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Amazon is at it again, offering us discounts on Kindle books, making ebooks even more affordable. Kindle Countdown Deals are limited time offers on books, giving discounts off of the retail price. Kindle First gives you early access to books before their publication date plus a deep discount. These recent announcements make for sweet deals on Kindle books and may even help you save money on Audible books as well.
[tip]You don’t need to own a Kindle ereader to read Kindle books. You can read Kindle books on your computer, smartphone or tablet [/tip]
Also see, Load Your Kindle Lightly! for more ways to save on Kindle books!
Kindle Countdown Deals
Kindle Countdown Deals are like Amazon’s Lightning Deals, but for Kindle books. Countdown Deal promotional prices come complete with a countdown clock telling you how much time you have left before the discount disappears.
You can see which books are included on the Kindle Countdown Deals page at Amazon’s website. Countdown Deals range from one hour to seven days and only books that are exclusive to the Kindle format are eligible for the deals. As of this writing, Countdown Deals are only available in the US Amazon store.
Publishers are required to discount the price of books by at least $1 to qualify a book for a Countdown Deal, but all of the discounts I saw were significant. Many books were reduced in price from prices such as $13.95 down to $0.99.
As an added incentive for you to check out Countdown Deals, you can combine the discount on a Countdown Deal with the discount given for Whispersync for Voice enabled Audible books. For example, the book Elizabeth Street, by Laura Fabiano, is being offered as a Countdown Deal at $2.99, marked down from $15.99. The price of the Audible audiobook version of the book becomes $1.99 with the Whispersync for Voice discount, instead of $9.79. By using the Countdown Deal and Whispersync for Voice discount you would pay $4.98 rather than $25.78 for both versions of the book, a savings of $20.80.
You can search Countdown Deals by genre, customer rating and keywords. You can also see which books have Whispersync for Voice available. As of this writing, 825 books are available as Countdown Deals of which 447 are rated four stars and higher and 38 have Whispersync for Voice enabled.
Kindle First
Amazon is giving customers early access to Kindle books with its new Kindle First program allowing you to select one book a month to buy prior to the publication date. In addition to early access to the book, you can also get significant savings off of the price of the book: each Kindle First book is priced at $1.99.
Amazon editors pick four books each month to include in Kindle First and you can purchase one of the four at a discount. If you want any of the other three books you can pre-order them at the regular pre-order price and they will be automatically delivered to your Kindle or Kindle app on the publication date. Check out which books are available each month on the Kindle First page at Amazon.
You can sign up for an email subscription to be notified each month when new books are offered from Kindle First. The email subscription is free and you have no obligation to buy any of the books.
Because the books are available pre-publication, you may not be able to discover whether the books will have Audible versions and Whispersync for Voice available. None of the first four books offered in November list an Audible book as being available.
This month’s Kindle First offerings include books in the categories of general fiction, mystery, romance and inspiration. The inspiration book, We Will Survive, tells the stories of people who were inspired by Gloria Gaynor’s classic song, I Will Survive.
From the editor: “A Holocaust survivor. Families of 9/11 victims. People devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. There were also powerful contributions from victims of domestic violence and child abuse, and those who faced the loss of loved ones. All of these disparate people came to Gloria’s song at that pivotal moment in their lives and persevered as a result.”
Kindle First Free for Amazon Prime Members
Amazon Prime members can get one Kindle First book free per month. Free, as in you pay nothing. Zero. Zilch. If you want more than one book, you can pre-order the book for delivery to your Kindle or Kindle app on the publication date and pay the pre-order price for the book.
Kindle Matchbook Now Available
Good news! Kindle Matchbook has been launched. Matchbook is Amazon’s program to give you discounts on Kindle versions of print books you previously purchased from Amazon.
Read more about Matchbook at: News from Amazon: Kindle MatchBook and the New Paperwhite!
Your Thoughts
Have you discovered any books using Countdown Deals? Have you combined Countdown Deals with the Whispersync for Voice discount? Did you get a Kindle First book for November? Are you a fan of Gloria Gaynor’s song, I Will Survive? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
This extra promotion can be good for self publishers. My friend wrote a trilogy and it would be good to reduce the price of the first novel to get more followers and then they might buy the other two!
I’ve changed the style of some of my pictures. I’m looking for a suitable style and subject for a summer exhibition. I went very spooky last week for Halloween though… 🙂
Hi Mike, Yes, often an author can generate interest in their books by offering one at a discount. The pre-publication offer of Kindle First is a great way to get buzz going about the release of a new book. I especially like that Prime members can get a free book each month with Kindle First.
You’re doing a spectacular job editing your photos for a spooky Halloween feel, Mike. I can’t wait until a movie producer discovers your work!
Hi Carol,
I’m so glad that you can read Kindle books without a Kindle, because I do not have one. Not that I couldn’t buy one, but oops, I do not like Kindle 🙂
What I mean is that I do not like to read from a little screen box, if that makes sense. I like to read in print more than anything, and of course I do read a lot from my computer screen, but that’s about it.
However, my personal preferences aside, Kindle is such a great invention for those who don’t want to carry a book around and it save on paper and waste quite a bit too.
