Amazon Plugin - Wrong ID

[gurcha]

Recently i am finding that the amazon plugin downloads the incorrect ID from the amazon page. I am not sure if Amazon has changed it's page and the plugin needs an update to read the page correctly or if there is a bug with the app

Example:

using isbn:9780345532671 in the ID field and the clicking download metadata

should return amazon:B00513DGZ2

but actually returns amazon:0345532678 - which when you click it is a dead link

any ideas on how to fix this would be great as currently i have to download metadata and then manually search every book for the correct amazon id, which is time consuming and annoying

[Comfy.n]

It will return B00513DGZ2 if you check Prefer Kindle edition in preferences.

BTW, when I left it unchecked, I got this one instead: 0593974816

[gurcha]

thanks for the reply, but i already have Prefer Kindle checked and i have tried using both use mobi-asin for search checked and unchecked

i have also tried just using the name of the book with no id's

Even if i manually add the correct isbn and amazon/ asin to the id field and then hit download metadata. It actually overwrites the correct amazon id with the incorrect version

[kovidgoyal]

Look at the log that will tell you wht is happening.

[gurcha]

ok, looking at the log the issue is clear, but i have no idea how to overcome it.

1. Amazon plugin is completely broken
The Amazon.com plugin found 0 results. It's trying to search Google and Bing for Amazon pages and both are returning nothing. I believe this is actually a known issue — Amazon and Google blocking Calibre's scraping attempts. The plugin effectively isn't working at all right now.

2. Goodreads is the culprit for the wrong ASIN
Look at this line in the Goodreads log:
parse_asin: 0307796361
Goodreads is returning 0307796361 (the ISBN-10) as the ASIN — and since the Amazon plugin found nothing, Goodreads wins by default and its incorrect ASIN gets written to the record, overwriting the correct B00513DH6U.

Goodreads is incorrectly treating the print ISBN-10 as an ASIN on their book page, and Calibre's Goodreads plugin is faithfully copying it

Suggested Fixes:

1. I am not sure google/bind blocks can be overcome without using Amazon's Product Advertising API - so probably a no-go

2. Actionable - fix the Goodreads plugin's ASIN parsing:

The root bug is that parse_asin in the Goodreads plugin is accepting a 10-digit ISBN-10 as a valid ASIN. A real Kindle ASIN always starts with B0 and is exactly 10 characters. The plugin should validate the parsed value against that pattern before accepting it — if it doesn't match B0[A-Z0-9]{8} it should be discarded, not written to the amazon identifier field.
- clean fix - add one-line regex check

3. Alternate fix - checkbox to not update amazon identifier from Goodreads:
Add checkbox to the config page of the goodreads plugin to skip writing to the amazon identifier field. This gives users control without changing default behaviour.

I have attached the log for you to verify

[gurcha]

i am not completely sure of the forum rules. but should i repost this log and feedback to the plugin pages for the amazon and goodreads plugins?
i am not sure if kiwidude is still active or how to message him privately.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by gurcha

i am not completely sure of the forum rules. but should i repost this log and feedback to the plugin pages for the amazon and goodreads plugins?

Yes

Originally Posted by gurcha

i am not sure if kiwidude is still active or how to message him privately.

Click on a member name to look at their profile.

BR

[kovidgoyal]

You need to report that in the goodreads plugin thread.

[gurcha]

ok, i found a fix and will post here in case anyone has this issue

Go to Preference>Metadata Download

Select Amazon.com plugin from the list and go to Configure selected source at the bottom of the page

change the setting for "Server to get data from:"

instead of "choose server automatically" select "DuckDuckgo search and Google cache"

it seems DuckDuck is not blocking scrape attempts and correctly pulls the correct amazon ID

I will still post the goodreads feedback to the correct feed

Hope this helps