No. Barcode numbers don’t hold any information other than the number. When you first use your numbers, you will be asked by your retailer or distributor to enter your product information in a form for use in their database so your product info shows when it is scanned at their cash registers. It’s 100% up to you to tell them what your product is and what the UPC code is that you assigned to it and it doesn’t matter if your product shows up in a retailer’s database where your product is not sold!

The GS1 will try to tell you that your numbers must appear in their database under your company name and that is 100% false. The GS1’s database is incomplete and only shows a fraction of the world’s barcodes.

Quite simply, you don’t. Even the GS1 does not “register” individual GTINs/UPCs/EANs. It is up to the purchaser to upload the individual product information into the GS1’s database, or to any other retailer or distributor’s database.

IMPORTANT: There is no central barcode database or registry that has a directory of all of the gazillions of individual product barcodes in use throughout the world!

The GS1 claims to be the most used worldwide, however even their GEPIR database is outdated and the purchaser of the barcodes is responsible for providing individual product information to them, which they can only do if they have an active, paid membership with the GS1!

For example, I have a package of Avery 8160 Address Labels on my desk and the UPC for them is 072782081607. That product has been around for decades and is probably one of Avery’s most popular products. When I enter that UPC into the GS1’s GEPIR database under GTIN info, it tells me that the Owner is Avery Products Corporation, however when I toggle Trade Item Information it returns nothing. This is because Avery has not uploaded that information to the GS1 ever, in decades! This is likely because Avery purchased their manufacturer’s prefix in the late 80s or early 90s and they choose not to pay the GS1’s ridiculous annual membership fees that were implemented in the 2000s after they agreed to the Class Action Settlement against them for illegally attempting to collect membership fees from companies who had been sold assets in perpetuity.

The fact is, when you first use your numbers, you will be asked by your retailer or distributor to enter your product information in a form for use in their database so your product info shows when it is scanned at their cash registers. It’s 100% up to you to tell them what your product is and what the UPC code is that you assigned to it and it doesn’t matter if your product shows up in a retailer’s database where your product is not sold!

When you purchase GTINs/UPCs from EZ UPC, you are purchasing unique numbers under one of our manufacturer’s prefixes that we legally own and can legally assign to you because we obtained them prior to the class action lawsuit and settlement with the GS1 in 2002.

No. The GS1 claims to be the most used worldwide, however even their GEPIR database is outdated and the purchaser of the barcodes is responsible for providing individual product information to them, which they can only do if they have an active, paid membership with the GS1 which costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year!

IMPORTANT: There is no central barcode database or registry that has a directory of all of the gazillions of individual product barcodes in use throughout the world!

For example, I have a package of Avery 8160 Address Labels on my desk and the UPC for them is 072782081607. That product has been around for decades and is probably one of Avery’s most popular products. When I enter that UPC into the GS1’s GEPIR database under GTIN info, it tells me that the Owner is Avery Products Corporation, however when I toggle Trade Item Information it returns nothing. This is because Avery has not uploaded that information to the GS1 ever, in decades! This is likely because Avery purchased their manufacturer’s prefix in the late 80s or early 90s and they choose not to pay the GS1’s ridiculous annual membership fees that were implemented in the 2000s after they agreed to the Class Action Settlement against them for illegally attempting to collect membership fees from companies who had been sold assets in perpetuity.

The fact is, when you first use your numbers, you will be asked by your retailer or distributor to enter your product information in a form for use in their database so your product info shows when it is scanned at their cash registers. It’s 100% up to you to tell them what your product is and what the UPC code is that you assigned to it and it doesn’t matter if your product shows up in a retailer’s database where your product is not sold!

When you purchase GTINs/UPCs from EZ UPC, you are purchasing unique numbers under one of our manufacturer’s prefixes that we legally own and can legally assign to you because we obtained them prior to the class action lawsuit and settlement with the GS1 (formerly UCC) in 2002.

No. Our numbers originate from the USA. However, that does not affect your ability to use them in your country. You can use them anywhere in the world and it is not necessary for you to buy numbers from your country’s GS1 organization.

