What are UPCs, EANs, ISBNs and ASINs?
UPC
A UPC is usually 12 digits long and represents attributes like the weight of the product, the merchandise type, name, etc.
Why are these attributes important? Because a machine (barcode reader) ‘reads’ this code and links its attributes to a particular price. Indeed, the advent of UPC has made possible the utilization of computerized billing and faster checkouts.
As the name implies, this coding is universal, therein every retailer and each marketplace would use an equivalent code for a particular product. this is often the code that goes into barcodes and helps stores keep track of sales. this is the code that helps a manufacturer identify what proportion of a product he has sold worldwide
EAN
The European Article Number (EAN) is a barcode standard, a 12- or 13-digit product identification code. Each EAN uniquely identifies the product, manufacturer, and its attributes; typically, the EAN is printed on a product label or packaging as a bar code. We require EAN codes to improve the quality of search results and therefore the quality of the catalog as a whole. You’ll be able to obtain EANs from the manufacturer.
If your customer base resides within the US and Canada, stick with a UPC as most older barcode readers can only recognize the 12 digit UPC. If you’re selling internationally, you’ll need an EAN.
ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique commercial book identifier barcode. Each ISBN code identifies only a book. ISBN has either 10 or 13 digits. All ISBN assigned after 1 Jan 2007 has 13 digits. Typically, the ISBN is printed on the rear cover of all the book.
For example, the ISBN code for J.K.Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, Adult Edition, Paperback, UK edition is 978-0747595823, and this code identifies uniquely this book and edition.
Every country has a national ISBN agency. Depending on where you’re living, you need to approach the agency with the information about the book and the author.
ASIN
Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs) are unique blocks of 10 letter plus numbers that identify items. You will find the ASIN on the item’s product information page at Amazon.com. For books, the ASIN is that the same because the ISBN number, apart from all other products, a replacement ASIN is formed when the item is uploaded to our catalogue. you will find an item’s ASIN on the merchandise detail page alongside further details concerning the item, which may include information like size, number of pages (if it’s a book) or number of discs (if it’s a CD).
ASINs are often used to search for items in our catalogue. If you recognize the ASIN or ISBN of the item you’re trying to search out , simply type it into the search box (which are often found near the highest of most pages), hit the “Go” button and, if the item is listed in our catalogue, it’ll appear in your search results.
For example, the ASIN for Hasbro’s “Monopoly” game is B00005N5PF as an ASIN