I might be totally misremembering, but I sure thought it was from government and not Bowker. Seems like something that has been privatized and of course prices jacked up tremendously.
IRRC I wasn't getting an individual ISBN either I was getting a publisher code, and could issue thousands of ISBNs under it.
What a scam/racket, esp the barcodes. (like https certs, domain registration and other government mandated monopolies) It doesn't flippin cost $150 to track a number in a database.
Yes, Bowker is definitely baking a lot of unnecessary 'features' and thus justifying extra costs. Looking for better options and will definitely update.
IRRC I wasn't getting an individual ISBN either I was getting a publisher code, and could issue thousands of ISBNs under it.
What a scam/racket, esp the barcodes. (like https certs, domain registration and other government mandated monopolies) It doesn't flippin cost $150 to track a number in a database.