UPC and ISBN...one, the other, or both?

[GregS]

Okay, so the subject is slightly misleading.  I, in my ever infinite wisdom, screwed up some time ago and paid for UPC registration before I knew better.  Now the question is, should I add an ISBN to the actual product as well?

I know that an ISBN is required to register with the library of congress, etc., but which bar code/serial should actually appear on the cover, or should both?  I recently had a retailer rant at me his frustrations of books that feature two different bar codes so I'm stuck.

Thanks.

[jdagna]

Well... the EAN Bookland Barcodes basically make a UPC code out of an ISBN and they're used by bookstores more than traditional UPC codes.  More importantly, andy store can use the EAN codes, so you won't be tripping up anyone by using them.  Conversely, many book stores don't use UPC codes because they have to order and track books by the ISBN, which is directly tied to the EAN barcode.

So you're probably best off just using the ISBN and EAN barcode.

Are you allowed to sell or transfer UPC registrations?  I know they're expensive, and if you could, I'm sure eBay would get you a good price.

Alternatively, you may find the UPC codes useful if you ever do products (like miniatures) that can't have an ISBN.  Most gaming industry products don't use UPCs, but I'm sure it would give them a leg up if you did.

[GregS]

Thanks, Justin.  That was exactly the kind of response I was looking for.