My app offers several in-app purchases which have been approved by the App Store & purchased by many users. I would like to update the contents of some of these IAPs. It is tempting to try unchecking the "Cleared for Sale" box in iTunes Connect, uploading a new version, then re-clicking "Cleared for Sale", in hopes that the App Store approves the IAP again in time for the next purchase. What could go wrong?! (like Product IDs changing, etc) Does anyone have advice about how to do this?
Updating "live" in-app purchases
The Cleared for Sale checkbox determines whether your in-app purchase products will be available for sale from within your application. In the Sandbox (your in-app purchases are reviewed in the Sandbox), if your products are available, StoreKit will return them regardless of the status of Cleared for Sale (checked or unchecked). In production, if your products are available, StoreKit will return them if and only if you have cleared them for sale.
SKProductsRequestDelegate's productsRequest(_:didReceive:) only returns in-app purchases that have been approved by the App Review team and cleared for sale in iTunes Connect. Thus, unchecking your product in iTunes Connect, will remove it from sale for your app.
What could go wrong? If your app shows your products to your customers before checking their availability with the store, your app may crash or become unresponsive as the customer is attempting to purchase a non-existing product.