What most people don’t know is that Amazon’s automated system automatically checks your barcode in comparison to the name/words you enter into the brand field. This is an all too common error that first time sellers run into trying to sell items lying around their house, or creating bundles of “Disney DVDs”, etc etc. More on how to spot shady sites ( HERE) 6 - Listing a major brand’s items using your new barcode Long story short, do not skimp on legal GTINs, be sure to buy from a trusted, legal source. Just one barcode illegally used by a charcoal company in New Jersey had to pay $200,000 in damages by copying another companies GTIN. So while it may seem like there’s so many that no one would notice, with the internet not forgetting anything these days, people and companies eventually find out. Each and every GTIN on earth (about a trillion of them) are known and accounted for. While you will not find a specific barcode law codified anywhere globally, GTINs are a unique business asset and fall under basic ownership law and intellectual Property. Just like making up a barcode is illegal, selling a fake GTIN is a worse level of illegal. Those areĢ: Barcode resellers that broker Pre-2002 “legacy” GS1-USA barcodes.ģ: Shady sites and Ebay sellers that likely sell fraudulent or “made-up” barcodes for pennies. In the world of barcodes, there are roughly 3 barcode sources. Start-ups are not flush with cash, so being lean and frugal can go a long way to bringing your product to market. Once that GTIN is used for your listing, it is locked to the ASIN that amazon creates, this process is not easily reversed. Be sure to enter the exact digits that you received from either GS1 or your verified barcode reseller. Amazon does NOT verify if you own that GTIN, have permission to use that GTIN, or anything along those lines. Second, it makes sure the unique UPC or EAN has not already been used on their platform already. The first is to make sure that the number you’re entering matches the format (product ID) you told them it was. This is because amazon’s automated system only checks two things before moving on. Unlike the previous scenario, if you have a typo and enter the wrong barcode number for your listing you may not get an error message. JAN = 13 digits (begins with 450 through 459) 4 - Entering the wrong barcode number If in doubt use the simple key below to guide you: The remedy? Count the digits, verify the barcode format you have (likely a UPC or EAN). Their system will expect 13 digits (since that’s what you told them) but you entered 12 digits, so it’s one digit short and comes back invalid. Example is having a UPC barcode (12 digits) but instead of selecting the UPC from the drop down you select the “EAN” (13 digits) as your product ID. What this means is you didn’t enter the whole barcode number or you picked the wrong format. If this happens the error message will say: “The value specified is invalid.” We all make mistakes, barcodes are new to most sellers, so it is easy to enter the wrong number or format in the product ID field. This can cause chaos or false expectations if the pictures of the item no longer match the product you’ve been shipping the whole time. Unless you’re the #1 seller on that listing you do not have control over it, so some other seller can change key attributes and screw up what you have going on. Pros: You don’t have to get your own barcodes, you can be tied to an existing listing (less effort) and saves some time.Ĭons: You are piggy-backing off of another listing. While this is doable, it is not always recommended, even on Amazon. Normally in the real world, you would never do this, but with Amazon, it is oddly commonplace to use another manufacturer's UPC or EAN number. Barcodes are inexpensive these days, there are options to legally own as well as license, more on this later. If found using another’s barcode the nicest thing they could do is send you a cease and desist. Making up a number, though not hard, is a quick way to be in conflict with another business or brand. This is why each barcode number is unique to your product no matter what store you distribute to on earth. GS1 is a non-profit and non-governmental organization that handles barcode formatting globally. “Why is it wrong?”, you may ask, “Aren’t barcodes just random numbers?” Not quite, each barcode number is globally unique, no two alike, and comes from a single source, GS1. Stores take their inventory data seriously and if they find out a new seller is being an amateur at best, or crooked at worst, they may ban you from ever selling with them. Making up a UPC or EAN (GTIN) barcode number is a bad idea, not only is it illegal, it will quickly get your item delisted once caught and you could be banned from any store or website you do this on, not just Amazon. It should go without saying, this is illegal.
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