Barcodes for products: how to get them, and when to make your own

Getting barcodes for your products comes down to one question: will your products only be sold by you, or will another store or marketplace sell them too? If only you, you can make your own barcodes for free. If a retailer or marketplace is involved, you’ll usually need official UPC barcodes from GS1. Here’s how each route works.

The two kinds of product barcodes

• Official barcodes (UPC, EAN, GTIN). Globally unique numbers issued through GS1, the organization that runs the barcode system. The same number identifies your product in any store in the world.
• Your own (in-store) barcodes. Codes you create for your own SKUs. They only mean something in your own register, but that’s all most small shops, market sellers and makers need.

When you need official UPC barcodes

You typically need official barcodes when:

• a retailer or distributor that will carry your products requires them,
• you sell on a marketplace that requires a GTIN for your product category,
• you want your product to be identifiable anywhere it’s sold, not just in your own shop.

If you only sell in your own shop, at markets, at craft fairs or at your own pop-ups, you usually don’t need them.

How to get UPC barcodes for your products

In the US, official barcodes come from GS1 US. There are two ways to buy:

• Single GTINs. Buy barcode numbers one at a time, for a one-time fee with no renewal. A good fit if you have only a handful of products.
• A GS1 Company Prefix. A block of numbers tied to your company, priced by how many products you need to number, with an initial fee and an annual renewal. Better value once you have many products or variants.

Then:

1. Give each product its own number. Every size, color or pack size that’s sold separately needs its own.
2. Record the product details for each number in GS1 US’s tools, so retailers can look them up.
3. Create the barcode image from the number, usually as UPC-A (12 digits) in the US, and add it to your packaging or labels.

Prices change, so check GS1 US directly for current costs.

A warning about cheap resold barcodes

Many sites resell old UPC numbers for a few dollars. They may scan, but the number won’t be registered to your company, and retailers or marketplaces that check GS1’s database can reject them. If a retailer is the reason you need barcodes, buy from GS1.

UPC, EAN, GTIN and ISBN: what’s the difference?

• GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the umbrella name for official product numbers.
• UPC-A is the 12-digit barcode used mainly in the US and Canada.
• EAN-13 is the 13-digit version used in most other countries. US registers generally scan both.
• ISBN is the number for books, issued in the US by Bowker rather than GS1.

How to make your own barcodes for free

For products you sell yourself, your own barcodes work just as well at the register.

1. Give every product a SKU

A SKU (stock keeping unit) is your own short code for a product, like MUG-BLU-12 for a 12-ounce blue mug. It only needs to be unique in your shop. Keep SKUs short, readable and consistent.

2. Turn the SKU into a barcode

Use a format that handles letters and numbers, such as Code 128. It’s compact and reads reliably with both phone cameras and handheld scanners.

3. Print labels

• Standard printer with label sheets: uses the printer you already have. Good for printing a batch.
• Thermal label printer: prints single labels on a roll, commonly 58 mm or 80 mm wide, with no ink. Good for labeling items as they arrive.

Tips for labels that scan every time

• Don’t shrink the barcode too far; tiny bars are hard for cameras to read.
• Leave blank space on both sides of the bars.
• Stick labels on a flat surface, not across a fold or seam.
• Test-scan the first label of every batch.

Products that already have a barcode

If you resell products that arrive with a manufacturer’s barcode, don’t relabel them. Enter the number under the barcode as the product’s SKU in your register, and scanning the existing barcode finds the product.

You don’t need a barcode scanner

A phone camera can read barcodes. In SleepingFire you open the scanner at checkout, point your phone at the label, and the product goes straight into the cart. For your own products, SleepingFire prints Code 128 labels from each SKU, laid out for standard sheet printers or 58 mm and 80 mm thermal printers. See barcode scanning and labels.

Quick decision guide

• Selling only in your own shop or at events? Make your own barcodes from your SKUs.
• Reselling products that already have barcodes? Use the existing barcode as the SKU.
• Selling through other retailers or marketplaces? Get official UPCs from GS1 US.

Frequently asked questions