Google Play Books - no download option

Hello everyone,
Has anyone here had the problem at Google Play Books that some books are not downloadable? I did find some threads on the google help forum about the problem but I couldn’t find a solution. Anyone here has an idea? Is it on the publishers request? And is it possible to determine before a purchase wether or not download is available?

Yes, the Google Play store has some books that are downloadable and some that aren’t. But you can determine which is which by looking at the Book Info page under the section “Best For” – there it usually will say “Web, Tablet, Phone, E-Reader”

It it specifically says “E-Reader” in that list, that means the book is downloadable. And if the list under “Best For” does not include e-reader, (just says “Web, Tablet, Phone”) that means the book is not downloadable. And in my experience, there is pretty much nothing you can do to download those books – I’ve tried.

As you mentioned, this probably has to do with deals with publishers etc. If there is a book you want and it isn’t downloadable, I’d check the Kobo and Amazon Kindle stores. But I know that some of those books are only really available on Google Play – and that may be why they’re not downloadable in the first place.

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Aha… The book I bought (and returned) did indeed not mention E-Reader. And it was also not available at the other sites you mentioned. Fortunately, they seems to be less common so still lots to choose from. Thanks a lot for your help!

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