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Topic: What is the best ISBN Bar Code Scanner to Purchase?

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Subject: What is the best ISBN Bar Code Scanner to Purchase?
Date Posted: 11/8/2008 9:39 PM ET
Member Since: 11/3/2008
Posts: 3
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I am new but have way too many books and would love to scan the ISBN's at once and upload them.  Can we do something like that and what kind of bar code scanner should I buy?

Thanks for your help,

Barb

Amy
Date Posted: 11/10/2008 10:50 PM ET
Member Since: 3/11/2008
Posts: 1,716
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I don't think you can do that on PBS. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Daniel T. - ,
Date Posted: 11/11/2008 1:21 AM ET
Member Since: 10/22/2008
Posts: 272
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You probably could purchase a ISBN scanner which will enter the numbers on your computer as if you had typed them; you might find some helpful reviews about scanners at amazon. Then you could submit the numbers via an upload file type accepted here.  The FAQ How to post a book in the Help Center talks about uploading files. There's also a bit more detailed info here in the forum. Make sure that you review your submissions after you upload as some ISBN numbers have been reused by publishers.

Date Posted: 11/15/2008 12:40 PM ET
Member Since: 5/17/2007
Posts: 3,129
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I checked your shelf and you show just 50 books.  That's not to say that you don't have a ton more not yet posted, but there is this point of view:  Some PBS'ers, myself included, prefer to look at a shelf that isn't overwhelming.  If  a shelf has more than, say, 300 books on it,  I tend to pass it by as it can be a bit time-consuming to view. 

So, before you invest time and money on a scanner, you might want to post books a few at a time until you get a nice size shelf and see what happens with your orders.  You can always add more books as the already-posted ones are sent out.

Just an idea.  And welcome to a great site!  Good luck with your orders!

Edited to add:  Holy Smokes!  If I had read your profile first I may have posted a different response.  Thousands of books could be a pretty compelling reason to use a scanner!

 



Last Edited on: 11/15/08 12:44 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
Date Posted: 11/15/2008 12:56 PM ET
Member Since: 2/10/2008
Posts: 1,080
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Here is a link to a earlier post on scanners....

http://www.paperbackswap.com/forum/topic.php?t=128830&l=25&ls=0#r

Date Posted: 11/15/2008 8:20 PM ET
Member Since: 7/23/2006
Posts: 15,930
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I use my cue cat scanner when I post "multiple books" - it worked fine for me last time I used it.  I ordered it through librarything.com

Date Posted: 11/15/2008 10:16 PM ET
Member Since: 2/13/2007
Posts: 23
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I have a Kanescan that I really like. I've never tried to use it on here, though. (I've got a book cataloging program.)

http://www.kanecal.net/CCD-bar-code-scanner.html

Subject: Mass postings would be cool (in general. I don't post much, myself)
Date Posted: 11/15/2008 11:02 PM ET
Member Since: 6/4/2007
Posts: 2,941
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I can't imagine what it'd be like to just upload a bookshelf all at once.  BAM, books baby lol.  I've been considering getting a scanner just for cataloging my collection.  I don't post a lot of books, so I wouldn't need one for that but a scanner would come in super handy when trying to keep track of what I've got.  That way I wouldn't have to wonder whether or not I've got this or that, and so wouldn't run the risk of buying an unnecessary copy of something I already had or passing up a copy I didn't..

I rarely end up looking at people's shelves with more than curiousity.  I find titles I want and order them, no real need to look at shelves.  Even when I do look at a shelf, 9 times out of 10 it's after I've already requested a book I like off of that person.  If they only post a few books, chances are they might not even have that first book that I'd want.  Big shelves mean more chances of having something that at least one person might want, if not more.  A limited shelf offers proportionately limited opportunities, IMO.

Date Posted: 11/16/2008 5:40 PM ET
Member Since: 12/10/2005
Posts: 3,205
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I have a question about scanners from a different angle.

I have access to three different used bookstores pretty easily.  And I like to watch for wishlist books when I go in.  But I can only print out the top 50 if I want a list to work from.  And they are not so common in my smaller UBS's.

Is there a scanner that I could download info to?  Such as the top fifty and the occaisional buddy's?  And then I could take the scanner with me to the UBS and see if the book I'm looking at is actually wishlisted.  Am I making sense?  LOL

Date Posted: 11/16/2008 7:43 PM ET
Member Since: 10/6/2007
Posts: 376
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Kimberly, I have a Mac and an iPod - I use Bookpedia to keep track of books. From within Bookpedia, I can download to my iPod any of my lists - so I have a "To Be Acquired" list I download to my iPod, plus my BIR list (so I don't duplicate) and can scan through by author. It's a really cool function.

I have no idea if there is a similar program for Windows, but if you have an iPod, you can add text files to it and view them through the "notes" function.
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