BISG Updates Guidance on Barcode Price Extensions

In the mid-2000s, BISG helped create and promote guidelines for a barcode that supported a move from 10-digit to 13-digit ISBNs. The 13-digit ISBN became an industry requirement at the start of 2007. At the time of adoption, BISG recommendations also mandated an extension that showed the price of a book.

BISG maintains several resources relevant to barcodes appearing on print books in the North American market. These are summarized in “Barcoding Guidelines for the US Book Industry”, an online FAQ (set of frequently asked questions) that was last updated in 2011. The current version was updated in 2025 to reflect the content that follows.

In the last few years, the standards have been challenged by growing interest among publishers and other parts of the industry to make book prices more flexible, moving up or down to respond to changes in demand for specific titles. The display of a price in a barcode limits publishers’ ability to change a book’s price without stickering, a cost often borne by the publisher. In periods of volatility in the cost of production and distribution, publishers are at times unable to update prices to reflect market conditions.

In bricks-and-mortar retail environments, readers look for transparency in pricing. Retailers report state and local requirements that require price transparency, and books sold without a price extension may fail to meet those requirements. In retail settings, ensuring a positive customer experience is a competitive priority.

To examine the issues associated with keeping or removing the requirement for a price extension in book barcodes, BISG convened a working group to consider whether the price extension for barcodes used in the North American market is a requirement, a preference, or no longer useful. The working group was asked to clarify how to communicate the standard clearly to reflect recipient requirements. It was also asked to consider what options the industry could pursue that would support price flexibility while respecting distributor or retailer operational needs.

The working group met periodically between 2021 and 2024 to consider these issues. It found the following:

• Not all recipients (wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) require a price extension for books supplied to them.

• Some recipients do require the price extension. If they receive product without a price extension, they may respond by placing a sticker on inventory without the price extension. The costs of stickering may be paid by the publisher.

• Recipients who require the price extension note that it is critical to aspects of their sales and inventory systems. 

Through its efforts, the working group was able to confirm that recipients that require the price extension include retailer Barnes & Noble as well as Penguin Random House Publishers Services. Retailer Books-A-Million does not require a price extension. The desire for a price extension among independent booksellers appeared to be mixed. As with all surveys of existing practice, circumstances can change, and this summary represents a snapshot at the start of 2025.

The working group was unable to identify a supply chain model that would uniformly support inventory without a price extension, unless that inventory was stickered by recipients that require a price extension. As a result, BISG made the following recommendations:

• Publishers that are not looking to test prices for their books should continue to supply inventory with the price extension. It helps at least some recipients manage sales and inventory without having to sticker books.

• Publishers that want to test prices should consult with their partners (wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) to confirm their preferences with respect to the price extension. Recipients that require a price extension may sticker inventory received without it. The cost of that work may be negotiated between trading partners.

• Retailers should communicate their expectations about the price extension  to publishers as part of their normal standards and best practices.

During the working group discussions, several publishers noted that their distribution strategies might rely on channels where the price extension was not needed. Because market conditions can change, we encourage publishers that currently do not use a price extension to stay in conversation with trading partners. Dialogue can help publishers avoid unexpected charges for stickering inventory.

The working group recognized that a bifurcated model for including the price extension on printed books is less than satisfactory to both those favoring and those looking to omit the price extension. Because the recipients that require a price extension use it as an essential part of their sales and inventory management, abandoning the current standard would create significant issues in their operations. At the same time, publishers looking for price flexibility would like to take advantage of as many channels as make sense for their products, ideally without stickering.

BISG is leading an ongoing conversation about transforming supply chain communication. As part of that effort, it will include discussion about the future expectations of publishers as they work with existing and emerging parts of the supply chain. These conversations may reveal approaches that can enhance pricing flexibility within existing systems, or manage systems in a way that provides adequate control while supporting a different approach to putting prices on books. Those solutions do not exist today, but ongoing conversations among trading partners may help identify options that make sense for the supply chain as a whole.