Amazon. com Help: About Getting a Bar Code

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How to Buy UPC Codes for Amazon

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As an Amazon seller, you should already be familiar with UPC codes and what they entail.

There is only one legitimate producer of UPC codes that exists globally, GS1. GS1 (Global Standard 1)is a non profit organization that has set the global standard for supply chain barcoding.

There are more than 100 GS1 organizations around the world – GS1 US is the organization that serves US businesses. GS1 issues unique prefixes to brand owners so that they can create their own unique barcodes containing the prefix number given to them by GS1.

Amazon is already cross checking UPC codes assigned to different ASINs on their marketplace against the GS1 database. This means any seller without authentic GS1 UPC codes are at risk of getting their listings removed, if Amazon decides to go down that route.

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Understanding GTINs

Not to be confused with an actual product barcode, GTINs are numbers that identify individual products. You’ll assign each unique product a separate, unique GTIN. The rules for assigning GTINs ensure that every variation of an item is assigned a number that is globally unique.

You create a GTIN by combining a GS1 US-issued Company Prefix number with a unique product number that you assign, plus a check digit that helps to ensure the GTIN is created correctly. A GTIN, along with a U. P.C. barcode, can be used anywhere in the world.

GTINs can be encoded into different types of barcodes. The two primary types of barcodes used on products are UPCs (Unique Product Code) and, EANs (European Article Number).

What are UPC Codes?

The UPC code was the original format for product barcodes. When supply demand in Europe, Asia, and Australia increased there was a need to distinguish each seller by location. GS1 then began allocating specific prefixes for different GS1 member organizations.

While certain prefixes identify the GS1 branch where the prefix was licensed, it does not necessarily specify where that product was made. For example, there is a misconception that all barcode prefixes on American-made products will start with a zero or one.

There are two main types of UPC codes, UPC-E and UPC-A

UPC-A is essentially identical to UPC-E, however UPC-E does not include 0s. That means you will not actually see the 0’s within the barcode, only within the corresponding GTIN.

UPC barcodes are currently the primary barcode used within US and Canada. Although other countries can scan and read UPC codes, most countries outside of US and Canada use EANs.

What are EAN Codes?

EAN or European Article Numbers ( Also known as International Article Numbers) are GS1 issued barcodes that also include Company Prefixes at the beginning of the numeric GTIN, but again, these may not necessarily identify the country where the product was made

There are two primary forms of EANs that are popular among Amazon sellers, EAN-13 and EAN-8, which encode a GTIN-13 and GTIN-8, respectively.

Similar to UPCs, the type of EAN you use depends on various different factors such as product category, and product distribution channel.

For a more detailed explanation of GS1’s various barcodes check out their article.

Remember, Amazon can remove your listing if they discover that your UPC codes don’t match the information found on the GS1 database. It’s important to spend the initial time and money to ensure Amazon success in the long run.

Why Buy Your own Amazon UPC Code?

Amazon requires every seller to register a GTIN with each product listing available on their marketplace. With that being said, sellers can either invest in legitimized UPC codes directly from GS1, or go through a reseller.

There are various UPC and EAN resellers out there who will try to sell replicated UPC codes to satisfy Amazon’s UPC code needs. Many sellers purchase their UPC codes from third party websites due to their cheaper prices, however using resold Amazon UPC codes will cause more harm than good in the long run.

The problem with replicated UPC codes is they could belong to another company and will not link your company with your product.

Since GS1 is the creator of the GTIN system, by definition they are the only validated resource to check barcode validity. If you are buying a reseller’s UPC code off of a 3rd party website like Ebay, that UPC code was probably originally assigned to another company.

Although Amazon has not explicitly said they will remove any listing that does not match the GS1 database, they have warned that such a policy might be enforced in the near future.

Our in-house Amazon expert David Cooley says, “Its important to stay up to date on Amazon’s policies around UPCs.

The recent emphasis on GS1 codes may be just the beginning for brand manufacturers or private labelers”.How Do You Buy a UPC Code for Amazon?

GS1 breaks down the process of buying your UPC code into 4 easy steps.

Step 1: Apply for a GS1 Company Prefix

The first six to nine digits of your barcode are your company prefix. The company prefix is a unique identifier of the product’s manufacturer. Basically as a supplier, your company prefix will remain the same on the barcodes of all your different products. Each product that you offer will then be assigned a unique product code that will follow your company prefix.

