An Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) is a 10-character alphanumeric unique identifier assigned by Amazon.com and its partners for product identification within the Amazon organization.^[1] They were designed in 1996 by Rebecca Allen, an Amazon software engineer, when it became clear that Amazon was going to sell products other than just books. The 10-character format of the ASIN was adopted so that Amazon databases and software, which were designed to expect a 10-character International Standard Book Number (ISBN) field, would not have to be changed to accommodate the new identification format.^[2]

Usage and structure

Each product on Amazon.com is given a unique ASIN. For books with a 10-digit International Standard Book Number (ISBN), the ASIN and the ISBN are the same.^[3] The Kindle edition of a book will not use its ISBN as the ASIN, although the electronic version of a book may have its own ISBN. The ASIN forms part of the URL of a product detail page on Amazon's website.^[4]

References