Why Should You Double-Check Your ISBN?

Are you trying to buy or rent a textbook for a college course? Maybe you want to sell a textbook you’ve finished using to get some spending money or money for other school supplies. In any of those scenarios, it’s important to double-check the ISBN on the book. Discover what an ISBN is and why it’s important to double-check them on your textbooks.

What is an ISBN?

An ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is given to every book as a way to identify it. It’s the equivalent of a fingerprint for a book. In short, no two books have the same ISBN. For many years, the ISBN consisted of ten numbers. But, since January of 2007, an ISBN has 13 numbers. So, counting the numbers in the ISBN of a book can tell you if it was published before January of 2007.

Where is the ISBN on a Book?

The ISBN of a textbook is located on the back cover near the bar code. Sometimes used textbooks have other stickers on them that have accumulated over the years. Peeling off the stickers and checking the actual back cover of the book will reveal the book’s true ISBN. If there’s no ISBN on the back cover of a book, the next place to check is the copyright page.

Reasons to Double-Check the ISBN on a Book

Ensure It’s the Right Edition of the Book

Some textbooks have several editions. Sometimes authors of textbooks update information and add material resulting in a new edition of the textbook. Or, a new author may be added to the list of authors after adding more material to the textbook. Looking at the ISBN tells you exactly what edition you have. You want to buy or rent the edition being used by the professor in your course. This can make a lot of difference because if you get an older edition of a textbook, you may not have all of the material you need to have success in the class.

Get an Accurate Price on the Book

Double-checking the ISBN on a book can help you determine what it’s worth when you try to sell it. The price is connected with the edition of the book along with other information about it. If you want to see if you can sell your textbooks at BooksRun, then simply enter the ISBN into the search bar. You’ll be able to find out if your textbook is being purchased by BooksRun or if you have one that’s not being bought back at this time.

Make Sure the Author and Title Match Up

Some textbooks have similar titles. If you are unsure of the author of a book and only remember part of a title, you can check the ISBN to get the title and author’s name connected with the book that bears that number. Titles and author names can get confusing, but the ISBN reveals definitive information about that written work.

Avoid the Hassle of Exchanging or Returning a Textbook

If you do mistakenly rent or buy a textbook without double-checking the ISBN, you may have to return it or exchange it for the book required by your professor. This can be a hassle, especially if you are shopping for all of your books at once for a full schedule of classes. Not surprisingly, you want to cross that task off your to-do list and move onto the next to prepare for your classes. Furthermore, if you realize you have the wrong textbook for a course after the course begins, you may get behind on your work because you don’t have the correct textbook.

Lastly, double-checking the ISBN of a textbook is a fail-safe way of getting the exact book you need for a class. Plus, if you’re planning on selling your textbooks, checking the ISBN can tell you what price to expect to get for the book. You may be planning on using the money you get from selling your textbooks to buy or rent next semester’s books. If so, then knowing the prices ahead of time can help you map out your textbook budget for upcoming classes.