title: Consumable vs. non-consumable in iOS
body: <p>We are three guys, who have made a <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sugu/id533780972?ls=1&amp;mt=8" rel="noreferrer">free game</a> for iPhone, which has been available on the App Store for almost a year.</p>
  
  <p>The app is a board game, where you create a user or login using your Facebook credentials. You are able to log out of the game and log back in with another account.</p>
  
  <p>Now we have updated the app with the ability to upgrade the user to a premium user. Allowing personal and global game statistics.</p>
  
  <p>But Apple is giving us a headache in the approval process, and refuses to accept our In-App Purchase. First they would not approve it, as it had no restore button. Then when we told them, a restore button was not required, as it was a consumable purchase, they now demand we change it to a non-consumable and add the restore button.</p>
  
  <p>Consider this scenario if purchase was non-consumable.</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>User logs in.</li>
  <li>User upgrades account to premium</li>
  <li>User logs out.</li>
  <li>User logs in with a different account.</li>
  <li>User restores the previous purchase.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>This would allow you to upgrade two accounts to premium, but with just one purchase.</p>
  
  <p>Apple's argument is, that our users need to be able to restore purchases, if a new device is setup, or a device is restored.</p>
  
  <p>But that is not the way it works. Users upgrade their accounts to premium accounts. Now when they buy a new device or restores an existing device, they just log in with their existing game account, and the upgrade will be available, because we on the server-side has marked the account as a premium account.</p>
  
  <p>So my question is basically. Were we totally wrong, when we choose to use a consumable instead of a non-consumable. And if so, how should a non-consumable be implemented in order to be (potentially) purchased more than once with different game accounts on the same device?</p>
  
  <p>And secondly, if we are correct about the usage of a consumable in-app purchase, what should we say to convince Apple, that we are on the right path?</p>