Oyster

Closed.The website no longer loads. The ebook subscription service announced in September 2015 that it would shut down as its founders joined Google.

What's in the box: There was no physical box; members got unlimited digital access to a catalog of ebooks through Oyster's reading apps.

Oyster is no longer operating. The ebook subscription service announced in September 2015 that it would shut down, and its website no longer loads. When it ran, Oyster was a US-based digital reading service, not a physical box. Members paid a monthly fee for unlimited access to a large catalog of ebooks and read them in Oyster's own apps on phones, tablets and the web. Instead of buying books one at a time, readers could browse, sample and switch between titles freely, and curated lists and editorial picks helped them find something new. Oyster was one of the better known early attempts at a "Netflix for books" model, competing with services such as Scribd and Kindle Unlimited. In 2015 the company also began selling individual ebooks. That autumn it announced it would wind down, and its founders joined Google. Former members can no longer reach the library, and there is no way to subscribe. If you want an ebook subscription today, look at services that are still active and check their current catalogs and terms directly, because Oyster's offering no longer exists in any form. This review is kept for reference only.