Importing/Exporting issues with Address Book

Hi,

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered elsewhere on this forum. I had a look and couldn't find anything relevant. Searching for this issue online has been very difficult, because its hard to word in a way that brings the results I want...

Anyway, heres the problem I've been having. If anyone can help, I would be very grateful.

I have been trying to export all contacts from Address Book on one computer, and import them to another. I dont have MobileMe or iCloud or anything like that. I've just been using the built in import and export options.
To export, I go to File -> Export -> Address Book Archive and Save.
Then, to import on the other mac, I go to Import -> Address Book Archive, it then asks me if I want to replace all existing contacts, and I click on Yes, as this is supposed to be a backup.
The problem is that not all contacts are copied. The original Address Book has 1,408 cards, and the new backup has only 1,378 cards.
Can anyone help me figure out what happens along the way?
Is there a process that Address Book goes through while importing and/or exporting where it deletes duplicates? I know there are some duplicates there...
I have also tried copying the Address Book archive from the library instead. This had the same results.

Again, I'm sorry if this has been covered before. If it has, perhaps you can redirect me to the appropriate thread?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Olaf

 

Thanks for your replies Daffodil and CaptMurdock.
I'm dealing with over 1,000 contacts here, so its hard to tell what data is missing. I know there are duplicates, and there still are after the import. Its just difficult with so many contacts to see what has changed after I import. But according to the contact count at the bottom of the Address Book window, I am missing contacts. I cant rely on this as a backup if it tells me some are missing, and doesn't give an explanation.

When I import the files, there are no options for merging. It only asks if I want to completely replace my existing contacts, which I do, since this is a backup.

Thanks again for your replies and help. If you can help me further, I would really appreciate it.