Almost every college textbook picks up at least one sticker before it reaches you. Most are warehouse or inventory labels used to track the book as it moves through the supply chain. Knowing what these stickers are for can help you find the correct ISBN and avoid using the wrong number when buying or selling a textbook.
Textbooks are not regular books
A textbook is not like the paperback novel you grabbed at the airport. It has a high per-unit value, and before it reaches a student, it can pass through multiple hands after leaving the publisher. Large wholesalers such as Ingram, Follett, and MBS, a Barnes & Noble subsidiary, stock these books in their own warehouses and apply their own internal inventory management labels. This is standard operating procedure and does not indicate that the book was previously used by a student. It simply means that a wholesaler processed it.
Every company that handles the book needs to track it in their system, so it may get a new sticker each time. That’s why a single used textbook can arrive with two or three labels stacked on top of each other. Understanding what these stickers are for, and knowing which information to check, can help you avoid mistakes when buying or selling a textbook.
Stickers on new textbooks
Wholesaler inventory stickers
Wholesalers and distributors routinely place a label on the back cover. These are internal tracking labels used by their inventory management systems. A new book with one of these labels has not been used by a student. It has only been stored in a warehouse.
Rental program stickers
Amazon and other vendors that run textbook rental programs place rental stickers on books to track the rental process. These stickers typically peel off easily. Their presence does not mean the book was previously used by another student. It is simply part of the tracking process for the rental program.
Shrink wrap
A brand new textbook does not have to arrive in shrink wrap. When shrink wrap is present, the inventory sticker may be placed on it or directly on the cover underneath.
Stickers on used textbooks
Sticker usage becomes more complex with used textbooks because they pass through more hands.
Wholesaler and distributor labels
A large secondary market exists for used textbooks. Wholesalers and distributors buy used books from college bookstores, schools, and college athletic departments, including campus athletic programs that purchase textbooks for student athletes and later liquidate them. These books are then added to the wholesalers’ and distributors’ own inventory systems and given their own labels. This is the most common type of sticker found on used textbooks.
Promotional and bookstore labels
Used textbooks may carry labels that function as advertisements for a website, a specific campus bookstore, or a resale platform. These are common in the used textbook pipeline, but they do not provide reliable information about what is printed underneath.
The barcode problem: never trust an ISBN on a sticker
Regardless of whether a textbook is new or used, wholesalers, distributors, and other handlers often place their label directly over the book’s original barcode. The textbook barcode is typically located in the lower-right corner of the back cover and encodes the book’s ISBN (International Standard Book Number), the unique identifier students need to verify that they have the correct edition or to sell the book online. Every ISBN assigned since 2007 uses the 13-digit format (ISBN-13), starting with 978 or 979. Two textbooks can share a title, author, and cover yet carry completely different ISBNs if they are different editions, bundles, or formats.
When a sticker covers the barcode, the original ISBN is not visible without removing the sticker. This can make it difficult for students to verify the correct ISBN.
Where is the ISBN number on a textbook?
The ISBN can be found on the back cover, in the lower-right corner, printed as readable digits above the barcode.
It can also be found on the copyright page, a few pages inside the book, right behind the title page. This page also lists the publisher name and is the fastest non-destructive way to check the ISBN because no sticker can cover it. If the number on the sticker and the number on the copyright page disagree, trust the copyright page.
How to safely check the ISBN and remove a textbook sticker
Check the copyright page first. No peeling is required. Look for a 13-digit number starting with 978 or 979.
If you need to check the back cover, lift one corner of the sticker slowly with a fingernail or the edge of a card, pulling at a low angle. A hair dryer on low heat for about 30 seconds can soften old adhesive and help prevent tearing.
If sticker residue remains, a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth usually lifts it without damaging the cover.
Never scrape or dig at a stuck label. A torn cover lowers your book’s condition grade, which lowers what a buyback service pays.
If you are in a store, do not peel a book you have not bought. Ask staff to confirm the ISBN under the label, or check the copyright page instead.
