ASIN used in ISBN area, when another page for the said ASIN already exists

[Sammm]

Hi there, I'd be the first to admit I'm rather on the ignorant side when it comes to books, so I'm asking the following question with genuine curiosity and would really, REALLY, like to be enlightened, and I'm asking it in a completely non-disrispectful tone (sometimes text may be interpreted differently, so I just want to make it clear)

Can someone kindly explain why it is necessary to put "B01JLXETNK", something that clearly looks like ASIN, which in fact does have its own page, as the ISBN10 for this edition? I know it is reverted by the official Goodreads account, but not getting a direct answer isn't helping me to understand the situation any better than before. ISBN10 1781106282 (the one that got reverted) seems legit (at least according to www.bookfinder.com). There's also the fact that this warning actually showed up:
This book has the following warning(s):
· Please double-check the provided ISBN10 value B01JLXETNK because it may be invalid.

I've PMed the person (a Goodreads employee) who made the change a week ago and has yet to get a reply, the following is what I wrote (the relevant part only; excluding the "omg I'm sorry, didn't know you're a staff" parts) I hope it'll explain my confusion clearer:

1781106282 is the ISBN for the ebook (.epub file, with ISBN13: 9781781106280) edition, while B01JLXETNK is supposedly the Kindle edition that already has its own page. Are you suggesting they are actually the same thing? I don't own a Kindle but I always imagine it's a different platform... otherwise, wouldn't all the Kindle and ebook edition be combined?

After Googling the subject:

I looked it up a little more and found those two urls (a forum thread and an article) useful:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topi...
http://publishingperspectives.com/201...

The gist of it is, some people do use the same isbn for the various ebooks file format, and some don't. On the other hand, ASIN seemed to be something exclusively assigned by Amazon, of which the files would only work on certain devices of theirs... So... my conclusion is that... while B01JLXETNK is technically considered a type of "ebook", it's already more specified as Kindle and having it's own page no less!

It makes little sense to forcefully change the actual "ebook" edition to match the number, when the said number isn't even an actual ISBN, but an ASIN. The ISBN 1781106282, to my understanding, is the ebook for at least non-Kindle devices, and there is a difference for it in a sense. Please enlighten me if there's any other reason to change the ISBN to something that it's not.

I just want to understand "why" an ASIN should be put in the ISBN field, so that in the future if similar situations ever happen again, I'll know not to bother correcting it.

[lethe]

I flagged the GR reversion of your correction and asked for an explanation. Of course an ASIN should not be in the ISBN field, and it is against policy to replace a valid ISBN (Bookfinder is not an approved source, btw.).

And yes, Kindle editions have an ASIN, and other ebook formats have an ISBN.

[Sammm]

lethe wrote: "I flagged the GR reversion of your correction and asked for an explanation. [...] Bookfinder is not an approved source, btw."

Thank you for the help! Also, do you know what are the approved sources for checking isbn? I think just Googled "isbn 1781106282" and Bookfinder was the first few popping up so I used it; would prefer to know where to check from now on.

[lethe]

Apart from the books themselves, approved sources are Worldcat, libraries, publishers.

And for print books also Amazon, AbeBooks and Bookdepository.

[rivka, Former Moderator]

This group is not the place for questions about edits from Goodreads staff. Neither is a book's Librarian Note.

Sending an email was the appropriate action, or you may wish to use the Contact Us link on the Help page.