I'm confused about isbn:, amazon:, and mobi-asin:

zoliky · 06-25-2021, 11:22 AM

Hello,
I fetched the metadata of a book using the "Download metada" button in the "Edit Metadata" window.

It downloads IDs that look like so:

amazon:123456, mobi-asin:123456

Now I used a sample number (123456) but the idea is that both numbers, the one for amazon: and the one for mobi-asin: are the same. Is that okay?

If I visit the book on Amazon and check its Kindle version, the ASIN number that is there is the "mobi-asin:" or the "amazon:"?

kovidgoyal · 06-25-2021, 01:02 PM

mobi-asin is the asin from the books metadata, there is no way to know which amazon country website it comes from. amazon: is the asin you get from downloading metadata for the book from amazon.com

zoliky · 06-25-2021, 01:19 PM

Thank you. I appreciate your time. So, basically isbn: and amazon: are the ones needed to be specified manually (or downloaded) right?

Also, is it normal that the book isbn is looked up through worldcat.org?

kovidgoyal · 06-25-2021, 01:44 PM

yes and yes.

Quoth · 06-25-2021, 03:14 PM

Except ISBNs are different per format even if the content is the same. They are not useful except to order a particular edition of a book from Retail, basically "Bookland EAN/UPC".

The ASIN is simply Amazon's unique sales code. Sometimes it's of use on a Kindle to match up the CURRENT Amazon cover for that code. Versions with fixed typos and formatting may have the same ASIN. This can also be true for ebooks. An actual revision is supposed to have a new ASIN or ISBN.

So the ISBN isn't very much use on Calibre as it's not a book ordering system and the ASIN is only relevant for putting ebooks on a Kindle if there is an issue with the cover. The ISBN is hardly relevant at all for an ebook from Amazon.

ownedbycats · 06-28-2021, 02:23 PM

Related question: If a user doesn't have a Kindle, is there any point of keeping an mobi-asin: identifier when there's an amazon: one?

DNSB · 06-28-2021, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Related question: If a user doesn't have a Kindle, is there any point of keeping an mobi-asin: identifier when there's an amazon: one?

I've found that when downloading covers, the Kindle Hi-Res cover plugin is more likely to find a hi-res cover with mobi-asin: rather than amazon: so I've been keeping the mobi-asin and dumping the amazon.

rantanplan · 06-29-2021, 03:32 AM

When using Kobo as a metadata source it'll use the ISBN for identifying the book.

06-25-2021, 11:22 AM	#1
zoliky Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2018 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I'm confused about isbn:, amazon:, and mobi-asin: Hello, I fetched the metadata of a book using the "Download metada" button in the "Edit Metadata" window. It downloads IDs that look like so: amazon:123456, mobi-asin:123456 Now I used a sample number (123456) but the idea is that both numbers, the one for amazon: and the one for mobi-asin: are the same. Is that okay? If I visit the book on Amazon and check its Kindle version, the ASIN number that is there is the "mobi-asin:" or the "amazon:"?

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06-25-2021, 01:02 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,347 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	mobi-asin is the asin from the books metadata, there is no way to know which amazon country website it comes from. amazon: is the asin you get from downloading metadata for the book from amazon.com

06-25-2021, 01:19 PM	#3
zoliky Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2018 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Thank you. I appreciate your time. So, basically isbn: and amazon: are the ones needed to be specified manually (or downloaded) right? Also, is it normal that the book isbn is looked up through worldcat.org?

06-25-2021, 01:44 PM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,347 Karma: 27182818 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	yes and yes.

06-25-2021, 03:14 PM	#5
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,030 Karma: 105092227 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Except ISBNs are different per format even if the content is the same. They are not useful except to order a particular edition of a book from Retail, basically "Bookland EAN/UPC". The ASIN is simply Amazon's unique sales code. Sometimes it's of use on a Kindle to match up the CURRENT Amazon cover for that code. Versions with fixed typos and formatting may have the same ASIN. This can also be true for ebooks. An actual revision is supposed to have a new ASIN or ISBN. So the ISBN isn't very much use on Calibre as it's not a book ordering system and the ASIN is only relevant for putting ebooks on a Kindle if there is an issue with the cover. The ISBN is hardly relevant at all for an ebook from Amazon.

06-28-2021, 02:23 PM	#6
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 10,973 Karma: 75337983 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	Related question: If a user doesn't have a Kindle, is there any point of keeping an mobi-asin: identifier when there's an amazon: one?

06-29-2021, 03:32 AM	#8
rantanplan Weirdo Posts: 835 Karma: 11003000 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Wuppertal, Germany Device: Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2, Boox Note Air 2+	When using Kobo as a metadata source it'll use the ISBN for identifying the book.

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