Microsoft today announced that it has completely closed the ebooks category in the Microsoft Store. Microsoft Store customers can no longer buy new e-books today, as the category is no longer included in the Store.
According to Microsoft's announcement, customers who have already purchased ebooks from the Microsoft Store will lose access to those books starting July 2019. Microsoft will issue a full refund to its customers for the purchased ebooks, provided that the original payment method still applies. The customer whose original payment method is no longer valid, as well as customers who paid using a giftcards or credits, they will not receive any credit from the Microsoft Store.
The paid and the free ebooks, will be completely removed from July 2019. Customers can read their books and notes until July 2019. Customers who add notes to books will receive an additional $ 25 credit to their Microsoft account.
It is noteworthy that the announcement does not concern Greece, as Microsoft has given access to the ebooks category only in the USA, suggesting that the closure of the category concerns a limited number of users.
The class of books is not the first to remove Microsoft from the Store. The company previously cut off Groove Music and Music Pass 2017.
The discontinuation of the sale of ebooks by Microsoft shows that electronic markets μπορεί να είναι μεν βολικές, αλλά μπορεί να χάσετε την πρόσβαση σας σε ψηφιακά products anytime. It's not just small companies that put your purchases at risk. If one of the world's most successful companies can't support an entire shopping category, then any company could go bust at any moment.
For Microsoft, it's the second consumer product category to close in store. Customers who use the Store to buy digital games, apps, or other media may wonder if it's a good idea to shop there. And in general the company seems to be ditching a lot of consumer products, Windows Phone being another example changes in its politics. What will things be like a year or two from now?