You can also scan the textbook barcode with your phone’s camera using a free barcode scanner app. Most book tracking apps include this feature, and it is faster than typing a long number by hand once the barcode is visible.
Why the sticker ISBN may be wrong
The following four scenarios explain why the number printed on a sticker so often does not match the book’s actual ISBN.
Scenario A: Inventory Artifacts & Bundle/Package ISBNs
A textbook may have originally been part of a bundle, such as a workbook and main textbook, or a book with an access code, CD, or other supplemental material. The bundle has its own ISBN. If the bundle components are missing, which they usually are on the secondary market because access codes can only be redeemed once, the sticker ISBN is no longer meaningful because the standalone book has a different ISBN.
Students who search for or sell by the sticker ISBN can get incorrect results. Buyers may pay a bundle price for a single book, while sellers may receive a quote that is later revised down or rejected once the bare book arrives.
Scenario B: Instructor’s Editions Disguised as Student Editions (Deceptive)
Some vendors take an instructor’s edition textbook and cover the ISBN area with a sticker showing the student edition’s ISBN. The content is generally identical to the student version, but it is unethical to sell an instructor’s edition, which is typically provided free or at a deep discount to professors, at the full student edition price.
Students should learn to identify instructor’s editions independently of the sticker. Look for Instructor’s Edition, Teacher’s Edition, Annotated Instructor’s Edition (AIE), or Instructor’s Copy on the cover, spine, or title page. If answers to both odd and even numbered problems are printed in the book, it is an annotated instructor’s edition. Also check for “Not for Sale” or “Not for Resale.”
Scenario C: Instructor’s & Teacher’s Editions Masked as Student Editions (Deceptive)
Publishers distribute free complimentary copies to professors before or during mass production so they can evaluate whether to adopt the title for their course. After review, professors may discard them. Suppliers buy them from college bookstores or campus departments and relabel them with student edition ISBNs to make them appear as standard sellable products. Look for Complimentary Copy, Free Copy, Examination Copy, Review Copy, Uncorrected Proof, or Not for Sale. This is deceptive in the same way as the instructor’s edition issue.
Scenario D: International Editions Legal to Resell, Yet Deceptive When Hidden
An international edition is a textbook printed overseas for a different market for example, India or Malaysia. The language is English, and the content is over 90% identical to the US edition. The back cover or interior typically states that the book is intended for the international market and is not authorized for sale in the United States.
A US Supreme Court ruling, Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2013), established that these books can be legally resold in the US under the first-sale doctrine. Despite that legality, some suppliers cover the international edition markings with a sticker bearing the US edition’s ISBN which is different from the international edition’s ISBN so the buyer has no idea they are receiving an international edition. Misrepresenting the product is not acceptable regardless of legality. Many buyback programs will not purchase international editions, and some professors will not accept them when page numbers and exercises do not match.
Your 60 second sticker check
- Find the barcode area in the lower right corner of the back cover. Is anything stuck over it?
- Open the copyright page and read the ISBN printed there.
- Compare it to the sticker. Match means you’re fine. Mismatch means the sticker is describing a different product.
- Peel back any labels and read the cover underneath for Instructor’s Edition, Teacher’s Edition, Complimentary Copy, Not for Sale, or International Edition.
- Check the exercises for printed answers to both odd and even numbered problems.
- Always search, list, or sell using the ISBN printed on the book never the one on a sticker.
Once you have the correct number, run it through a free textbook ISBN search to confirm the edition and current buyback value before you commit to buying or selling.
Other labels you can safely ignore
Amazon warehouse labels. If you buy from Amazon, the book may also carry Amazon’s internal fulfillment labels. These are generally smaller and are simply part of Amazon’s warehouse management system. Not a concern.
College bookstore RFID security tags. Physical college bookstores not online bookstores may apply a small sticker, containing an RFID chip. This is a loss prevention mechanism: if an unpaid book passes through the store’s exit sensors, an alarm triggers. These tags are sometimes placed on the outside of the cover but may also be placed on the inside of the cover page, making them invisible at first glance. This applies primarily to books purchased from brick and mortar campus bookstores.