Book with no EPUB download option

Joques · 11-21-2013, 04:19 AM

This is terrible. I just bought The Tin Drum by Günter Grass, and when I went to the library to download the EPUB, there appeared no ADOBE DRM EPUB download button for the book. Thinking it was a bug with the scripting of the page or something, I queried Kobo customer service, and to my absolute chagrin, they said that, quote, "this only means that this particular eBook can only be read on Kobo devices or third party devices using the Kobo Application."

No EPUB download, no archiving/backing up the book locally, no editing metadata. This is completely and utterly unacceptable. There wasn't even any indication in the book description that this would be the case.

I assume Kobo will be pushing this policy going forward? It seems I have to find myself another bookstore to frequent. I am furious!

speakingtohe · 11-21-2013, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joques

This is terrible. I just bought The Tin Drum by Günter Grass, and when I went to the library to download the EPUB, there appeared no ADOBE DRM EPUB download button for the book. Thinking it was a bug with the scripting of the page or something, I queried Kobo customer service, and to my absolute chagrin, they said that, quote, "this only means that this particular eBook can only be read on Kobo devices or third party devices using the Kobo Application."

No EPUB download, no archiving/backing up the book locally, no editing metadata. This is completely and utterly unacceptable. There wasn't even any indication in the book description that this would be the case.

I assume Kobo will be pushing this policy going forward? It seems I have to find myself another bookstore to frequent. I am furious!

Seems a shoot yourself in the foot policy to me. Why would they care how you read the book as long as you have given them money? Perhaps they think their DRM is or will be unbreakable, which is vaguely possible but not that likely IMO.

Helen

paola · 11-21-2013, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Seems a shoot yourself in the foot policy to me. Why would they care how you read the book as long as you have given them money? Perhaps they think their DRM is or will be unbreakable, which is vaguely possible but not that likely IMO.

Helen

actually their DRM has been broken already. Courtesy of messages to Alf.

PeterT · 11-21-2013, 08:27 AM

Some books are only in kEpub format; not many but there are a few.

This is the same as many other book sellers. If the book has been laid out as a "Fixed Format" (this might be the wrong term) or has some multi-media aspect to it, then expect it to be not available in ePub format, but this IS rare.

Additionally, Kobo are pretty good on offering refunds.

RobertJSawyer · 11-21-2013, 10:11 AM

Awful policy. I see here on the catalog page that the "Read This On" section at the bottom only highlights eReaders and Tablets and leaves Desktop, Android, and iOS unhighlighted (not that I would have noticed that in advance myself, but I'll for sure be looking out for it from now on):

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/the-tin-drum

AnemicOak · 11-21-2013, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

Awful policy. I see here on the catalog page that the "Read This On" section at the bottom only highlights eReaders and Tablets and leaves Desktop, Android, and iOS unhighlighted (not that I would have noticed that in advance myself, but I'll for sure be looking out for it from now on):

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/the-tin-drum

For me it shows Desktop, eReaders, Android, iOS & Tablets for Read This On.

Peter is certainly correct that it's pretty rare, as are PDF downloads instead of ePub, but what's odd in a lot of those limited cases is it's not a fixed or special format book, but one that's available other places as a regular ePub (such as this one).

Joques · 11-21-2013, 11:29 AM

Either way it is unacceptable. I will see if I get a refund.

49Kat · 11-21-2013, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

Awful policy. I see here on the catalog page that the "Read This On" section at the bottom only highlights eReaders and Tablets and leaves Desktop, Android, and iOS unhighlighted (not that I would have noticed that in advance myself, but I'll for sure be looking out for it from now on):

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/the-tin-drum

I've never made a point of checking the 'read this on' link before, but I certainly will from now on. I do all of my ebook reading on Apple devices now. I had been using other apps for kobo purchased books because I was finding their iOS app to be klutzy and I had privacy concerns regarding the social aspects of it, but the app's functionality has smoothed out and I addressed the privacy issue with their support staff. I also like syncing book location between devices, and other reading apps have not made a decent job of that just yet. Kobo had been selling the 'read freely' aspect, are they backing away from that now, I wonder?

robko · 11-21-2013, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 49Kat

Kobo had been selling the 'read freely' aspect, are they backing away from that now, I wonder?

