![]() ![]() Then, as barcodes consumed our world, they realized they could make a lot more money leasing the barcodes than selling them outright. After all they wanted everyone to use it so their inventories would be easier and less costly. Some large stores, including Wal-Mart, Kroger, Macy’s created UCC (Uniform Code Council), now GS1. But back in the early 1990’s barcodes were still not as ubiquitous as they are today. Laurer created Barcodes in 1973, to track inventory at grocery stores and other large stores. Others just sell you the number, then you need to create the barcode for those numbers (more on that below) If you are a vendor, ask other vendors if they have gone down this road and what they have found.ġ) Look for resellers who purchased their barcodes in the1990’s, which was apparently the last time people could buy barcodes.Ģ) Make sure, or as sure as you can be that: The barcodes you buy a) have never been used before and b) are not randomly generated numbers.ģ) Some will sell you the number and an image you can reproduce. The lowest, as of now, is about $158 per year.įor these prices you get 100,000 barcodes (no you can’t sell them – more below)īuy from A Reseller: click on “Need A Few Barcodes?” for a list & information. Yearly dues: these are assessed based on your company’s gross sales and amount of items moved. The lowest (as of March 2011) is about $760. ![]() Membership costs will be base on your company’s total gross sales and the amount of items sold. Lease your barcodes from GS1 : click on “Need A Barcode?” THE SUMMARY: the two ways to get barcode: The last number is some sort of reference number, meaningful to computers. These can be the first two or the first five. You need a distinct number for each product you sell (I need one for Ginger Infused Honey, one for Lavender Infused Honey, and so on). Of course you make sure that you’re saying the same meanings to each merchant to whom you sell, or it would be very confusing. YOU tell the merchant what the numbers stand for: company and product. The numbers are meaningless until you assign them to your product. But if these types of companies are your market, scroll down to GS1, pick up their web address and head over there. This is not my world, so I did not pursue the names of the other large companies. Important: There are some stores that will take only barcodes from GS1 (more on them below) Wal-Mart, The Kroger Company, and Macy’s are examples. But if you have products that are not health related, publications, or, possibly, music, that you are trying to put in stores, you need a UPC-A General Use barcode. I don’t sell health care, the written word, or music, so I know not of these issues (check out for some enlightenment there). Music seems to be a toss-up, some sites say they need a special barcode, others say they don’t. Books and magazines also have different needs. Europe has more numbers than in the US you need an EAN barcode if you’re going overseas. Hopefully, this will shed some light on the nagging question posed by many creative folks: “How do I get a barcode?”īarcodes vary. This blog is about the Virgil-like descent into that technological, ummm, place of warmth, and the emergence from there with the object of my quest. But I am about to barcode four of our delicious raw honeys infused with flowers and spices, and two of our organic vinegars infused with raw honey, which we sell in the gourmet section of food stores. At least not at Brookfield Farm in Maple Falls, Washington.
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