[greenie_beans]

bookstores don't want to carry a book without an isbn because no isbn means it's not available to purchase from their distributor and it's easiest for a store to order through real distribution channels (like ingram in the u.s.).

but most stores carry a small amount of self-published books and sometimes those books have no isbn. those books are typically by local writers. but in my experience as a bookseller, self published books are a pain to work with. some self-published books aren't returnable, but returns are an important part of the bookstore business since a lot of books don't sell. working with a lot writers individually about ordering etc is more involved than going through a single distributor, this takes a lot of time for whoever has to do this.

> given the amount of books I've personally seen published in recent decades without ISBNs

i'd bet this on amazon? iirc, you can't always return self-published amazon books. i think the author decides this, bc they get charged a processing fee for returns.

> or even to be a 'proper' bookseller

you can totally sell your collection online without any isbns and you'd be considered a bookseller. you'll just need an sku system. there's a difference between a used/collectible seller and a bookseller who carries new books as well as used/collectibles. the new books require proper distribution channels.