: Why are costs for ISBN less in Australia, until you order 1,000? As I was looking up the Bowker website for when I go to buy ISBNs I found it has separate URLs for The US and for Australia

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You can't usually save money by shopping around for ISBNs from different countries, which is a shame because in some countries they're free. For example, both Canada and Sweden have free ISBNs, provided through Library and Archives Canada and National Library of Sweden respectively. In both cases you have to have a publication address in the respective country to qualify for an ISBN.

It would be interesting to know how much it costs the Swedish and Canadian governments to provide their publishers with ISBNs, and how much profit companies like Bowker in the US and Nielsen in the UK make from providing the same service.

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In the modern era there no is formula by which corporations calculate a market price based on cost. Product prices are primarily based on "What is the maximum the market will stand?"

Gas prices will typically be more expensive at the 'last gas station for 50 miles' than where there are four gas stations on the same city block.

Capitalism fails with scale. The US has the most advanced capitalist system and it is there you can find the most evidence of its inherent corruption: (Why's US Healthcare amongst the world's most expensive?). Companies like Bowker are bullied by the big 4 publishers and Amazon. Bowker will set their prices according to Amazon and co's demands else (in an extreme scenario) Bowker will find themselves bought out . . . and there will be no more Bowker.

Globalism is a game of strategy. Companies like Bowker are permitted to make profit in certain markets at certain times. Import and Export levies prevent true global competition (Why can't you buy prescription drugs from Canada).

The ISBN system is particularly prone to corruption as the system is a national monopoly. Bowker are the authorised suppliers for the US and Australia but when those contracts are renewed those contracts could be awarded to Neilson if Bowker are not doing as they're told.

In summary: there are several factors as to why any particular pricing schedule is calculated that way at that time; politics, market forces, personal whims. It's not something you can work out on a spreadsheet.

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I'm not sure about your second question, but I can answer your first.

This involves some linear equations. Many companies use it to determine the cost of their products, and this is no different for ISBNs. Think of the equation y=mx, where, in this instance -

-y = the cost

-m = the increase in cost compared with increase in no. of ISBNs

-x = the no. of ISBNs

(note for fans of linear graphs: c is not applied as it would equal 0)

m is known as the gradient - how steep or gradual the slope of the equation is. If m is different in the equations for Australian cost and American cost, then one will be cheaper than the other until you order a certain number of ISBNs, where the lines meet and the one that was cheaper will become more expensive. Currency conversion has little to do with it. If you still don't understand, search linear models on Google or your preferred search site.

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