Problems with EAN 13 Barcodes in the UK with non-UK country code

[Keep It Spicy]

Hi...

I hope this is the right place to post this question.

We've developed a range of products which are to be taken on by a national distributor.
They have requested our product packaging includes a barcode.

The cheapest unique barcode distributor I could find (not going via GS1 UK) was £6.95 ex VAT. At five bar-codes that's hefty 34.75 exVAT. Based on this, I bought five barcodes from barcodestalk for 10 USD (about 7.60 GBP).

They've come with all the certifications etc and guarantee of uniqueness etc blah.

But I'm just a bit concerned... as these are USA & Canada EAN 13 codes, starting with 06, it may cause issues with UK retailers, as UK EAN 13 codes start with 50.

Does anyone know if this is an issue?

I have checked my kitchen cupboards etc, and while most product barcodes start with 50, there are some items that do not, like wine and fancy foreign beers. Even Asda's smart price budget table salt has a non-UK barcode...

Just asking before we go and get 4000 pouches printed up... cos that would be a costly mistake.
(Already asked the national distributor, but the lady im dealing with doesn't know as she is strictly procurement)

Thanks in advance,

 

[Mark Laurie]

You should be fine. I would guess that a lot of the barcodes in Aldi and Lidl have German or other European barcodes and they scan ok along with the UK ones. All 13 digit barcodes are formatted the same and the first 2 numbers only show what the country of issue is, the next five numbers are the manufacturers code, the next 5 are the product code and the final number is the check digit. Are digits 3-7 the same for all your barcodes? (This is how it used to work when I was in label/print sales anyway).

 

[Mr D]

We sell some stuff on ebay with 06 codes (from the barcode label).
Its not a problem with retailers judging by the number of national suppliers that have sold stuff with the code.

Amazon may have a problem if you try using it as they can check GS1.

 

[Keep It Spicy]

You should be fine. I would guess that a lot of the barcodes in Aldi and Lidl have German or other European barcodes and they scan ok along with the UK ones. All 13 digit barcodes are formatted the same and the first 2 numbers only show what the country of issue is, the next five numbers are the manufacturers code, the next 5 are the product code and the final number is the check digit. Are digits 3-7 the same for all your barcodes? (This is how it used to work when I was in label/print sales anyway).

I'd hoped they'd be ok. Even though it's stated the codes can be used globally, in the barcode info pack, I was just a little worried. All first 11 digits of the five barcodes are all the same, only the last two digits are unique. Thanks for the msg.

 

[Keep It Spicy]

We sell some stuff on ebay with 06 codes (from the barcode label).
Its not a problem with retailers judging by the number of national suppliers that have sold stuff with the code.

Amazon may have a problem if you try using it as they can check GS1.

Ah we should be cool to go then if you're having no issues. We're not selling on Amazon, but
From the documentation, these are GS1 US codes, registered pre the 2002 GS1 global T&C change. Where you owned the barcode and could resell, as opposed to now where people are 'renting' the barcodes from GS1 and cannot sell on or transfer.

So they are legit, supposedly.
Thanks for your msg!

 

[Mr D]

Ah we should be cool to go then if you're having no issues. We're not selling on Amazon, but
From the documentation, these are GS1 US codes, registered pre the 2002 GS1 global T&C change. Where you owned the barcode and could resell, as opposed to now where people are 'renting' the barcodes from GS1 and cannot sell on or transfer.

So they are legit, supposedly.
Thanks for your msg!

Yes, plenty do resell even now with non-grandfathered codes. And get caught out by GS1.
Along with all their customers.

 

[ara]

As a small business I cannot afford GS1 barcodes they just cost way too much. I buy EAN barcodes from Uniqueproductcodes.com every since i started selling on Amazon. They are significantly cheaper. Never had an issue with them, Amazon or any other retailer. If one day a retailer rejects my barcodes then I will buy from GS1 but if the cheap barcodes i am buying are working then what is the problem? I highly recommend them.

 

[Noah]

I buy EAN barcodes from Uniqueproductcodes.com every since i started selling on Amazon.

From their Web site : "If you purchase them directly from GS1 you have to buy a minimum of 100 bar codes at a time at a minimum charge of $750. Plus they will additionally charge you an annual renewal fee of at least $150. With us its just a one time payment and the barcodes will be yours forever."
Our one-off registration with GS1 UK was about £130, annual renewal £119. I wonder how much of the other information at Uniqueproductcodes.com is inaccurate?

 

[Mr D]

From their Web site : "If you purchase them directly from GS1 you have to buy a minimum of 100 bar codes at a time at a minimum charge of $750. Plus they will additionally charge you an annual renewal fee of at least $150. With us its just a one time payment and the barcodes will be yours forever."
Our one-off registration with GS1 UK was about £130, annual renewal £119. I wonder how much of the other information at Uniqueproductcodes.com is inaccurate?

Minimum 100 at 750 dollars?
Perhaps it's an American cost what with their government imposing import taxes.... Must admit a roughly 50 times increase in price due to taxation sounds high. Perhaps the American sellers will chuck barcodes in some harbour in protest about the taxes.

 

[BarCodesTalk]

Hi, Jonathan here, General Manager of Bar Codes Talk. There's a lot of misinformation here that we're glad to clear up.

The initial question is regarding using GTIN's from GS1-USA abroad, this is perfectly fine and happens every day, most people just don't analyze the barcode on every item in their pantry. We sell GTIN's to thousands of businesses globally every month, this is because GS1's international barcode standards are all uniform, otherwise there would be chaos at the docks when a shipment arrives from overseas.

Could you imagine selling globally and needing a different barcode for each new country you want to sell to?

Barcodes in general & GS1 are non-governmental. They are a non profit if you can believe that with the prices they charge, so there are no laws in place about most of this, it's all just an open set of standards and GS1 wants you to rent the unique numbers from themselves. Thankfully GS1-USA had a major class action lawsuit and settled this suit out of court in 2002. Because of this settlement you have the legal option to own GTINs vs renting them for a small fortune, GS1 doesn't want you to know this simple fact. You can read more about GS1's settlement on our site.

GS1 operates slightly differently in each country that they plant a member organization, this is their choice and a bit of a concession based on the economics in the local market. They aren't going to charge the same rates in Nigeria as in Canada etc etc.

The only country on earth where their Government is actually involved in GTINs is India, but only to the point that India helps subsidize the use/acquisition of them. (Applicable only to local Indian businesses) All other countries in our experience are indifferent. Also there are no import concerns regarding barcodes, they do not care of such things.

At the end of the day it's up to your business' goals and brand image. If you're a UK biz through and through, selling a niche product like "red sauce" or "God save the Queen" items, then you may want to pay the few extra hundred pounds to GS1-UK, but for everyone else that doesn't have that self-imposed requirement, you can own at a fraction of the cost.

Hope that helps, let me know what questions you have.

 

[Opinion87]

Good write up but the last post was 26th Oct 18.

I'd hope the OP would have a solution by now.