same isbn numbers = same exact book?
08-08-05, 12:33 PM
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same isbn numbers = same exact book?
i need to buy books for school but they want us to buy from some expensive website they probably have a deal with. however, other larger websites (bn.com) are much cheaper and id rather buy from them.
so i did searches for the isbn numbers - does this mean the books are IDENTICAL? i dont want a similar book or a different version of the book. i need the same book. thanks.
so i did searches for the isbn numbers - does this mean the books are IDENTICAL? i dont want a similar book or a different version of the book. i need the same book. thanks.
08-08-05, 03:16 PM
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Originally Posted by atari2600
i need to buy books for school but they want us to buy from some expensive website they probably have a deal with. however, other larger websites (bn.com) are much cheaper and id rather buy from them.
so i did searches for the isbn numbers - does this mean the books are IDENTICAL? i dont want a similar book or a different version of the book. i need the same book. thanks.
so i did searches for the isbn numbers - does this mean the books are IDENTICAL? i dont want a similar book or a different version of the book. i need the same book. thanks.
I'm not 100% sure but I think you'd be okay. Here is what the web says about ISBN numbers:
The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) system was established in 1968 as a standard identification system for books and other monographic publications. Today all book databases use the ISBN to track books, and almost every item found in a bookshop has one.
An ISBN number is a string of number and/or letters, separated by hyphens, found on books, usually on the back cover near the barcode. Each ISBN number is unique, and from it a computer search can find the publisher, author, place of publication and other details.
An ISBN number is a string of number and/or letters, separated by hyphens, found on books, usually on the back cover near the barcode. Each ISBN number is unique, and from it a computer search can find the publisher, author, place of publication and other details.
Since different parts of the barcode identify different components, if the ISBN numbers match, then it should be okay to assume the versions also match.
Another reason is the ISBN is a vital tool for managing transactions on products in the publication supply chain. Each tradeable product within the publication supply chain needs to be uniquely identified by an ISBN so that automated ordering and other information transactions can be conducted with precision and efficiency. Unless a publisher was willing to substitute different versions interchangeably (which seems unlikely) under the same ISBN, he would have to give each version a unique number. Note though, the cover could be different, but the contents should be the same.
08-08-05, 11:13 PM
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On very rare occasion I've seen a trade paperback have the same ISBN as the hard cover, I think probably a screw up from the publisher. Also some book club books have ISBN's from the retail edition of a book (which wouldn't apply here).
08-09-05, 03:14 AM
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Ya, i work in a book warehouse, and that's how we usually find books. Sometimes, half.com might be better, especially if it was an instructor edition and they're giving you a significant deal on it. Instructor editions are the same as the retail version, just usually have a gold foil embossing on the cover saying that they were teacher's edition or complimentry. Also, sometimes the library bookstore is good for those books that you need used.
08-11-05, 09:30 PM
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As someone who works in the business, the ISBN is the one thing you can count on to deliver the correct version. If you see a book online that is hardcover, looks the same, but has a different ISBN than what you need, then it is either an instructor's copy of international version, which may or may not get you what you need. I have found that a lot of online retailers for textbooks like to sell that International Version, which winds up being the same as the standard version but more often than not paperback in form, and not something you can sell back to your local bookstore at the end of the semester.
08-12-05, 12:03 AM
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same isbn means same version - maybe a different PRINTING, but same version.
so if you want the paperback, and the isbn is the same, it should be fine.
so if you want the paperback, and the isbn is the same, it should be fine.
