Information Regarding Barcodes

All of the barcode numbers that we and many other companies sell, does not begin with South Africa numbering prefix (600). Our barcodes are suitable for use worldwide and are at a minimal affordable price and we do NOT charge any renewal fees. Most supermarkets and stores only require that the barcodes are in the format of either EAN-13 or UPC-12. You can check yourself in your nearest store, many codes will start with a particular prefix and you will see that others do not. For example, Coca-Cola does not begin with the local countries prefix. A simple example, many products imported from China already have barcodes on them. These products are sold in different countries and are placed in different supermarkets and stores. If you are dealing with Pick n Pay then only you will need to go directly through their partnership company GS1 to obtain a prefix and join their membership program. They require your name to appear in GS1’s database.

How do we attain our barcodes legitimately?

Our barcodes were originally issued by the UCC (Uniform Code Council), known today as GS1, and were issued prior to August 28, 2002. That date is important because that’s when the UCC (GS1) started sending out renewal notices demanding that past prefix holders pay renewal fees for the barcodes and agree to the new terms and conditions. Eventually, a class action suit was filed against the UCC, in the State of Washington, and GS1 had lost the case. You may Click Here to read the copy of the UCC Settlement.

After the civil suit was filed it gave the prefix owners the rights to do whatever they want with their prefix including splitting it up or selling it. What we do is purchase those prefixes directly from the company or individual that purchased the prefix directly from the UCC (GS1) and therefore, all of our barcodes are legal and legitimate. For this reason, the cost of our barcodes are at a minimal affordable price and we do NOT charge any renewal fees.

Will my barcodes be accepted at all stores?

GS1 does not update the database to reflect new ownership information. It would be the same as if you were to purchase a washer at a home appliance store and then later sold it in a garage sale. The store isn’t going to go back to update their database with the name of the person that you sold the washer to, they don’t care about that. All they are concerned with is the name of the company or person that they sold the item to. The majority of stores do not require that your name appear in GS1’s public database. Typically it’s when you are dealing with large retail stores such Pick n Pay and other international stores like Walmart, Sam’s Club, Costco, Macy’s, Kroger, Fred Meyer, Bloomingdale’s, Home Depot and Lowe’s then you have to get barcodes directly from GS1 because they require you to participate in the EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) program. Our barcodes are accepted by all stores except the few major stores we had mentioned. We have thousands of customers that are using our barcodes worldwide without any problems.

If you are dealing with retailers that simply require you to have a barcode number, they might refer to it as a EAN or UPC barcode, then ours will work without any issues.