Android, follow these steps:
- If you haven’t already done so, download the Kindle app from the app store on your phone or tablet.
- Log in to your Amazon account, or create an account if you don’t already have one.
- Launch the Kindle app.
- Navigate to Kindle Books > Deals.
- From here, simply scroll through the list of currently discounted ebooks.
While it’s not possible to check out ebook deals directly from the Kindle for Web (also known as Kindle Cloud Reader) interface, you can browse through discounts using the main desktop Amazon site. To do so, follow these steps:
- Launch your web browser, and navigate to Amazon.com (ensure that you’re logged in with your Amazon credentials).
- Head to the Kindle Books section of the Amazon site.
- Click or tap on the Kindle Book Deals hyperlink near the top right-hand side of your screen.
- From here, you’ll be taken to a page that’s populated with all the latest ebook sales on offer.
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2 Download books from the public domain
Some of the greatest works of literature can be had at no cost
Once the copyright license of a given novel expires, it enters into the public domain — that is to say, the intellectual property becomes generally accessible without restriction. As a result, a number of all-time greats, including Pride and Prejudice, Moby-Dick, Dracula, Great Expectations, and The Wizard of Oz, can be read free of charge.
Some excellent sources for finding books in the public domain include:
Once you’ve downloaded your pick of classic literature in the open EPUB file format, you can send it to your Kindle via the Save in Kindle Library share option. For additional details, XDA provides an in-depth guide on how to send ebook files directly to your Amazon Kindle tablet.
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3 Sign up for BookBub or a similar service
Receive daily briefings on currently-on-sale ebooks
BookBub
BookBub is a popular service that helps you discover and keep track of ebook deals from across the web, while letting you build a wishlist for receiving discount notifications in real time.
There are a number of apps and websites out there that help surface up-to-date deals on ebook listings across the internet. One of the more popular solutions, BookBub, provides a dedicated Free Kindle Books section with a list of discounts on offer.
Aside from Bookbub, there are a number of other sites that provide adjacent services. Popular options include:
Many of these ebook sites also offer their own newsletters and mailing lists. By signing up, you’ll be kept in the loop whenever a compelling sale is listed on a popular literary work.
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4 Consider subscribing to Amazon Prime
Prime members have access to a rotating selection of ebooks through Prime Reading
Amazon Prime Reading
Amazon Prime Reading is a cool perk for Prime members, letting you dive into a digital library packed with books, audiobooks, magazines, comic books, and more. The selection keeps changing, so there’s always something new. Plus, you can borrow up to 10 items at once.
With the Kindle brand being an integral part of the broader Amazon umbrella, it’s no surprise that signing up for Amazon Prime has its e-reading perks. In addition to standard Amazon Prime benefits — including faster shipping, Prime Video streaming, and unlimited photo storage — bookworms can enjoy unlimited access to a rotating library of ebooks, in addition to a free pre-release ebook each and every month.
If you’re fond of reading and happen to already be subscribed to Amazon Prime, then taking advantage of Prime Reading is a great way to save while bolstering your Kindle backlog in the process. Best of all, you don’t need a dedicated Kindle device to take advantage of the deal: the entire catalog is available through the mobile Kindle app on smart devices.
…taking advantage of Prime Reading is a great way to save while bolstering your Kindle backlog in the process.
It should be noted that although Prime Reading provides access to thousands of ebooks, digital magazines, and comics, the service is rental-based. That is to say, your access to ebooks is subject to a recurring subscription paywall, without any permanent ownership of the book files in question.
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