![]() |
#1 |
cacoethes scribendi
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 5,818
Karma: 137770742
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Australia
Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650
|
Disappearing ebook editions?
Tonight I logged into Kobo AU and almost 20% of the books on my Wishlist were marked "Item has Changed", and when I looked it seems the books are no longer available. Some examples:
Robert Goddard's "Borrowed Time", but most of the rest of his books are still there. Robin McKinley's "Spindle's End", but at least some of her other books are still there. Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl" series seems almost completely gone, omnibuses and individuals both missing, but some of his other books are still there (including the newer Fowl Twins books). Anne McCaffery's "Talent" series disappeared. "The Anthropocene Reviewed" by John Green disappeared ... in fact it looks like most of his books are gone, while his brother Hank's books are still there. And so on. A lot of the older stuff I own in paper and only had on the wish-list just in case they ever came up on special, so no big loss. In the past I've had a book here and there disappear, but I thought this mass extinction was bit strange. Is anyone seeing it anywhere else? |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 |
Grand Sorcerer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 6,111
Karma: 34000001
Join Date: Mar 2008
Device: KPW1, KA1
|
Not right now, but I have a few books bought from Kobo that are now not available anymore (not there, and not anywhere else either, as far as I've been able to see), so it isn't something new.
|
![]() |
![]() |
Advert | |
|
![]() |
#3 |
Walking Library
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 250
Karma: 3869938
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Canada
Device: Kobo Libra H20, Kindle Paperwhite 5, 16 gb version
|
Have you tried Amazon? I've had a fair number of books on my Kobo (Canada) wish list display the same notice only to find them turn up there as Kindle Unlimited books. And Kindle Unlimited demands Amazon exclusivity, last time I checked. Not saying that's what happened to yours, mind you, ebooks can get pulled for many reasons that may or may not make sense to us customers. But it is a possibility.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 |
Resident Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 78,964
Karma: 144284074
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
I went to eBooks.com and switch to AU. I found this..
https://www.ebooks.com/en-au/series/the-talent-series So have a look there and see if the other eBooks you don't see at Kobo are there. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 |
Custom User Title
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 10,599
Karma: 74166147
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Canada
Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD
|
See here my difficulties in finding the eBook copy of "Farmer in the Sky," including a Baen page going "sorry, this isn't sold anymore."
It's... frustrating because eBooks is obvious solution for when books are not quite popular enough to keep printing indefinitely. When they're unavailable it just pushes people toward acquiring them illegally. Last edited by ownedbycats; 04-07-2022 at 08:08 PM. |
![]() |
![]() |
Advert | |
|
![]() |
#6 |
cacoethes scribendi
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 5,818
Karma: 137770742
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Australia
Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650
|
Most of the books appear to be available on ebooks.com (thanks for the suggestion JSWolf) and on Amazon AU (and not just Kindle Unlimited). So at this point it looks like a Kobo-specific thing. I've had other books disappear, it's just the magnitude of this event that stood out - my Wishlist is now 5 pages shorter than it was!
Given that the ebook editions remain available elsewhere, maybe this is some temporary glitch with Kobo and they might return ... time will tell I guess. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 | |
Custom User Title
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 10,599
Karma: 74166147
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Canada
Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD
|
Quote:
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 | |
Grand Sorcerer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 24,905
Karma: 47303824
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia
Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos
|
Quote:
But, it could be the publisher related. Whether that is the publisher withdrawing the book from Kobo AU, a mistake by the publisher, or the author changing publisher I don't know. When I looked at the list via the ebooks link above, most of the books mentioned are from either Transworld or Penguin Random House Children's UK. While there are still books from Transworld at Kobo, something might be changing. The books by Eoin Colfer that are still at Kobo AU are published by HarperCollins, which does suggest it is publisher related. Doing a search in another country can also show something. Traditionally, Australia gets the UK edition from the Australian branch of the UK publisher. That still seems to happen with ebooks. The books I looked for are missing from Kobo UK. Kobo US has them but from a different publisher. Again, that suggests something is happening with the publisher. If it is the publisher, you could ask them. If they made a mistake, hopefully it will prompt them to fix it. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#9 | |
Gentleman and scholar
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 11,464
Karma: 111111111
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Space City, Texas
Device: Clara BW; Nook ST w/Glowlight, Paperwhite 3
|
Quote:
Last edited by ZodWallop; 04-07-2022 at 09:16 PM. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#10 | ||
Bibliophagist
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 44,531
Karma: 167912829
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Vancouver
Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos
|
Quote:
Quote:
I can't really blame the author since the original contract basically allowed the publisher to keep all the revenue from the ebooks. Even when the pbook rights reverted, she had to take the publisher to court since there was a claim that since there was no mention of ebooks in the original contract, the rights could not revert. |
||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#11 |
Still reading
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 13,651
Karma: 103503445
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Ireland
Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper
|
The publishing industry is broken. Especially the big publishers.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#12 | |
Readaholic
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 5,252
Karma: 90000484
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: South Georgia
Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"
|
Quote:
Apache |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#13 |
Grand Sorcerer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 7,010
Karma: 89771343
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Device: Kindles
|
The effort and expense involved in taking the publisher to court would likely deter most authors from pursuing that even if they are likely to succeed in the end.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#14 | |
Still reading
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 13,651
Karma: 103503445
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Ireland
Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper
|
Quote:
Basic copyright law. It's why many older books are only on paper, because the original contract had no mention of ebooks, so publishers could not issue them without a fresh agreement with the Author or the Estate. Loads of authors, Estates & Publishers don't understand ebooks or that DRM is pointless and that a paper copy can be "pirated" just as easily as an ebook now, on paper or as an ebook. Google Playstore was rife with pirate ebooks (often just as PDF, which isn't a proper ebook) from paper scans at the start. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#15 | |
Resident Curmudgeon
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 78,964
Karma: 144284074
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Quote:
The problem sometimes is that when an author dies, the estate get to decide what to do with said author's works. Which is probably why the eBook has been pulled form sale. I remember the Belgariad series (David Eddings) issue. They were available in the US and UK. But they were pulled from the US. Eventually, they can back to the US. This is most likely another estate issue. Last edited by JSWolf; 04-08-2022 at 01:14 PM. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Images disappearing from eBook when transferred to Kindle | gairmscoile | Devices | 5 | 05-10-2019 10:34 AM |
Troubleshooting Disappearing ebook. | BookCat | Amazon Kindle | 19 | 01-18-2019 01:04 PM |
Omnibus and collected ebook editions | Crusader | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 224 | 11-11-2017 11:55 AM |
What I don't like about ebook omnibus editions | ShellShock | General Discussions | 39 | 12-04-2013 04:09 PM |
Will ARC editions become the ebook version of a hardback? | joenunya | General Discussions | 17 | 08-02-2011 02:58 PM |