Playster

First, I am THRILLED that there is a service like playster! I REALLY wanted to love it, and yes, happily give them lots of money so I could listen to audiobooks all the time- the ones I cannot get at the library and don't want to buy. But the software both on my iMac desktop and on my iPhone is so buggy I had to quit my membership. On the phone, my primary device, the app would crash at least once every time I used it, often twice. The search feature does not find the correct items. Really- it needs work. When the app works, I will re-join.

I love the unlimited books that play store has to offer. I've been able to read a lot of new release books that I've loved, although the new releases seem to be sparser lately. I have been annoyed at the number of times I've had to reboot the website, reset my password, and get locked out frequently. I also wish that you could permanently delete books that you have already read so that you wouldn't get the message that you have many unread books left on the site. Keep improving, and we'll keep subscribing

I like the ability to listen to as many or as few audiobooks as I like. The price is decent for the selection of books offers. My biggest gripe is I have not been able to get through a month without haveing playback issues that require waiting 2+ weeks to resolve (meaning Im actively streaming through the website and not the app. Which is a problem when I travel for work as internet is not always available) or re-installing the app requiring me to re-download all of my books.
There are also quirks with the app & site re-auhenticating me a few times a day which is annoying and interrupts playback. Lastly when I start listening there is a pop-up asking if I want to listen here... not sure what that is about, but annoying thing to have to close.

I have used playster for a while now and even stuck with them when the prices almost doubled. I have had problems with the server going down this last time for 3 days. I talked to playster every day and was told they were working on it and it would be up soon. Three days later and uninstalling and reinstalling the app later it is still not working correctly. I asked if I would get credit or a refund for the days of the month the app was unavailable and not to my surprise I was told no. I am paying for a service that has been unavailable. I am pretty sure if I don't pay they are going to let me continue to listen to their books so why is okay for them not to provide what I am paying for?

As a software engineer working in an agile work environment, I have a lot of empathy when it comes to bugs in code. However, this seems to happen all too often with Playster. The service isn't consistent enough for me to pay as much as I do for it.

I wanted to try Playster over Audible, because I like the idea of streaming audiobooks vs purchasing them, but the price has doubled since I initially signed up. I often feel I would be saving money by switching to audible, and even worse, I'm often unable to even listen to my audio books on my commute to/from work because of a bug.

2 main things that need to change:
1. Find a price point that makes it worth streaming audiobooks. If it is just as expensive as Audible, where I actually purchase and own the book, then I'm losing out going with Playster.
2. Make the platform more stable. Create a testing suite with end-to-end tests to build confidence that new features will not break the product.

On a plus side, it seems the product team is very engaging with the community, so keep that up.

Ill start by saying this app is (mostly) worth it. The price, the selection. I love it! I listen to a book a day so its really been a money saver. BUT. The app itself is horrible. It interrupts my reading MULTIPLE times to ask if Im enjoying this book I shoukdncheck out these books or it will ask me if Im still listening, yes this isnt Netflix I want to listen to many, many chapters, usually all of them. When I pause the book or stop the book to say answer a phone call I cant just restart it easily. I have to go back to the book homepage and click listen again and it usually goes back a ways from where I was. I also have to adjust my speed EVERYTIME I leave the app. Even while listening. Please please work on this because Im not sure how much longer I can take it lol

Previously I wrote a review of Playster on this site saying it was a scam. A Playster representative read my review and contacted me about the issue I had (I was blocked from using my account because they felt I was copying or sharing audiobooks). He told me to send them an appeal, which I had already done. I gave him my membership info and he looked into it. The result is that my account has been reactivated.
In light of the reactivation I need to retract my statement that Playster is a scam. They have some bugs to work out on their app but as I mentioned in my first review they have a fairly good book selection. I'm willing to put up with the bugs because their selection is a pretty big achievement. I work for a public library and know how expensive it is to provide ebooks/audiobooks for our patrons. It's killing public libraries because the Big Five publishers have made it nearly impossible for libraries to carry large digital collections. Because libraries can't buy the books - we can only rent them - the publishers hold all the cards. For example, they put a limit on how many times a paid-for-ebook can be read. When the limit is reached the book must be bought again. It also hurts businesses like Playster and many such businesses have had to close their doors.
My advice to anyone who had the same experience with Playster banning them is to fill out the appeal form. It's easy to do. The info they're looking for is your listening habits - when & how often you listen.