If you got an error message on Amazon, send us a screen shot of the message and we can help you

Some Walmart stores or regions, and some Kroger Family Grocery stores (such as superstore Fred Meyer) might not accept your subset numbers(s) if they are not purchased through the GS1–they require your own GS1 certificate. We also have reports of people successfully submitting their numbers and providing their certificate from us to these stores and not being asked for a GS1 Certificate.

What we have found is that if you are working with Walmart and Kroger stores at a local level, they don’t get involved in the GS1 politics. It’s only when you get a national distribution contract that requires you to work with their Corporate Headquarters or on a National level and submit your product data to a certified Data Pool, that they are strict about enforcing the political rule that you must provide an ownership certificate directly from the GS1.

Other stores that have been reported to require a GS1 Certificate as well as an owned company prefix in recent years include: Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Lowes, Walgreens, Target, however we also have many customers who have used our numbers in those stores over the years. It’s a bit hit or miss these days as the GS1 and the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) effort becomes more widely used.

Remember, if you get a sizeable contract at a big box retailer, you will likely have to pay the price to go through the GS1 and at that point you can justify the cost depending on the price of the contract. For everyone else, EZ UPC is a cost-effective and hassle-free alternative or a great stepping stone while you are scaling your small business.

We are not responsible for retailers that refuse to accept numbers from a legal reseller or require a GS1 certificate and prefix.

Whether you purchase your UPC (GTIN-12) from the GS1 or us, your number will never be duplicated. We are assigned a group of numbers within our manufacturer’s prefixes that we rightfully own and any numbers within that group will never be duplicated by us.

When we assign you numbers we provide you with a Certificate of Ownership, Authenticity and Uniqueness, stating that your number(s) are unique and will never be assigned or used for another product.

While it is extremely rare, it does happen—especially on Amazon because they failed to verify ownership of UPCs and EANs up until a few years ago and a lot of people got away with frauduletly using numbers that they didn’t own.

If you do come across another product with the same UPC as the one issued to you by EZ UPC, contact us immediately and we will look into it and issue you replacement if necessary as that is much faster and easier than trying to get the illegal user to stop using it.

Yes and no. You can make your own barcode graphics files from the numbers you buy, but you may not make up your own numbers. There are software programs you can buy if you have a lot of barcodes to make. It will be more cost-effective for you to do it that way, providing you know how to use the software. There are also websites claiming to offer free barcode generating, however the quality of the graphic file provided is often not sufficient to meet GS1 optical reader specs.

If you use our low-priced barcode service you will be getting a guaranteed barcode in multiple professional file formats that will definitely work on your product labeling when printed within GS1 specs (no less than 80% size, no more than 200%, and dark lines on light background, printed at 600 dpi or more). Another thing to watch out for is barcode fonts. While you can obtain the Code 39A font to translate numbers into barcode lines and spaces, you need to make sure you understand the output requirements in terms of size and resolution so you barcodes are scannable. You also need to make sure you have calculated your check digit correctly.

Also beware of costly barcode services such as Bowker Barcodes, as referred on the ISBN.org website. They charge $25 for the exact same service that we charge $2.99 at our sister site My Barcode Graphics and we actually give you more file formats and better quality. If you need a lot of barcodes (more than 20) we offer bulk pricing.

From Wikipedia:

GS1 is a not-for-profit organization that develops and maintains global standards for business communication. The best known of these standards is the barcode, a symbol printed on products that can be scanned electronically. GS1 barcodes are scanned more than six billion times every day.

GS1 has 114 local member organisations and 1.5 million user companies.

GS1 standards are designed to improve the efficiency, safety and visibility of supply chains across physical and digital channels in 25 sectors. They form a business language that identifies, captures and shares key information about products, locations, assets and more.

History

In 1969, the retail industry in the US was searching for a way to speed up the check-out process in shops. The Ad Hoc Committee for a Uniform Grocery Product Identification Code was established to find a solution.

