diff --git a/src/server/shared/datastore.php b/src/server/shared/datastore.php
--- a/src/server/shared/datastore.php
+++ b/src/server/shared/datastore.php
@@ -101,6 +101,12 @@
     $this->db->commit();
 }
 
+/** Abort an ongoing transaction. */
+public function rollback()
+{
+    $this->db->rollback();
+}
+
 /** Verify the database schema, and fix if needed. */
 public function checkSchema()
 {
@@ -135,7 +141,7 @@
     $res = $this->db->query('SELECT col_version FROM tbl_version');
     if ($res === FALSE) {
         // restart transaction, so this fail doesn't block the following commands
-        $this->db->rollback();
+        $this->rollback();
         $this->beginTransaction();
         return 0;
     }
diff --git a/src/server/shared/product.php b/src/server/shared/product.php
--- a/src/server/shared/product.php
+++ b/src/server/shared/product.php
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@
             $entry->delete($db, $this->productId);
 
         // delete data tables
-        $stmt = $db->prepare('DROP TABLE ' . $this->dataTableName());
+        $stmt = $db->prepare('DROP TABLE ' . $this->dataTableName() . ($db->driver() == 'sqlite' ? '' : ' CASCADE'));
         $db->execute($stmt);
 
         // delete product
diff --git a/src/server/shared/schemaentryelement.php b/src/server/shared/schemaentryelement.php
--- a/src/server/shared/schemaentryelement.php
+++ b/src/server/shared/schemaentryelement.php
@@ -98,14 +98,23 @@
             return;
         }
 
-        if ($this->schemaEntry->isScalar()) {
-            $stmt = $db->prepare('ALTER TABLE ' . $this->schemaEntry->product()->dataTableName()
-                . ' DROP COLUMN ' . $this->dataColumnName());
-            $db->execute($stmt);
-        } else {
-            $stmt = $db->prepare('ALTER TABLE ' . $this->schemaEntry->dataTableName()
-                . ' DROP COLUMN ' . $this->dataColumnName());
-            $db->execute($stmt);
+        try {
+            if ($this->schemaEntry->isScalar()) {
+                $stmt = $db->prepare('ALTER TABLE ' . $this->schemaEntry->product()->dataTableName()
+                    . ' DROP COLUMN ' . $this->dataColumnName());
+                $db->execute($stmt);
+            } else {
+                $stmt = $db->prepare('ALTER TABLE ' . $this->schemaEntry->dataTableName()
+                    . ' DROP COLUMN ' . $this->dataColumnName());
+                $db->execute($stmt);
+            }
+        } catch (RESTException $e) {
+            // don't fail hard on column removal, this can leave the db and our schema description in an inconsistent state
+            // or block product deletion entirely
+            error_log($e->getMessage());
+            // restart transaction so this doesn't block subsequent queries
+            $db->rollBack();
+            $db->beginTransaction();
         }
     }