Delete iBooks from the store - Fully

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Level 4

1,880 points

Delete iBooks from the store - Fully

I wonder how many of us have "dead" books forever clogging up our iBookstore accounts ?

I have just one - created when iBA first hit the scene outside the USA. Looking back it was really badly put together!

Now I have two choices - create an update and put it back on the store - or stay as is it now, not available on the store and sitting in my account reminding me about how bad I was in that first book!

Now all this is old news and we know we can never - delete the books we withdraw from sale. Never - when applied to anything Apple - is a variable - which depends on somebody deciding otherwise. Remember a at first we needed ISBNs - no longer, We needed to register with the US IRS - no longer and so on.

Last week Adobe announced it was withdrawing one of its apps - tough on anybody ( like me ) who bought it, I think it only had one update... but Ii am sure its replacement will be better - and cost more.

Do the app makers have the same situation we iBA clan have with dead books or can they actually delete all the files.

The obvious question now... WHY can we NOT simply delete - entirely any book we do not offer for sale - especially those which gained few if any sales.

The app makers do not delete files from the purchasers devices and iBooks on devices cannot be removed by the vendor, - each are never to be updated again - so why not allow us to delete?

A recent post identified a problem with the reviewers decided three books - were in fact all copies of one ( the "original" book and two copies) - I suspect a a new - with different title but which includes any amount of the same content of the dead book - will be considered an update and disallowed as a "new" book.

How many "dead" books do you have up their clogging up Apples servers?

Posted on May 27, 2015 6:41 PM

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Answer 1

May 31, 2015 3:06 PM in response to vinnyvg

I think that you raise some important questions. Regarding the dead (zombie?) book issue, my suspicion is that this is a coding dependency. That is, in order to allow purchasers to download or re-download a book in perpetuity, the book has to stay in the store in some fashion (e.g. unavailable but ...). This is the path of least resistance for Apple but there is no reason why this dependency cannot be circumvented in this instance. It simply takes more coding, testing, Q&A etc. etc.

So the question then becomes, "how can we convince Apple to invest in creating an exception whereby the publisher can remove a book from a publisher account without inconveniencing those who purchased the book?" What rationale will move Apple from the status quo?

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Answer 2

vinnyvg Author

Level 4

1,880 points

May 31, 2015 3:26 PM in response to Frank Lowney

Frank, you miss the point re updates ...or redownloading.. anyone of us can simply decide we no longer want a book "for sale" in the store ...and by removing the book from all 51 stores / territories....it does not show in the iBooks store. By not being able to delete it completely, it lingers forever in ..say..your paid book account list. So no matter how many sales were made...the purchasers have no further access.

Some me free apps I downloaded are no longer in the App Store and having deleted them....on a new iPad they are not available from the store. I assume they are deleted in total from the creators app account.

whether or not this is so.

I recently purchased an updated paperback book. The same title has been republished 4 times over the years....but my original purchase does not allow me a free updated issue. Why then if we decide a book is not worth having in the store for any reason...can we not delete it???? Apple have fulfilled their role and if we decide we are not intending to update it or consider it remains on sale....or more likeky...it not sold or selling any copies...let us control our product and delete it fro. Our accounts.

P

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Answer 3

Jun 1, 2015 7:14 AM in response to vinnyvg

Perhaps I have missed the point of your complaint. I **thought** that Apple was committed to providing access to purchased assets (apps, books, songs, etc.) in perpetuity. In digital, there is no such thing as "out of print." As well, eBooks, like apps, can be updated (versioned) which is yet another distinction between digital and physical goods. To cite an app example, I can still download a serviceable version of Skype for my 2g iPod touch. That version won't run on anything newer.

My assumption was that in order to offer the customer perpetual access to their purchases, some record of it would have to be kept. If it's not in the iBookstore, then the only remaining store of that data is the publisher account. Tag, we're it!

That's not to say that this can't be changed but it won't be a simple matter of asking for it. We'll have to convince Apple to expend the resources needed to code around this.

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Answer 4

vinnyvg Author

Level 4

1,880 points

Jun 1, 2015 6:48 PM in response to Frank Lowney

It is not so much a "complaint" - more a debate!

Fact: I have a book in my paid account ...which with time and experience...now looks ..well not brilliant..so I removed it from the store by deleting all territory rights. It's never going to be updated and as far as I know..anybody who purchased the book...cannot download it again.

It many be in the their cloud...but as I mentioned, I have apps that have been deleted from the app store...on a new iPad...they did not appear in my app account.

It is bearing all this in mind that I ask why when we decide a book is not going to be updated...and is not selling....and those who purchased it have it their device or have deleted it ( my wife deletes ebooks and gives away paoer books because she never reads any book twice!) so why do we / I have to forever have "zombie" books cluttering my account?

Obviously it it only affects me as no other group member appears to have the same problem!

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Answer 5

vinnyvg Author

Level 4

1,880 points

Jun 1, 2015 11:57 PM in response to Frank Lowney

Not all app makers keep support on old devices.....as I found today when a pop up advised that Dropbox "no longer supports this device" .....it's on a 2006 Apple Power PC G5.

Apple,Adobe, and others all stopped supporting / updating years ago.

Aperture prior to this cost me around £200, Adobe CS4 cost both arms and the wives legs.....all dead money long long ago. Aperture is no longer in the store, iWorks is degrading each "update".

Now the question is....will Apple delete everything Aperture to free up server space. It as been removed from the store and will never be updated again!

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