"Sorry, this item is no longer available" - but it is

[Uncle Robin]

I have a couple of books in my Kobo library that I bought several years ago. When I click on them in "My Books" I get the following error message:

Sorry, this item is no longer available. You can look for other items by this author or about this topic using the search bar above

I have already downloaded the books long ago, but my question is related to the fact that same books ARE available for purchase in the Kobo Store. When I enter the name of the books, they turn up as available to purchase with no "you already have this book".

Are the new editions likely to be very different (they show the same covers, at least) and If I download the copies I bought earlier, will they update to the new editions?

I'm a bit miffed at the idea that Kobo would re-release books and pretend I hadn't already bought them.

[Calenorn]

While Kobo customer service is often baffled by our technical issues, in this case I would expect them to restore the book to your library. If you call them, let us know how it goes.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Calenorn

While Kobo customer service is often baffled by our technical issues, in this case I would expect them to restore the book to your library. If you call them, let us know how it goes.

Thanks - I did call them, and it was fixed - both books in my library have been updated. Now to grab the new versions. Also, I now know that if I see this again, it can be quickly fixed. Thanks!

[jcotton42]

Just in case you might want to deDRM the books in your collection, that way if this happens again you aren't stuck without the content you paid for. The easiest way is to use the deDRM plugins for Calibre https://github.com/noDRM/DeDRM_tools, specifically the Obok plugin.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by jcotton42

Just in case you might want to deDRM the books in your collection, that way if this happens again you aren't stuck without the content you paid for. The easiest way is to use the deDRM plugins for Calibre https://github.com/noDRM/DeDRM_tools, specifically the Obok plugin.

I alluded to this in my initial post, I had done this with all the book in my Kobo library. I do it as a matter course, and have done so for the last 4 years or so. But the copies I have would not be the same as the new ones, hence my interest in getting access to the newest versions. Which I did de-drm as soon as they were available to me.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Thanks - I did call them, and it was fixed - both books in my library have been updated. Now to grab the new versions. Also, I now know that if I see this again, it can be quickly fixed. Thanks!

It's good to hear of your positive outcome. I had a similar situation where nine of my purchased books simply vanished from my library. Fortunately, I maintain a backup of purchased books. Nevertheless, Kobo said there was no record of said books on my account, anywhere, and I would need all receipts, from years prior. I described my dilemma here on MR a couple of years ago and was excoriated and indirectly accused of lying. (And I remember who you are)

[Uncle Robin]

This has just happened AGAIN. A book showed up as "no longer available", yet was offered to me in the Store, with no acknowledgement of the fact that I'd already bought it. In this instance, I had moved it to my archives after downloading and when I went into my archives, it was not even listed there! Clicking on the link in my purchase history brought up the "this item is no longer available" page. A very helpful CSR eventually fixed it for me and I have a copy back in My Books, she also kindly gave me 2400 Kobo Super Points, which will help broaden the range of "freebies" available to me.

I do have a question though about these three books. is there any tool available to check the two versions for changes? I'm just curious to know why an old version was 'erased' and new version offered, and would like to know if there have been significant revisions.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

I do have a question though about these three books. is there any tool available to check the two versions for changes? I'm just curious to know why an old version was 'erased' and new version offered, and would like to know if there have been significant revisions.

If they are both epubs, you can use calibre to do a comparison. But, if they are different editions, then the differences in styles will probably mean there are to many differences to see what the real differences are. But, converting both to plain text and comparing those should give a good indication of whether the text has changed. You probably want to strip the front and back matter before doing that. And watch for things like one edition using "Chapter x" in one and just "x" in the other. Or differences in what sort of quotes are used.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by davidfor

If they are both epubs, you can use calibre to do a comparison. But, if they are different editions, then the differences in styles will probably mean there are to many differences to see what the real differences are. But, converting both to plain text and comparing those should give a good indication of whether the text has changed. You probably want to strip the front and back matter before doing that. And watch for things like one edition using "Chapter x" in one and just "x" in the other. Or differences in what sort of quotes are used.

Thanks David, that is very helpful information.