If you’re like me, you’re a voracious reader who is addicted to buying new books. Whenever you’re given an Amazon gift card, you go on a shopping spree snagging new eBook reads; however, there’s a conundrum, you see. Some eBooks, especially mainstream ones, are kinda pricey, at anywhere from $5.99 to higher than the paperback or hardcover price. How can budget-conscious readers make the most of their eBook allowance and still snag all those beautiful books on their TBR? Just scroll down for my top tips for hunting eBook bargains!

DISCLAIMER: As an author, I also buy some eBooks at full price to help out my favorite authors (especially indies). Most authors don’t make a lot of money from their book royalties, including myself, so when you’re able, paying full price can help out authors more than you know. I also understand the need for some readers to buy their books at discounted prices, as their budgets may not allow them to buy eBooks at full price. While this may be a touchy topic for an author to write about, please know that I’m writing this for the benefit of readers with strict budgets, not to undermine fellow authors.

Tip 1: Subscribe to Kindle Daily Deals Emails

As a dedicated Kindle reader, I subscribed to the Kindle Daily Deals emails about a year ago to get daily reminders on which eBooks are currently on sale. While these emails often don’t include indie books that have caught my eye, they offer a goldmine of wealth for traditionally published eBooks.

Pro Tip: Even if you buy eBooks from other platforms like Nook or Apple Books, subscribing to the Kindle Daily Deals emails can help you identify eBook sales at your vendor of choice, as long as the eBook is not enrolled in KDP select.

Tip 2: Subscribe to Author Updates on Amazon, BookBub, or Reedsy

To receive eBook deal updates for a specific author, one of the best ways to keep track of their sales is to follow their author pages on Amazon, BookBub, or Reedsy (I’ve linked to my own pages for examples of each). These platforms often send auto-emails out whenever the author places a book on sale, or when they release new books.

Pro Tip: While updates from BookBub or Reedsy come through email notifications, Amazon Author Updates can be sent via Kindle notifications!

Tip 3: Follow Authors’ Social Media Pages and Their Website

Another way to stay alert on when your favorite authors are having eBook sales is to follow them on social media, or subscribe to their website’s mailing list. This way, you’re receiving the information straight from the source.

Pro Tip: Some authors often have eBook sales on multiple books at once, so this may be the best way to find those multi-deals, as other reminder systems often only include one book at a time.

Tip 4: Subscribe to eBook Deal Websites

If you’d rather not subscribe to the Kindle Daily Deal emails, don’t worry! There are plenty of other ebook deal websites that can help you out. Bargain Booksy and Free Booksy are some of the most widely known, and will allow you to subscribe to certain genres to tailor the emails to your reading preferences.

Pro Tip: These often include more indie books than Kindle Daily Deals.

Tip 5: Wait to Purchase the eBook Until the Author is About to Release Their Next Book

If you’ve got your eye on an eBook that you’re not desperate to read right now, your best bet may be to wait until the author releases their next book. Authors often run sales on previous releases alongside their new releases to draw new readers in.

Pro Tip: If you’re wanting to snag the first in a series, you’re in luck! Authors often use Book One as a loss leader, and will heavily discount them when sequels are released.

Tip 6: Wait to Purchase Until the Book’s Birthday

Finally, one of the best times to catch an eBook on sale is on the book’s birthday–aka, it’s release date. This is something I try to do for each of my own releases, either discounting the eBooks down to $0.99, or, when they were previously enrolled in KDP select, free.

Pro Tip: To snag some of my own books on their birthdays, be sure to subscribe for email reminders, or check back here to Authoring Arrowheads on February 22nd, November 24th, or October 24th each year. 😉

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

What other tips do you have for catching eBook bargains? Share your methods in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