When I enter the ISBN for the book it pops up in the system as a hardback but the copy I have is a paperback, and their are no other ISBN's listed on/in the book.  Other ISBN's are in the system for paperback versions.  How do I post this book appropriately?  I don't want someone to think that it is a hardback since it isn't, but if someone is searching by ISBN then this one won't be a match to the paperback versions.  What to do???

You have to input it as one without an ISBN. 

Sometimes, publishers will re-use the same ISBN for several editions of a book. However, PBS doesn't have that luxury. PBS ties one ISBN for a specific edition, and that is the edition that has swapping history behind it, so PBS can't change the listing. However, members posting books need to match ISBN, title, author, and book/binding type to PBS listing when they post a book. So when a publisher has changed the edition, the ISBN -doesn't- match as to title and author and book/binding type.

When this happens, the only way a member can post the book is using the Post A Book Without An ISBN feature (even though the book -does- have an ISBN). That way, the system will set up a unique PBS-ISBN for the different edition, and members can distinguish between the listings to get the specific edition they want. (Actual ISBN of the book can be added to the description area when creating the Book Without An ISBN listing so the PBS-ISBN edition will come up as available on searches for that ISBN.)

So, in your specific case, you should post your book as a Book Without An ISBN. More details about this feature is in the Help Center, here: Help Center - How do I post a book without an ISBN?

 

You'll want to make sure it's not an ARC or uncorrected proof. Paperback ACRs often have the same ISBN as the final hardcover and ARCs cannot be posted even using the 'post without an ISBN' option.

This is from the help center:

When I enter the ISBN on my paperback, the listing shows a hardcover!

Problem: You enter the ISBN on your paperback and the book Listing Preview says "hardcover" (or vice versa - you have a hardcover and the preview says "paperback").

This means one of three things:

1.  Your book is an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC)

If your book is a paperback, and the ISBN brings up a Book Listing Preview that says "hardcover", please check your book to be sure it is not an ARC.   If it is an ARC, it cannot be Posted for swapping at PBS.

Solution: You can offer this book to others in the Book Bazaar Discussion Forum (read the "How to Use this Forum" topic there before you Post!) but you must not post it to your PBS account Bookshelf.

2. The publisher chose to assign the same ISBN to more than one version of this title.

Publishers sometime choose to assign the same ISBN to multiple versions of a book.  However, PBS can attach only ONE booktype to the listing for an ISBN.  If your book does not have the booktype assigned to the ISBN in the PBS database, you will need to post it with a customized listing, using the Post a Book Without an ISBN link on the Post Books page, so that the booktype matches your book.

Solution: You will need to post this book with a customized listing for the book, using the "Post Books without an ISBN" link on the Post Books page.

 

3. The PaperBackSwap database is wrong.

This can be the case - our database is compiled elsewhere, and can have errors. To find out if this is a database error, you can do the research on alternate database archives (by doing a Google search for the ISBN).  If every single non-Amazon site says that the booktype matches your book, then this supports the probability of a database error here.  If that is the case, you can contact us (using the "send us feedback" button on the Contact Us page) to ask for binding type change for that ISBN.  These take time to do, so in the meantime, you should NOT post your book using the non-matching listing.   If the research you do brings up a mix of hardcover and paperback listings, that means you need to create a customized listing for your book.

Solution if your research shows that no other sites have listed this ISBN with the booktype that appears on our site: Contact us (using the "send us feedback" button on the Contact Us page) to ask for binding type change for that ISBN.  Binding type changes take time for us to do, so in the meantime, you should NOT post your book using the non-matching listing. You can either wait for the change, or post the book with a customized listing you create to match your book, as below.

Solution if your research shows a mix of hardcover and paperback listings for this ISBN on other sites: You will need to post this book with a customized listing for the book, using the "Post Books without an ISBN" link on the Post Books page.