shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

MyIdentifiers Review

Depends

Should I use MyIdentifiers?

Bowker's official US site for buying and managing ISBNs - myidentifiers.com

· 6 days ago

If you're self-publishing wide in the US, Bowker is the only official ISBN source, so you have no real alternative. Amazon-only authors skip it and use KDP's free ISBN instead.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 30+ public sources (forums, news, official pages). Prices marked 'Guess' come from category knowledge, not the page.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo direct evidence either way
  • Security posture

Pricing

Guess: ~$125

Single ISBN

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo
Bulk blocksGuess: 10 / 100 / 1,000 blocks

Best for

  • Self-publishers going wide beyond Amazon
  • Small presses wanting their own imprint ISBNs
  • US authors needing portable, publisher-owned ISBNs

Not for

  • Amazon-only authors. KDP's free ISBN is fine
  • Non-US authors, use your own national ISBN agency
  • Anyone expecting a polished, modern web experience
  • Bulk buyers shopping on price, there's no competition here

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Card data was stolen in the 2018 breach; monitor statements if you buy.

medium

Per-ISBN price drops sharply with bulk blocks; single-ISBN buyers pay the worst rate.

medium

KDP's free ISBN ties your book exclusively to Amazon distribution.

low

Third-party resellers exist; verify they sell genuine Bowker-registered ISBNs before paying.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Only official US source for buying ISBNs
  • One dashboard manages ISBNs, title data, barcodes
  • Bundles copyright registration tools alongside identifiers
  • Occasional discount promotions on ISBN purchases
  • Rated 4.5 on WorthEPenny review aggregator

Cons

  • 2018 breach reportedly exposed customer credit card numbers
  • Users call the site tricky, clunky, and wonky
  • Effective monopoly; critics say service lags the prices
  • No security page found on the site

Sources & method

- 8 sources - Suffered a 2018 breach with stolen card data; site now advertises industry-standard encryption but has no security page.

official x2review x4security x2
  • 2018 MyIdentifiers breach, Bowker investigated a breach of its ISBN site; reports said credit card numbers were stolen.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • Guess: ~$125

    Starting price

  • 8

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Monopoly pricing; users call it overpriced
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Users describe the site as tricky and wonky
  • Feature depth: 3/5. ISBNs, barcodes, copyright tools in one dashboard
  • Support quality. No direct evidence either way
  • Security posture: 2/5. 2018 breach exposed card data; no security page
  • 4.5 WorthEPenny rating Community reviews
  • Guess: ~$125 Single ISBN price Bulk blocks cost less per ISBN
  • No Free tier Free KDP ISBN is Amazon-only
  • 2018 Data breach Credit card data reported stolen

Pricing

Single ISBN

Guess: ~$125

  • One ISBN, one format
  • Worst per-unit price

Bulk blocks

Guess: 10 / 100 / 1,000 blocks

  • Much cheaper per ISBN
  • Best for multi-format or multi-book publishers

Security

Suffered a 2018 breach with stolen card data; site now advertises industry-standard encryption but has no security page.

  • 2018 MyIdentifiers breachBowker investigated a breach of its ISBN site; reports said credit card numbers were stolen.⁵

What users say

Self-publishers treat Bowker as a necessary evil: the official US ISBN source, but clunky and overpriced.

“I know Bowker is the only place to buy ISBN's in the US”
Reddit, r/selfpublish
“Myidentifiers seems a tricky site to work with.”
Facebook self-publishing group
“ISBNs via MyIdentifiers/Bowker – A bit wonky but I”
Reddit, r/selfpublish
Full analysis

Based on 30+ public sources (forums, news, official pages). Prices marked 'Guess' come from category knowledge, not the page.

The only official US ISBN source: mandatory if publishing wide, skippable (free) if Amazon-only via KDP.

Methodology

Based on 30+ public sources (forums, news, official pages). Prices marked 'Guess' come from category knowledge, not the page.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Bowker | Identifier Services (official site)myidentifiers.com
    official
  2. Buy ISBNs | Bowkermyidentifiers.com
    official
  3. Which is the real Bowker site for ISBN? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  4. MyIdentifiers ratings — WorthEPennymyidentifiers.worthepenny.com
    review
  5. Bowker Investigating Breach of ISBN Site — Publishers Weeklypublishersweekly.com
    security
  6. Bowker's ISBN Site Has Been Hacked — The Digital Readerthe-digital-reader.com
    security
  7. Buying ISBNs from Bowker vs free KDP ISBNmembers.upcs.com
    review
  8. The Bowker ISBN Monopoly — Mediummedium.datadriveninvestor.com
    review

Add this review to your site

This check for MyIdentifiers says Depends.

Put the badge on your site.

Visitors see the independent review.

The link points here, and search engines follow it.

This is the badge visitors see on your site.

Depends MyIdentifiers Independent review on Should I Use It

Paste one snippet. Keep the link as it is. A nofollow tag stops search engines from following it.

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.