How to Save Money on eBooks

E-books are becoming increasingly popular, with more and more e-Readers hitting the shelves each day. The ability to store hundreds, if not thousands, of books digitally is appealing to traditional readers, and offers the ability of maintaining a good read without even leaving the house. Though not unreasonable, a typical ebook will cost approximately $9.95, turning off potential buyers who will opt to purchase used hard-cover or paper books at a fraction of the price on online marketplaces such as EBay or Amazon.com. However, there are many ways to cut the costs of buying ebooks. Here are some simple ways to do so.

The first and most obvious way to save money on ebooks is by refining your search results by “price lowest to highest.” You’d be surprised at just how many ebooks will come up at $0.00. Bargain books, heavily discounted books, and on-sale books will follow suit, increasing your overall ebook discounts. Daily deals on the Barnes and Noble website and Amazon.com are also quite common and change regularly, so be sure to bookmark the home page and check back often.

Though most, if not all, eReader owners are familiar with the "Lend Me” feature, it is surprising that many do not use it, and those who do, do not use it nearly to its full potential. This often overlooked feature is paramount in saving money buying ebooks because it gives you the option of sharing and exchanging ebooks for two weeks, and it’s absolutely free!

Having this lending feature means you will be able to share, request, and offer your favorite reads at no cost, thus significantly decreasing your ebook purchases. With just five lending friends, you can read six books a month for the price of just one standard ebook. But why stop there? That number can significantly grow if apps such as Good Reads and Shelfari are used. By creating lists, writing reviews, and joining teams on these web-based programs, your changes of adding lending friends increases drastically, ultimately increasing the number of free ebooks available to you.

Book Bub is one of the most powerful websites in terms of saving money on eBooks. Readers can visit the website itself daily for deals or opt into an e-mail feature which will allow you to receive daily e-mails for eBooks. You can choose your favorite categories and only receive books in those specific areas, or you can choose to receive offers on all books. Books will range from completely free to as little as $3.99 and can cometimes be up tp 80% off retail value.

A great way to obtain free ebooks is by visiting and following the NOOK blog. Each Friday, a new book will be available for download at no cost. It's as simple as that. If you are new to the blog and haven't taken advantage of this opportunity, you can visit the blog category "Free Fridays" at any time to see what ebooks had been offered. Though they will no longer be free, many are still available at a discounted rate. Followers of NOOK's Facebook and/or Twitter accounts will also receive offers for discounts and free books, so if you are an avid reader, this may be extremely helpful in your search for no-cost downloads.

Though the lending feature offers the option of sharing books for free, and many books are available through this application, not all books are lending-ready. Libraries all across the country are now offering ebook rentals in which, much like with paper-based books, renters are able to download their ebook through the library system, and keep the book for two or three weeks (depending on library policies). The number of available books for downloads grows daily, but in general, many bestsellers are obtainable. Since bestsellers are often times the most expensive e-books, the option of renting ebooks from your local library will significantly cut your costs.