I don't think anything has changed other than the website no longer definitively indicates what formats the book is in. For as long as Kobo has been around there have been a small number of books that were kepub or pdf only. Until relatively recently (maybe getting to 6 months now) the website would tell you explicitly what formats a book was available in (kepub, epub, pdf etc). Now it tells you what devices it will work on which really doesn't tell you a lot useful.
The only way to get this back is going to be if a mass of people complain to Kobo Customer Service (who will send them a useless reply telling them that you can use the current icons as a work around which isn't really true). At one point Customers Service had told people it was coming back to the old way, but there doesn't seem to be going that way yet.

susaz · 11-21-2013, 08:32 PM

I prefer downloading books from other websites... Search a little, you might find your book in DRM protected epub

BelleZora · 11-21-2013, 08:54 PM

This happened to me when I purchased Eva's Eye by Karin Fossum. I called customer service and had a store credit within an hour. The customer service rep said that downloadable epubs will show that it can be read on a Blackberry. They really need to fix this on their website.

robko · 11-21-2013, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BelleZora

The customer service rep said that downloadable epubs will show that it can be read on a Blackberry. They really need to fix this on their website.

When this issue 1st came up it was suggested Blackberry compatibility would indicate epub, but IIRC it turned out this was not a foolproof method.

HarleyB · 11-23-2013, 03:33 AM

I recently purchased Gods of Guild by Michael Connelly and found to my dismay that there is no epub.
BUT I can't get it to download on my iphone or ipad either.
Kobo has offered me a refund but I purchased it using the 80% discount code. It will cost me $11 more to purchase it from Amazon.

This had certainly made me think twice about any future Kobo purchases. It's great that all these discount codes are available but that feeling just disappears when you don't actually get the book you bought.

sharphamster · 11-23-2013, 10:03 PM

I was given store credit for Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle and Lois Lowry's The Giver after explaining to CS chat that I read epubs on an eink Sony.

No Adobe download link and neither appeared in the Desktop app, which I checked several times. Both are Houghton Mifflin Harcourt editions available in Adobe epub from the Sony store. Oddly, a week or so later *both* titles downloaded to the Desktop when I synced my new Mini (which I love BTW).

Very much preferred the old stated format system also. Though Kobo was great about handling the situation quickly, I'm not interested in buying any kepub-only books.

ETA - Looks like all the titles are from Houghton Mifflin, excepting HarleyB's which shows as a pre-order on the US site. Is this maybe a publisher requirement Kobo has to abide by?

I'm hoping not - I sold my Nook tablet and stopped buying B&N books when I realized they had locked me out from accessing my own books on my device. I choose not to support companies that deliberately implement DRM in a user-unfriendly way against legitimate purchasers.

Billingsgate · 12-05-2013, 12:26 AM

KEPUB is less and less rare. Three recently-released books I wanted have no EPUB download option, meaning I can't read them on my Sony Reader. The advantages of KEPUB are dubious--better statistics on pages read, big f+++ing deal. The disadvantage is alienating a sizable portion of their customer base. Sure, I could read an 850-page novel on the Kobo app on my 3.5 inch screen phone, but I sure as hell don't want to.

After buying over 150 books from Kobo in the past years, I am soon to be an ex-Kobo customer.

11-21-2013, 04:19 AM	#1
Joques Addict Posts: 294 Karma: 107414 Join Date: May 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	Book with no EPUB download option This is terrible. I just bought The Tin Drum by Günter Grass, and when I went to the library to download the EPUB, there appeared no ADOBE DRM EPUB download button for the book. Thinking it was a bug with the scripting of the page or something, I queried Kobo customer service, and to my absolute chagrin, they said that, quote, "this only means that this particular eBook can only be read on Kobo devices or third party devices using the Kobo Application." No EPUB download, no archiving/backing up the book locally, no editing metadata. This is completely and utterly unacceptable. There wasn't even any indication in the book description that this would be the case. I assume Kobo will be pushing this policy going forward? It seems I have to find myself another bookstore to frequent. I am furious!

