Book barcodes
What is EAN-5, the price add-on?
Answer
EAN-5 is the small second barcode to the right of the ISBN barcode on a book. It holds the price in five digits. For most prices the first digit is the currency and the other four are the price, so 51999 means US$19.99. The code 90000 means "no price set", and Barcode Rocket uses it when you leave the price empty.
How Barcode Rocket turns your price into the code
| You type | Currency | Add-on | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19.99 | US dollar | 51999 | US prices from 0.01 to 99.98 start with 5 |
| 129.99 | US dollar | 12999 | US prices from 100.00 to 499.99 start with 1 to 4 |
| 9.99 | British pound | 00999 | Pound prices start with 0, up to 99.98 |
| 24.95 | Canadian dollar | 62495 | Canadian prices start with 6, up to 99.98 |
| any | Euro | 90000 | There is no agreed code for euros. Print the euro price on the cover as text. |
| (empty) | none | 90000 | No price |
Common problems
- US$99.99 cannot be put into the code. It is a reserved number. Use 99.98 or 100.00, or leave the price empty for 90000.
- The price is too high. US prices go up to 499.99, pound and Canadian prices up to 99.98. Leave the price empty for 90000.
- The button says Fix the price to download. Type the price as a number with a dot, for example 19.99, or leave it empty.
Where you find it in the studio
On ISBN with the switch on Price, and on KDP layout, there is a Price on the cover field with a currency menu. On No price and on IngramSpark layout there is no add-on at all.
Why it matters
A wrong price in the barcode is worse than no price: the shop till reads it. If you are not sure, leave the price empty. 90000 is always correct.