Is there such a big difference between different ISBN numbers??  Basically isn't the book still the same?  I can understand if someone is looking for a classic version of a particular book, but otherwise I really don't understand why  it matters. I have 2 books (on wish lists) posted that will not swap because the ISBN is not the same.

Thanks for any input

Gayle

You could consider posting in the genre forum, or put the name of the book with the alternate ISBN in your signature so people can search that way. I just got a book that way when someone posted that it was listed under the book title with an alternate (incorrect) spelling for the author.

If you have books that are wish listed under different ISBN's you can always post that effect in the Book Bazaar.  There are even threads for that (i.e. Wishlisted Books With Different ISBN's).  If being specific to the edition is the only reason, it's enough for me.  I understand how one might think it doesn't make a difference, but it's all about specificity.  Maybe one version's a paperback, one's a hardcover, one's a tradpaperback...different page numbers, different appendices, etc...there are definitely enough things that could vary from edition to edition to warrant being specific when listing a book, and the ISBN is sort of like a book's fingerprint.  What bothers me is that there isn't any uniformity in the pubishing industry as far as one ISBN being used over several versions versus several ISBN's even when two editions are nearly identical...but such is life lol.

They aren't always the same. Sometimes they are different bindings, different publishers, abridged. Sometimes they have different content based on when they were published. I have one book wishlisted as a hard cover because the soft cover lacks the map on the inside and I want the map.

So if you are Sure that it is the same book, you might try tagging the wishlisted copy with "same as (or similar to) ISBN xxx in soft cover" or whatever the difference is and see what happens. And tag your book with the wishlisted ISBN number. I check my wishlists regularly and I also click on the author's name, so if it comes up in another version & I don't care about that, I'd order it.

I get two emails a day it seems from PBS letting me know that one of my wishlisted books is available in a different version.   

I want those two books in the trade size, not hardcover or mass market paperback, so I'm willing to hold on til the version I do want comes along.  But I've also gotten other books when that message shows up so your books might get picked up that way.

Also, some ISBNs are for Large Print but sometimes it doesn't show in the title.  This is the issue I run into since I request Large Print when possible.  I have a Requestor Condition stating that I only want the book if the ISBNs match, that way there's no grief later for either of us.  If the ISBN matches, I can't complain about the book being standard print instead of Large Print since some publishers do use the same ISBN for both versions.  (Annoying twits.)