Beware of Online Companies Selling Cheap ISBN Packages

The ISBN number is linked to essential information about your book: what the book is, who wrote it, and what the book is about. Since the ISBN is an extension of the book itself, you should be aware of what you are buying, and who you are buying from.  Authorized ISBN assignments are attributed to designated titles and SHOULD NEVER be reused. AVOID ANY COMPANY OFFERING A MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE ON ISBN ASSIGNMENTS!

The U.S. ISBN Agency only allows certain Channel Partners, such as Publisher Services to purchase and redistribute ISBN numbers. This means that when you purchase a non-discounted/authentic ISBN from Publisher Services, you know that the ISBN is coming from a legitimate source. Because your ISBN is provided through a legitimate source, you can be sure that your book data will be communicated through the official bibliographic database (Bowker’s Books In Print), and will have as wide a reach as possible through this data.

This may not always be the case with illegitimate resellers. When selecting who to purchase an ISBN from, there may be ISBN resellers who claim to sell “authentic” or “trusted” ISBNs but are in fact unauthorized to do so. Please be aware that there are unauthorized resellers of ISBNs, and that this activity is a violation of the ISBN standard and of industry practice. Advertisements with the word CHEAP ISBN are a warning sign that users should take caution. Since the ISBN assignment uniquely identifies a title for the life of the book, authors need to be assured of the legitimacy and security of the assigning company.There is even a company which calls itself isbnagency.com, they are not the US ISBN agency.

NOTE: There are some ebook publishing companies offering discounted assignments. Aside from not having direct access to the Global Books in Print database, their barcodes do not comply with the ISBN standards.  If you use one of these illegitimate ISBNs, you will not be correctly identified as the publisher of record in Books In Print or any of the industry databases, such as Barnes & Noble or Amazon, or in the databases of wholesalers such as Ingram.

Think of an ISBN as a driver’s license for your book – it tells retailers everything they need to know about your book at a glance. However, if you buy an ISBN from an illegitimate source, it’s along the same lines as buying a driver’s license on a street corner: you’re certainly buying a license, but you don’t know whose you’re buying!

You have spent time bringing your book to life, make sure you obtain a non-discounted/authentic ISBN from a legitimate source like Publisher Services to make it available to as many potential readers as possible!