11-21-2013, 08:27 AM	#4
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,483 Karma: 78910112 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Some books are only in kEpub format; not many but there are a few. This is the same as many other book sellers. If the book has been laid out as a "Fixed Format" (this might be the wrong term) or has some multi-media aspect to it, then expect it to be not available in ePub format, but this IS rare. Additionally, Kobo are pretty good on offering refunds. Last edited by PeterT; 11-21-2013 at 08:29 AM.

11-23-2013, 10:03 PM	#14
sharphamster Anathema Device Posts: 283 Karma: 257456 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Sony T3/350, Kobo AuraH20/Mini, Axim X50v	I was given store credit for Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle and Lois Lowry's The Giver after explaining to CS chat that I read epubs on an eink Sony. No Adobe download link and neither appeared in the Desktop app, which I checked several times. Both are Houghton Mifflin Harcourt editions available in Adobe epub from the Sony store. Oddly, a week or so later both titles downloaded to the Desktop when I synced my new Mini (which I love BTW). Very much preferred the old stated format system also. Though Kobo was great about handling the situation quickly, I'm not interested in buying any kepub-only books. ETA - Looks like all the titles are from Houghton Mifflin, excepting HarleyB's which shows as a pre-order on the US site. Is this maybe a publisher requirement Kobo has to abide by? I'm hoping not - I sold my Nook tablet and stopped buying B&N books when I realized they had locked me out from accessing my own books on my device. I choose not to support companies that deliberately implement DRM in a user-unfriendly way against legitimate purchasers. Last edited by sharphamster; 11-24-2013 at 11:01 AM. Reason: New info

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11-21-2013, 10:11 AM	#5
RobertJSawyer Guru Posts: 737 Karma: 4306712 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite	Awful policy. I see here on the catalog page that the "Read This On" section at the bottom only highlights eReaders and Tablets and leaves Desktop, Android, and iOS unhighlighted (not that I would have noticed that in advance myself, but I'll for sure be looking out for it from now on): http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/the-tin-drum

11-21-2013, 11:29 AM	#7
Joques Addict Posts: 294 Karma: 107414 Join Date: May 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	Either way it is unacceptable. I will see if I get a refund.

11-21-2013, 08:32 PM	#10
susaz Zealot Posts: 149 Karma: 664784 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Buenos Aires Argentina Device: Nook Color, Grammata Papyre 6.2, Sony PRS T1, Nook ST Glow,Kobo Glo	I prefer downloading books from other websites... Search a little, you might find your book in DRM protected epub

11-21-2013, 08:54 PM	#11
BelleZora Wizard Posts: 1,442 Karma: 25151986 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Seattle, US Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Libra 2, Pocketbook Verse Pro Color	This happened to me when I purchased Eva's Eye by Karin Fossum. I called customer service and had a store credit within an hour. The customer service rep said that downloadable epubs will show that it can be read on a Blackberry. They really need to fix this on their website.

11-23-2013, 03:33 AM	#13
HarleyB Fanatic Posts: 565 Karma: 1113286 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast Australia Device: Kobo (RIP), iPad, iPhone 4, Kobo Touch x2, Kobo Glo	I recently purchased Gods of Guild by Michael Connelly and found to my dismay that there is no epub. BUT I can't get it to download on my iphone or ipad either. Kobo has offered me a refund but I purchased it using the 80% discount code. It will cost me $11 more to purchase it from Amazon. This had certainly made me think twice about any future Kobo purchases. It's great that all these discount codes are available but that feeling just disappears when you don't actually get the book you bought.

12-05-2013, 12:26 AM	#15
Billingsgate Buys too many books Posts: 100 Karma: 308429 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Hong Kong Device: Sony PRS-650	KEPUB is less and less rare. Three recently-released books I wanted have no EPUB download option, meaning I can't read them on my Sony Reader. The advantages of KEPUB are dubious--better statistics on pages read, big f+++ing deal. The disadvantage is alienating a sizable portion of their customer base. Sure, I could read an 850-page novel on the Kobo app on my 3.5 inch screen phone, but I sure as hell don't want to. After buying over 150 books from Kobo in the past years, I am soon to be an ex-Kobo customer.

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