Refer to the diagram below for an example:

There are numerous ways to purchase a company prefix, however it’s important that the company prefix that you purchase can be traced back to your business. Business owners often make the mistake of forging, or unknowingly purchasing their UPC code from a company other than GS1. This not only could lead to legal issues, but can also impact the legitimacy of your brands supply chain as well.

To be safe, it’s recommended to purchase your Amazon UPC codes only from GS1 directly. GS1 has an easy to use outline of how to get your Company Prefix on their website.

The initial setup fee ranges from the low end of $250 but can be as much as $10,000 depending on the how many different products you intend on selling. After the initial fee, GS1 does charge an annual renewal fee to maintain your company prefix. This cost ranges from $50 a year on the low end and around $3000 on the high end.

Although it might be tempting to go through a 3rd party barcode vendor, or find a cheaper UPC code on websites like Ebay, the cost of buying UPC codes from GS1 is much less than the money you can potentially lose by purchasing illegitimate UPC codes.

Step 2: Assign a Unique Product Number

Now that you have your company prefix, it’s time to assign each one of your products unique product numbers. GS1 gives each seller a set number of digits to use for product numbers depending on the number of future products the seller indicates in his or her application.

The seller can decide his or her own numbering system to apply when naming their unique product numbers. One thing to keep in mind is that each SKU of every product requires it’s own unique product number. This means every variety of each individual product needs to be represented with its own product ID.

For example, if you are selling different hats as a product selection. You may have three different color hats (red, white, and blue). Each different hat variation must have it’s own unique product number.

Red Hat: 0001

White Hat: 0002

Blue Hat: 0003

For Amazon UPC codes MUST always total 11 digits. The 12th and final digit is called the “check digit”. This number is calculated by GS1 based on the previous 11 digits of your barcode.

Step 3: Determine How Your Product will Display Barcode

If you have not packaged or designed your labels for your product, you can obtain a digital barcode file directly from GS1 to incorporate in the packaging and labeling of your product. Almost all manufacturers will be comfortable with the idea of working with UPC codes and understand how to incorporate them from a digital file.

If you have already packaged and labeled your products, you can order adhesive barcode labels to stick onto your product or it’s packaging.

It’s important that the barcodes you use are clearly visible, and are accurate to the information on the GS1 database.

Step 4: Order Your Barcodes

Now that the hard part is out of the way, the last step is to order your barcodes. There are numerous different websites out there that specialize in printing barcode labels, GS1 US has a Solution Partner program, where you can find certified barcoding companies familiar with GS1 standards.

Step 5: Place Barcodes

As a seller it’s extremely important to place your barcodes on your product so they are both visible, and scannable. Amazon has very specific directions for sellers to follow when it comes to UPC code placement. Remember, they are most likely using robots to process your inbound FBA shipments. The easier you make the job for them to accept your shipment, the faster you are going to see your products selling online.

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Many savvy shoppers already do all their shopping by browsing at their local stores, before coming home to make the purchases from online retailers such as Amazon. com. Amazon is encouraging this strategy with their new price comparison app, available both for the iPhone and Android smartphones.

Armed with this app, shoppers can scan the bar code of any merchandise they like and see the price on Amazon. This is a nightmare for retailers, as it encourages shoppers to use their stores as a showroom while spending their money at Amazon. To further sweeten the deal, Amazon is running a one-day deal this Saturday where consumers can earn a discount by scanning the item they want to buy in a retail store. then leaving and buying the same item from Amazon. com. The discount is for 5% of the item's price, up to $5. The deal is good for up to 3 items.

Unsurprisingly, retailers are crying foul. They say Amazon already has an unfair advantage because they do not help the state collect sales tax, thus making their prices artificially cheaper by 6 to 10 percent, depending on the state.

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Behold! 18 of the Best Amazon & Amazon Prime Hacks You Can’t Live Without!

Jim Wang

Updated March 21, 2019

Some links below are from our sponsors. Here's how we make money.

I love Amazon. com. If I order something online, there's a 90% chance I'll get it from Amazon. com. We have Amazon Prime too, so almost everything can be at our house within two days. We use Subscribe and Save to get a discount on things like diapers, tissue paper, toilet paper, and other nonperishable necessities.

Our local Costco is 20 minutes away. Our local Home Depot is about 20 minutes away. If it's not urgent, I buy it on Amazon and it saves me an hour-long trip. We still go but now we don't need to lug massive packages back.