I will share those Kindle updates 🙂
Hi Sylviane, Yes, almost anywhere you can read this comment you can read a Kindle book. I can understand your feelings, plenty of people prefer print. But I’m curious if you have ever tried reading on a Kindle? The size of the screen is about as big as a page of a book and the eink technology makes reading on a Kindle very similar to reading a book.
Yes, you can read a Kindle book on a computer, PC or Mac. You can read a Kindle book using your browser or a Kindle app on your computer. Many people think you need a Kindle to read a Kindle book, but Amazon has done a great job of making Kindle books available for everyone.
Hi Carolyn,
I’ve been watching this play out on Kindle. It’s great reading your perspectives and experiences.
On the Whispersync offerings, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. While I imagine this is very different for the larger publishers, the only way I’ve found (as a smaller publisher) to get books available on Audible (and iTunes, etc.) is through ACX. A requirement for this service is that the book is already available as a Kindle Edition. Of course, there’s a time lag (generally more than a month) to get everything uploaded, approved and listed (ACX controls the two latter items). So, it’s not surprising to me that you can’t see whether an audio edition will be available via Amazon on pre-launch promotions. Perhaps the best way to guess on this one is to see if the publisher has a history of making print versions available as audio titles? I don’t know if that will be made available in time to capitalize on Whispersync deals through this promotion, though.
Hi Nanette, Wow, that is very interesting to learn from an author’s perspective how the Audiobook Creation Exchange works. Thanks so much for sharing your insights with us. Yes, it makes sense that we wouldn’t know pre-publication which titles will be available as an audiobook or with Whispersync for Voice enabled. But Kindle First is a great deal even without getting a discount on the audiobook (which may still end up happening!).
Hi Carolyn,
interesting to see that Amazon is using countdown tactics. It’s something internet marketers have been doing for years on their one-page-sales-letters, but it’s still quite uncommon in more traditional ecommerce shops.
Great info about Kindle here. I bought one about 6 month ago, and it
s one of the best things I bought in decades. Not kidding – I’m reading far more than before, because it’s so convenient.
Cheers,
Ralf
Hi Ralf, You’re exactly right, Amazon isn’t the first to use immediacy as a sales tactic. In fact, they have used that for years with their Lightning Deals and now they’re bringing it to Kindle books.
I’m so glad you’re thrilled with your Kindle, Ralf. You’re right, nothing beats the convenience of being able to take your entire library with you wherever you go! :-bd
Hi Carolyn,
Hot deals! My girlfriend turned me on to Kindle a bit recently. I need to learn more and look around more for a few good reads 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
Hi Ryan, Yes, you will find plenty of ways to get free and low cost Kindle books, Ryan. I’m so glad you like your Kindle. Be sure to check out Load Your Kindle Lightly! for other ideas on ways to save on your Kindle books.
Hi Carolyn,
Once again a very nice article, i have to think about it and the deal is also good lets see. Looking forward to more such articles.
Hi Kunal, Yes, saving money on ebooks can be easy if you know where to look. Stay tuned to The Wonder of Tech for more Kindle news!
Hi Carolyn,
I’m just getting to grips with my new Paperwhite, so very grateful for this info – I’d heard about Matchbook but didn’t know about the Kindle First program, which I will definitely look into.
Many thanks 🙂
Hi Sue, Yes, Amazon offers many ways to save on Kindle books. Be sure to check out Load Your Kindle Lightly! for more ways to save on Kindle books!
I hope you’re enjoying your new Paperwhite, Sue!
Cheers, Carolyn – I’ll check out that other post 🙂
And yes – I am enjoying it, very much, thanks 🙂
That’s great to hear, Sue. So glad you’re enjoying your Kindle! :-bd
This certainly looks awesome.
I don’t usually like reading books online (there a few exceptions: comics for instance).
But, I might change my decision on reading other books offline (primary reason is library. I can get any book I want for free at the library. Then again, owning a book – particularly a good book – feels different).
Thanks for sharing the news, Carolyn 🙂 Appreciate it!
Hi Jeevan, Good news! You can borrow Kindle books from the library. About two years ago Amazon introduced library lending for its Kindle books. You can read my article about this program : Kindle Library Lending Has Arrived!
Some books are helpful to own though, especially ones you use frequently, such as reference books. Having those available as Kindle books means you can have access to them wherever you are, even if you’re away from the Internet. Library books must be returned after a certain period of time.
Thanks for sharing, Carolyn 😀
I didn’t know about that . I will check it out 🙂
Definitely (although reference books are becoming more obsolete..thanks to Online encyclopedias and magazines). But, having a book is just unique.
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
You’re right, Jeevan. Reference books are becoming obsolete. But if you’re in a situation where you don’t have Internet, having access to a Kindle book is the next best thing!
This is a good deal Amazon is providing and it sound available to all. I have not tried and maybe it is because of lack of information but through this article am definitely going to try it. Thank you for sharing
Hi Anetta, I hope you find great books and great savings with these programs!
Hi Carolyn, I am really surprised to see this offer coming from Kindle. I mean books are coming down to the price of $1, who would miss such kind of deals. Thanks a lot for giving us the info, I would have regretted misiing out this deal.
Hello Jack, Always happy to help! Yes, there are many great deals to be found on books. You can enjoy a book even more when you saved on the price of it! :-bd