sometimes when i post books, the cover image does not match the ISBN number. i know this is not supposed to matter according t the guidelines -- but it definitely does matter i am sure when people are scanning through posted books, especially classics.  this is especially relevant when a book has a much newer cover than the image posted in the database.

is it possible to update the images for books already with an existing ISBN in the database?

thanks

Yes, under edit book data in the other options pull down menu.  

Please note that a newer cover might apply if the publisher used the same ISBN as the older issue.  This often happens with classics.  They cut their cost by reusing the same number.

In addition, all book images are reviewed by a volunteer member.  It can take a while until the image is updated.  There are guidelines as well, for the image to not have white space or the Amazon search inside arrow.  

The computer automatically pulls images from other websites.  Edits are manually done.  You might be better off replacing the blue boxes for books without images.

If there's a blue "no image available" box, then you'll see an "upload" button underneath it that you can use to upload an image.  If there is already an image in place, you can go down to the bottom left corner of any page here.  Under "my account"  click on "member tools" --> "upload book covers."  Or you can also upload a replacement image by going to the book's listing, clicking on "more options" and choosing "edit book data."  If you choose the "edit book data" page, once you've clicked on your image, you're done.  Don't go down to the bottom and click "submit edit" unless you are also editing the listing.  (The image goes to one approval queue, while the data edit goes to a completely different approval queue.  Only the data edit approvers see the message you type into the "reason for edit" box.)

Images need to be in jpg format.  They should be straight (scanned images work best -- photos are often skewed), cropped (with no background showing), and clear, and large is better than small.  300 x 500 pixels is an ideal size, although other sizes will work.

If you are replacing a  blue "no image available" box, your image will show up shortly after it's approved.  If you are replacing an existing image, it could take up to three weeks for the new image to show up after it's approved. 

And this is from the Help Center:

If the book cover image on a listing in the database is missing or wrong...

If the book cover image is incorrect on a listing in the database (the title/author shown are wrong), or there is no cover image, you can submit an image for the book to our Book Image Collection volunteers, as follows:

• Find a cover image for the book on another Internet database, or scan one in or take a digital photograph
  • The image must be less than 5 MB
  • The image must be in .jpg format
  • The image must be cropped to show only the book cover
  • The image can't be one that has "See inside!" (some images from Amazon.com have this)
• Scroll down to the bottom of any page on the site
• Click Member Tools
• Click "Upload Book Covers" on the Member Tools page
• Enter the ISBN for the book
• Browse your hard drive for the cover image
• Click to submit it
• The Image Approvers will usually approve images quickly.
  • If your image is not approved, it might have been too fuzzy or in the wrong format or not properly cropped
  • The Image Approvers will often replace your image with a better one when your submission comes in.

If the book cover image on a listing matches the author and title but doesn't happen to match YOUR copy of the book that has that ISBN:

• This image does not need to be replaced.
• Cover images do NOT have to match the book being listed, because sometimes publishers reprint using the same ISBN but a different cover art.
• ISBN, author, title and booktype must match when you Post a book; cover image does not have to match.

 but it definitely does matter i am sure when people are scanning through posted books, especially classics.  this is especially relevant when a book has a much newer cover than the image posted in the database.

Keep in mind that the books with the old cover are still posted to that ISBN. An older ISBN that is being reprinted can have several different cover versions all being offered under the same ISBN. Cover images are not guaranteed to match, that is why the guidelines say it doesn't matter if the image matches. People should not look at the image and expect to get it.

Also keep in mind that reprints of older books will often be listed here with the original date of publication, an old copyright date, or the date of a revised edition. So, a 2013 reprint of a book originally published in 1971, for example, may be listed as published in 1971 and bear the same ISBN but have a different cover. In addition, there may also be several intervening printings bearing the same date and ISBN, each with a different cover.

PBS allows only one cover image per ISBN, and several different versions of the book may be posted by members at any given time so there is no guarantee that a posted book will match the displayed cover image.

Books posted either with or without an ISBN may be listed with a very old publication date but be a much newer book and there is usually no way to determine whether a posted book is a newer or older edition. If it is important to receive a specific edition or printing of a book you might want to send a PM to the sender when requesting the book to be sure it is the one you want, but there is no guarantee that the sender will see or respond to the PM before mailing the book and as long as the required criteria are met (title, author, ISBN, binding, condition) the sender is within the rules for posting and sending the book.

If a member wants a specific cover, she should use a Requestor Condition.  See the help doc: The cover image on a  book I received does not match the listing!

I agree with Patty's recommendation to use an RC. I didn't suggest this in my previous post because I wasn't sure at the time if RCs are "sticky" in the sense that they continue to be associated with specific book requests if the RC is modified after the requests have been made.

I have now checked my transaction archive and confirmed that RCs I used a couple of years ago still show up in the archive as they were when the books were requested, whereas recently requested books show my current RC.