A few years ago, I ordered a massive 280 lb. snow blower. Not only was it delivered to my door with nice folks wearing white gloves but it was cheaper than anywhere else. (this thing was not fitting in my car!) I looked extensively.

One day, in the near future, some drone army might do the delivery with their robotic white gloves!

So in all that time, I've learned a few tricks about getting the best out of Amazon. com. I've read all the articles out there claiming to be Amazon “hacks,” where they just list membership benefits, tell you about the Fire stick, or tell you to check out Warehouse Deals or enlighten you about “subscribe and save.” Seriously, everyone knows about subscribe and save. Those posts are nice reminders, but those aren't exactly hacks.

Warehouse Deals is where Amazon sells any open-box and used products. You can often save big bucks because this is where they sell any returns and trade-ins. You get free shipping with Prime plus a 30-day return policy. It's certainly worth a look, there are Hundreds of thousands of products here.

The next place is Amazon Outlet, where you can find big discounts on markdowns, clearance items, and overstocks. Warehouse is for used and open box items, Outlet is where Amazon is looking to empty their warehouse. Both can result in big savings.

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Amazon Cash Promotion: Add $25+, Get $5 Amazon Credit

Amazon is pushing their Amazon Cash program – you get $5 Amazon Credit when you add $25 or more to your Amazon Balance. To add cash to your account, you get your barcode and go to a partner store (CVS Pharmacy, GameStop, etc.) to load into your account. It's a couple extra steps but if you're going to be at a partner store, you might as well get $5 for your trouble!

Remember All Their Awesome Prime Services

I had to get the party started by singing the praises of Amazon Prime… just in case you were one of the last few people holding out.

Amazon Prime is the best. You get two day shipping, a ton of streaming content in music and video (TV, movies, etc.) plus photo storage and even special discounts, like 20% off new release video games and diapers. Oh, and you can get one free kindle book each month from the Kindle Lending Library.

There are a few versions of Prime. There's regular Prime, Amazon Student, and Amazon Mom or Amazon Family (it was recently renamed to Amazon Family).

They're all pretty much the same idea except Amazon Student is a 6-month trial whereas the other two are 30 days. Amazon Family also gets 20% off diapers and 15% off a baby registry.

Amazon Prime Refund: By the way, if you happened to sign up for Prime and lost track of the trial period (it's 30 days), you can request a refund if you don't want to continue past the membership but they billed you. Just go to Manage Your Prime Membership and click End Membership, if you haven't used any Prime services then they'll automatically refund you. If you have, you will have to go through the contact page and request a refund. It's harder to get it after you've used services but still worth a shot.

Take the No-Rush Shipping Bribe

With Prime, you get free Two-Day shipping. Amazon, in their brilliance, often offers a bribe if you are willing to accept No-Rush shipping, which takes an additional 3 days.

My favorite was the bribe has been $1 credit for eBooks, digital videos, and more. I will order individual items, separately, and opt for No Rush Shipping so I can get a $1 credit each time. They will usually all ship in the same box, so I'm not hurting Mother Nature with more boxes.

I've read tips from folks who say you should order a bunch of items with the slower shipping but then select 2-day shipping on the last one, thus getting all your items within 2-days plus the credits. Personally, this feels more like trickery (or thievery) than savviness but I don't begrudge anyone who does it.

Best part? Those $1 credits get used up by my lovely wife on books for her Kindle or movie rentals. (or one of these Kindle personal finance books under $1)

If you ever need to look up how many digital credits you have, click here. They don't make that page easy to find. 🙂

Consider the Amazon Prime Credit Card

We take a much closer look at the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa to see if it's worth it, but the short answer is a resounding “yes!” if you shop a lot on Amazon.

You get 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods, 2% at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores; and finally 1% on everything else. The cashback comes as Amazon credit by default but you can have it set to a statement credit or transfer to your bank.

Visit the Treasure Truck!

The Amazon Treasure Truck is a mobile Amazon. com store that offers one fantastic deal. It moves around and isn't available everywhere but you can find out the deal of the day in your area (if they're around) by signing up for texts. Just go to http://amazon. com/treasuretruck and sign up.

The truck itself is a little bit of fun for the kids too. When you show up, even if you're buying anything, they give out little toys. We stumbled onto one the other day and they had bouncy balls, brass coins, colored pencils, and other fun goodies for the kiddos.

