How do I get a refund or replacement for a purchased book set removed by the author from Apple Books

Question

How do I get a refund or replacement for a purchased book set removed by the author from Apple Books

Purchased 22 book set, book set has been removed from bookstore and is no longer available for download to continue reading. Went through Apple Support and all the troubleshooting with a person sharing my screens on both phone and iPad, then my problem was escalated to engineering. I received a callback with the answer from engineering that the book was removed by author, no longer available to me and I will not receive a refund.

I have seen a few posts within this community, but none with response or resolution from Apple. Purchased digital media should be honored or replaced, otherwise that amounts to theft. How is this not a larger, more talked-about issue, with seemingly no resolution?

Is it the same with music?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Purchased book set removed from my device and bookstore, Apple declined a refund citing author’s right. No digital consumer protections?

Posted on Oct 7, 2026 9:23 AM

Reply

Answer 1

lkrupp

Level 7

28,124 points

Oct 7, 2026 2:57 PM in response to Booksfabricbeads

Booksfabricbeads wrote:

No digital consumer protections?

Nope. Perhaps you should contact the author and ask for a refund instead of Apple. They are the one who removed their work. Why would Apple refund you anything? Apple is just the middle man between you and the author.

Reply

Answer 2

picas

Level 7

21,639 points

Oct 7, 2026 2:46 PM in response to Booksfabricbeads

This is why purchased books (and music) need to be downloaded.

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 8, 2026 5:50 AM in response to lkrupp

The author passed away. Aren’t digital rights negotiated between distributors and artists? When buying music online is the same practice in place? I downloaded all my books at the time I read them, but Apple CS said they go away to save space on the device. My original question was not asking about refund or replacement. I was asking about digital products and the moderator altered my question.

Reply

Answer 4

Oct 8, 2026 5:54 AM in response to picas

I downloaded all my books at the time I read them, but Apple CS said they go away to save space on the device. My original question was not asking about refund or replacement. I was asking about digital products and the moderator altered my question. When you say ‘This is why purchased books (and music) need to be downloaded’, do you mean external storage or iCloud to restore at another time?

Reply