The 7 practices I rely on to find great ebook deals every day – Modern Mrs Darcy

My mission here at Modern Mrs Darcy is to help you get more out of your (reading) life, and one of the ways I try to do that is to keep you stocked with good books. For many readers, a well-stocked e-reader helps them create more time to read, which is why from the earliest days of Modern Mrs. Darcy, I’ve tried to share great ebook deals on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. (Lately I’ve been experimenting with my new Amazon influencer page. I receive an affiliate commission from purchases made through these links.)

Eventually it made sense to give these deals a permanent page: View that here.

I don’t necessarily look for the cheapest books (although sometimes the books I share are FREE), or the bestselling books (although sometimes I share bestsellers). I’m looking for the magical combination of excellent books at an excellent value. That’s why if a book I can’t stop recommending goes on sale for $.99, I share it—and if that brand-new book with the forever-long library queue goes on sale for $9.18, I share that, too.

If you’re an ebook reader, you can bookmark the page, or simplest of all, add your email below to get the list delivered to your inbox each morning.

I update this list almost-daily. (Sometimes there are great deals to be found, sometimes not. If I can’t find anything worth sharing, I don’t clutter up your inbox.) But if I find something great, I’ll always share it there.

I share based on U.S. prices, and based on titles I love and think you will, too. I’m happy to do the work for you each day. But if you’re not in the U.S., or are interested in different genres, today I’m sharing my best tips for finding ebook deals so you can find them yourself.

The top seven ways I find great ebook deals:

1. I get lucky. I blog about books, and spending time on sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble is part of my daily workflow. When I pop over to link to a book, check a publication date, or verify a subtitle, sometimes I make a happy discovery. When I happen to find a great sale, I share it with you.

2. The publisher or authors tell me. This is another form of getting lucky. Publishers and authors often plan—or at least know about—promotions. Some sales last for just a day; some last for weeks. Either way, I’m always happy to get a heads-up so I can pass the information along to you.

3. MMD readers tip me off. You guys are great about sharing the book love. Many of you have been kind enough to share the great deals you’ve found with me, so I can share them with you.

4. I use lists. I keep a wish list of titles I’m interested in (for my sake and yours) on Amazon. For years, Amazon had a feature that let users sort their lists by price, and I would sort from lowest to highest to check for great deals. Recently, that feature has been either disabled entirely or malfunctioning, so I don’t rely on this process like I used to, but I’m ever hopeful Amazon will bring back this feature.

5. I check the ebook deal sites. There are tons of these, as well as daily email services, but the only site I regularly use is eReaderIQ. I’ve found choosing the right filters is important: I typically search for books that are on sale for between $0.99 and $6, and are discounted by at least 10%. I check this site a few times per week.

6. I look for featured deals. Amazon and Barnes & Noble both feature daily and monthly ebook deals. Barnes & Noble has recently expanded their options; I’m including links for your convenience: Nook Daily Find | Nook Books Under $2.99 | Nook Books Under $5 | Top Free Nook Books | Nook Deals for Kids and Teens.

7. I use the “customers who bought this item also bought…” feature. I can’t explain why this works, but it does. I start by searching for a book I love and recommend and can quickly page through other books I’m likely to enjoy, with their current prices. There will be a lot of duds in the mix, but I find winners often enough to make the search worthwhile.

If you have any tips or tricks for finding great ebook deals, please share them in comments!

P.S. The budget summer reading guide, how to listen to Audible audiobooks for free (without a membership!), and how I make time to read.