Avoid Sales Tax with Third Party Sellers

Amazon. com collects tax in 45 of the 50 states. It used to be that they only collected in areas where there was a “nexus,” like a fulfillment center in Baltimore, Maryland. They don't collect it on third-party sellers who fulfill through Amazon. 🙂

You get all of your Amazon benefits, such as free 2-day shipping with Prime, without the sales tax since the seller is out of state and thus not subject to sales tax.

There doesn't appear to be an easy way to look up the state of a seller but the price listing now shows you estimated tax (and shipping), so you can make a quick comparison.

Discounted Prime for EBT Holders

If you receive government assistance, defined as having an EBT card, you can get Amazon Prime for just $5.99 a month rather than the $99 a year ($8.25 a month).

You get all of the benefits of Prime with only one exception – you don't have Household sharing. You can only get this price for 48 months and will have to qualify every 12 months.

Delete Search History

If you live in a household, chances are you share the same Amazon Prime account (no sense paying for two!). During the holidays, this can make shopping for loved ones difficult because Amazon will show recommendations to everyone that's logged into the account.

How do you avoid this? Delete your search history.

You can do it easily by going to your browsing history page here and deleting items. You can also purge the whole list on that same page by clicking on “Manage history” at the top right and clicking “Remove all items.” You can turn off browsing history too from the same drop down.

If you want it to track but just not right now, search in incognito/private mode on your browser so you aren't logged in.

Complain About Shipping Delays

If your ordered package doesn't arrive by the scheduled time, let Amazon know. If you had Prime two-day shipping, it might result in a membership extension or a credit to your account. It doesn't matter if the delay isn't their fault (like weather), because they made the guarantee so they will own up to it. If you don't feel comfortable holding them responsible for things out of their control, then only complain about the delays you want to. 🙂 The best way to complain is via the contact form.

We recently ordered a few items and due to some weird UPS delay, it arrived a week later. I initiated a quick chat with Customer Service, took a few minutes, and they credited us with a free month of Amazon Prime (valued at $8.25).

I'm glad it was messaging chat because it let me mix in a little passive aggressive faux outrage (I wasn't upset about it showing up late, heck I usually take the bribe!).

Price Drop Policy

If you buy an item on Amazon. com that is being sold by Amazon. com LLC and the price drops within 7 days, you can get a credit for the difference. Get your order number and head on over to their Live Chat system, where you can submit your request. It's a pretty simple process, they've done it a million times, and you'll get the difference as a credit you can spend later. The big thing to watch out for is that the seller is still Amazon. com, this won't work if it's a third party seller.

The next time I can take advantage of this I'll post some screenshots talking you through the process, until then here's a good walkthrough.

Find Any User's Wishlist

Did you know that you can find the List and Registry of any Amazon. com customer? You can search by name or, more accurately, by their email address.

Just go to the Wishlist search page and surprise them on their birthday. 🙂

Squeeze Last Cents on Prepaid Gift Cards into Amazon Gift Cards

Ever have a few of those prepaid VISA gift cards with like 50 cents left? You just want to get rid of them but feel bad about tossing fifty cents or a dollar? Squeeze the last few cents out by using them to buy Amazon. com Gift Cards – Email Delivery. Send them to yourself, copy out the code and paste them in your account. Boom, trash the card. 🙂

(50 cents is the minimum, unfortunately)

Earn Reload Bonuses

When you “reload” your Amazon gift card balance, you can earn an extra Amazon credit bonus. Simply go to the Reload Your Balance and look at the banner at the top.

If you've never reloaded before, you should see a Reload $100, get a $5 reward on your first reload offer:

If you've reloaded before, you might see a Earn a 2% reward when you use your checking account to reload your gift card balance offer:

Either way, unless your credit card is giving you 2% cashback (the only one I'm aware of that will do this is the Discover it Cashback Match card when Amazon was a 5% category!), this is a great deal.

Twitch Prime

Do you like games? Do you enjoy watching people play games? Twitch Prime is included with Amazon Prime.

Lastly, and this won't save you any money, but sign up for AmazonSmile. They donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to a charitable organization of your choice. It'll cost you nothing, other than remembering to go to http://smile. amazon. com/ or installing a browser extension) and helps a charity out.

Do you have a favorite hack I missed? Or one on this list that you didn't know about? Let me know!