Description Parsing - Terms and Attributes

If a bookseller has description parsing turned on, AbeBooks will search the description field of the book data you send to us. We check for the specific attributes that can be searched for via the Advanced Search function. These attributes and their various abbreviations are listed below.

When a bookseller account is activated, description parsing defaults to the ‘on’ status. If you would prefer to have parsing turned off, simply contact Customer Support with your request.

If you are using an inventory management system, you have the option of using dedicated fields for book attributes. Using a dedicated attribute field is always more reliable than description parsing. Description parsing will never overwrite anything included in a dedicated field.

If you are using HomeBase to manage your inventory, you have the option of including attributes in the description field, or using the drop down menus. Again, using the drop-down menus in the dedicated attributes fields is more reliable than description parsing.

Note: If you are using HomeBase, please do not add attributes using both the description field and drop down menus. Please add information either one or the other but not both. Adding information to both places can result in the attributes not being listed with your books, or being duplicated in the description.

Description Parsing will check the description field of you book data file for the following terms:

First Editions

A book's description contains one of the following terms:

• 1st Ed and none of: Reprint, Not 1st, Not a 1st, or 1st Thus 

• First Ed and none of: Reprint, Not First, or Not a First 

• First edition and none of: Reprint, Not First, or Not a First

• 1st edition and none of: Reprint, Not 1st, Not a 1st, or 1st Thus

• 1st and none of: Reprint, Not 1st, Not a 1st, or 1st Thus

Dust Jacketed

A book's description contains one of the following terms:

• JACKET and not the term NO DUST or NO JACKET or WITHOUT DUST or WITHOUT JACKET

• DJ and not the term NO DJ or W/O DJ or NDJ  

• D/J and not the term NO D/J or W/O D/J

• D-J and not the term NO D-J or W/O D-J

• D.J. and not the term NO D.J. or W/O D.J.

• D.W. and not the term NO D.W. 

• DW and not the term NO DW  

• D/W and not the term NO D/W  

• DUST WRAPPER and not the term NO DUST WRAPPER  

• DUSTWRAPPER and not the term NO DUSTWRAPPER

A book's description contains:

• A slash mark (/) and the slash mark is followed by the letters F, G, P, V, NF or AN. (For example a book with "/F" or "/NF" in its description would appear in the search results for a book with a dust jacket.)

Hard Cover

A book's description contains one of the following terms:

• HB  

• HC  

• HBK  

• HARD

• HARDCOVER or HARD COVER  

• HARDBOUND or HARD BOUND  

• CLOTH  

• LEATHER  

• EMBOSSED  

• HINGE  

• H BACK

• HARDBACK or HARD BACK

• BOARDS  

• GILT  

• EX-LIB or EX LIB  

• BRODART  

• MYLAR  

• BUCKRAM

A final check is made on the year of publication. If it is prior to 1940, then is it deemed a hard back.

Soft Cover

A book's description contains one of the following terms:

• PAPERBACK or PAPER BACK  

• PAPERBOUND or PAPER BOUND

• SOFTCOVER or SOFT COVER  

• SOFTBOUND or SOFT BOUND

• PBK  

• PB  

• WRAPS  

• WRAPPERS

• PROOF

Signed 

A book's description contains one of the following terms: 

• SIGNED  

• INSCRIBED  

• INSCRIPTION  

• AUTOGRAPHED

• PRESENTATION COPY

Any of the following phrases: INSCRIPTION IN INK, NAME IN INK, NOT SIGNED, UNSIGNED, DESIGNED, ASSIGNED, GIFT or OWNER, will not be considered signed copies.

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