In 1973, the Universal Product Code (UPC) was selected by this group as the first single standard for unique product identification, and in 1974, the Uniform Code Council (UCC) was founded to administer the standard.^[1] On 26 June 1974, a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum became the first ever product with a barcode to be scanned in a shop.^[1][3]

In 1976, the original 12-digit code was expanded to 13 digits, which opened the doors for the identification system to be used outside the U.S. In 1977, the European Article Numbering Association (EAN) was established in Brussels and with founding members from 12 countries.^[4]

In 1990, EAN and UCC signed a global cooperation agreement and expanded overall presence to 45 countries. In 1999, EAN and UCC launched the Auto-ID Centre to develop Electronic Product Code (EPC) enabling GS1 standards to be used for RFID.^[5]

In 2004, EAN and UCC launched the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), a global, internet-based initiative that enables trading partners to efficiently exchange product master data.^[4]

By 2005, the organisation was present in over 90 countries which started to use the name GS1 on a worldwide basis. Whilst “GS1” is not an acronym it refers to the organisation offering one global system of standards.^[4]

Aug 2018 – GS1 Web URI Structure Standard is ratified allowing unique ID’s to be added to products by storing a URI (a webpage-like address) as a QR code.^[6]

Barcodes

Barcodes defined by GS1 standards are very common.^[7] GS1 introduced the barcode in 1974.^[8] They encode a product identification number that can be scanned electronically, making it easier for products to be tracked, processed, and stored.

Barcodes allow for greater safety, reliability, speed and efficiency of supply chains. They have a crucial role in the retail industry, moving beyond just faster checkout to improved inventory and delivery management and the opportunity to sell online on a global scale. In the UK alone, the introduction of the barcode in the retail industry has resulted in savings of 10.5 billion pounds per year.^[1][9]

Some of the barcodes that GS1 manages are: EAN/UPC (used mainly on consumer goods), GS1 Data Matrix (used mainly on healthcare products), GS1-128, GS1 DataBar, and GS1 QR Code.

No, they will not. And they don’t need to. Please see the question How Do I Register My UPC(s)?

Technically none. The lines and spaces are simply a glyph/symbology that was invented by George Laurer that translates your number into lines that can be read by an optical reader (scanner). The data about your product, such as price and product size and name, is up to you to provide your retailers when you fill out their product information form.

If you are not consistent with your information that you provide, it is possible that Retailer A will show your product as one thing, and Retailer B will show it as another. Therefore it’s important that you make sure you are consistent with your product information that you are associating with your GTINs/UPCs.

What we have found is that if you are working with Walmart and Kroger stores at a local level, they don’t get involved in the GS1 politics. It’s only when you get a national distribution contract that requires you to work with their Corporate Headquarters or on a National level and submit your product data to a certified Data Pool, that they are strict about enforcing the political rule that you must provide an ownership certificate directly from the GS1.

Other stores that have been reported to require a GS1 Certificate as well as an owned company prefix in recent years include: Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Lowes, Walgreens, Target, however we also have many customers who have used our numbers in those stores over the years. It’s a bit hit or miss these days as the GS1 and the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) effort becomes more widely used.

Remember, if you get a sizeable contract at a big box retailer, you will likely have to pay the price to go through the GS1 and at that point you can justify the cost depending on the price of the contract. For everyone else, EZ UPC is a cost-effective and hassle-free alternative or a great stepping stone while you are scaling your small business.

We are not responsible for retailers that refuse to accept numbers from a legal reseller or require a GS1 certificate and prefix.

From Wikipedia:

GS1 is a not-for-profit organization that develops and maintains global standards for business communication. The best known of these standards is the barcode, a symbol printed on products that can be scanned electronically. GS1 barcodes are scanned more than six billion times every day.

GS1 has 114 local member organisations and 1.5 million user companies.

GS1 standards are designed to improve the efficiency, safety and visibility of supply chains across physical and digital channels in 25 sectors. They form a business language that identifies, captures and shares key information about products, locations, assets and more.

History

In 1969, the retail industry in the US was searching for a way to speed up the check-out process in shops. The Ad Hoc Committee for a Uniform Grocery Product Identification Code was established to find a solution.

