If you are planning on selling your products online or through brick-and-mortar stores, there is a high chance that you have stumbled across numerous terms related to Product Barcode. These may sound quite confusing, like UPC, EAN, GTIN, SKU and more, but the question that almost every seller asks is: Do I even need one?
Where UPC and EAN actually come from
Every single barcode found in retail stores can be traced back to one source: GS1, a global coordinating office that operates a group of neutral not for profit organizations, all of which develop and maintain standards for barcodes and other supply chain technologies. GS1 provides every product with a Global Trade Item Number, or GTIN for short, a unique set of numbers that is then transformed by a barcode reader into its respective symbology.
One common mistake that sellers often make is to confuse different types of GTINs with one and the same thing, although that is not the case. The GTIN is the number itself. UPC is just one way of displaying that number as scannable bars.
UPC A and EAN 13, side by side
UPC is actually a type of GTIN, specifically UPC-A, which uses 12 digits, versus EAN that uses 13 digits for the same purpose. UPC-A is primarily used in North America whereas EAN-13 is used elsewhere, but both are common in international markets. Smaller sizes also exist, usually found on lipsticks or packs of gum: they use less space, and can be adhered to a small wrapping.
For most part, an EAN Barcode is preferred by international sellers, as it is more likely to be recognized and found in local stores What really decides things is not the scanner. It is the buyer. Most US retailers will not have issues reading either code, so a thirteen digit code will still work in a register. Some stores or marketplaces will specifically ask to use the twelve digit version, so it is best to consult a vendor’s guidelines prior to printing any packaging.
Do you actually need an official one?
A GS1 issued code is not mandatory for every single product. If a seller only needs to track inventory within their warehouse, count goods or move them from one shelf to another, a self made barcode will suffice and save them some funds. A code from an external organization is only needed when a buyer or a retailer will need to scan it at a point of sale.
Before purchasing a code, it is best to consider the destination of one’s product: if it will only be sold online, or in one’s own warehouse, there is no need to buy an official code for now. If an Amazon marketplace is being considered as a possibility, or for a regular retail chain to add products to their shelves, then it is a good time to go to GS1 and purchase a number, as marketplaces usually require some form of a UPC, EAN or GTIN, although their guidelines may vary, so it is best to contact a specific marketplace for details.
Getting one the right way
In the US, official numbers come through GS1 US. A single GTIN can be purchased for a flat one time fee, which works well for sellers with only a handful of products. Larger catalogs usually need a Company Prefix instead, a block of numbers covering many products, which carries a yearly renewal cost on top of the initial fee.
A quick warning about cheap codes
You will also come across discount sellers offering barcodes for just a dollar or two. Many of these numbers can be bought on the second hand market, from companies that have bought whole prefixes from GS1 and then resold some of their numbers. They will work absolutely fine on a regular register or a scanner, but larger retail chains and Amazon will verify that such a number is indeed in a database of GS1, and that it matches the company name on record. In a case of a mismatch, an item may still be rejected by a marketplace.