In 1973, the Universal Product Code (UPC) was selected by this group as the first single standard for unique product identification, and in 1974, the Uniform Code Council (UCC) was founded to administer the standard.^[1] On 26 June 1974, a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum became the first ever product with a barcode to be scanned in a shop.^[1][3]

In 1976, the original 12-digit code was expanded to 13 digits, which opened the doors for the identification system to be used outside the U.S. In 1977, the European Article Numbering Association (EAN) was established in Brussels and with founding members from 12 countries.^[4]

In 1990, EAN and UCC signed a global cooperation agreement and expanded overall presence to 45 countries. In 1999, EAN and UCC launched the Auto-ID Centre to develop Electronic Product Code (EPC) enabling GS1 standards to be used for RFID.^[5]

In 2004, EAN and UCC launched the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), a global, internet-based initiative that enables trading partners to efficiently exchange product master data.^[4]

By 2005, the organisation was present in over 90 countries which started to use the name GS1 on a worldwide basis. Whilst “GS1” is not an acronym it refers to the organisation offering one global system of standards.^[4]

Aug 2018 – GS1 Web URI Structure Standard is ratified allowing unique ID’s to be added to products by storing a URI (a webpage-like address) as a QR code.^[6]

Barcodes

Barcodes defined by GS1 standards are very common.^[7] GS1 introduced the barcode in 1974.^[8] They encode a product identification number that can be scanned electronically, making it easier for products to be tracked, processed, and stored.

Barcodes allow for greater safety, reliability, speed and efficiency of supply chains. They have a crucial role in the retail industry, moving beyond just faster checkout to improved inventory and delivery management and the opportunity to sell online on a global scale. In the UK alone, the introduction of the barcode in the retail industry has resulted in savings of 10.5 billion pounds per year.^[1][9]

Some of the barcodes that GS1 manages are: EAN/UPC (used mainly on consumer goods), GS1 Data Matrix (used mainly on healthcare products), GS1-128, GS1 DataBar, and GS1 QR Code.

Mobile Barcode Apps use their own databases which are not necessarily connected to the global data pools.

There is no central barcode database or registry that has a directory of all of the gazillions of individual product barcodes in use throughout the world!

When you submit your product to Amazon, for example, it will look up only in the GS1’s GEPIR database, and the GEPIR is not current with all individual product GTIN info.

The GS1 claims to be the most used worldwide, however even their GEPIR database is outdated and the purchaser of the barcodes is responsible for providing individual product information to them, which they can only do if they have an active, paid membership with the GS1!

You will not get a Company Prefix from us. And you mostly likely don’t need one. When you purchase GTINs/UPCs from EZ UPC, you are purchasing unique numbers under one of our manufacturer’s prefixes that we legally own and can legally assign to you because we obtained them prior to the class action lawsuit and settlement with the GS1 in 2002.

Prefixes aren’t really used the way they were 15-30 years ago and it is not necessary to have one for your company. What is more important is a GLN (Global Location Number) which your distributor may ask you for. This will identify your company and it’s location in the distributor’s network and all your products will be logged in their database under your GLN. Large companies with multiple facilities will have multiple GLNs, but for the vast majority of small and medium sized businesses you will only have one. If you purchase numbers from us and are being asked for a GLN, please contact us and we will tell you how to get a GLN. 

George invented the UPC (Uniform Product Code) in 1973 under contract with IBM. He used to maintain a website with all the information about the origin of the UPC, the UCC and the GS1, and also shared details and info about the class action lawsuits against the Uniform Code Council (now the GS1), as well as listing other legal resellers like ourselves.

We were one of the first resellers he verified and listed on his website. His site used to explain about the mechanics of barcodes and the numbering system and shared great advice on how to determine if people like us are legal and legitimate. He also had a blacklist of websites he had found to be fraudulent or suspicious.

Unfortunately several resellers who made plenty of money off of unsuspecting and trusting customers threatened him with legal action in late 2016 and at 91 years old, he threw in the towel and removed the information on his site that had been there for 15 years. The sad thing is he was only trying to help by giving information so people wouldn’t be victims of fraud.

George passed away in December 2019 at the age of 94. AP News: George Laurer, inventor of ubiquitous UPC, dies at 94

His website can be viewed in the internet Wayback Machine. You have to view prior to 2016 to see the content prior to his removing of the recommended companies (like ours) and those on his Black List, which he removed when he was legally threatened in 2016.

Here is our site on his recommended list in July 2007: