Will my bar code work in every store?
Yes, almost every store & website on Earth in fact! This is because every store & country globally in the '70s adopted GS1's free set of POS system standards for universal product sales and identification.
There are however a handful of retailers that require you to rent your GTINs. It should be known that GS1 is not a government org, they are a non-profit created in the '70s, still ran by its founding companies. It should also come as no surprise that the founders of GS1 are also the very stores that force you to rent:
GS1 Rental Required:
- *Walmart / Sam’s-Club (GS1 Board Member) *Not Walmart.com currently
- Kroger / Fred-Meyers
- Macy’s / Bloomingdale’s (GS1 Governor)
- Home Depot
- Lowe’s
- Costco
- Nordstroms
- Neiman Marcus
- Wegmans (GS1 Governor)
- Sears
- GS1 EDI System Providers
- Zappos
- Global Fashion Group
May require
- *Amazon (GS1 Board Member)
- Whole Foods (Amazon subsidiary)
- Walgreens
- K-Mart
- Publix (GS1 Governor)
- Target (GS1 Governor)
- QVC (GS1 Governor)
- JC Penney’s
*Amazon has updated its company policy and put a barcode ownership verification process in place. They are using GS1’s GEPIR database as the sole means of verification. We have contacted Amazon directly to let them know that the database they are using is not current and does not reflect correct ownership information for all of the barcode numbers GS1 has issued prior to 2002 from the GS1-USA member organization. Amazon’s action in 2016 to join the board of GS1 speaks volumes of their intentions to correct this issue. For specifics on our experience with amazon’s systems find our most current information on Amazon-GTIN exceptions and rules listed here: (HERE)
GS1 Board of Governors: https://www.gs1us.org/what-we-do/about-gs1-us/leadership-team-board-of-governors
Not every store that is on the board of GS1 has these same rental requirements, just the ones listed above in our experience. While this doesn't prove anything, it does show that the largest of stores can & do operate just fine without having to require you (the vendor) to rent your codes.
Bar Codes Talk will give you an Authentic Certificate of Ownership stating that you legally own your numbers; however, we can’t give you a GS1-US certificate. The GTIN's we provide are the exact same that GS1 provides, the difference comes in that our codes are from GS1-USA prior to August 28th of 2002, and they are grandfathered in under the settlement terms of the UCC (GS1's old name) class action lawsuit that took place in 2002. After that lawsuit, the U.C.C. changed its rules (2002) & its name (2005) to GS1.
In short, our GTINs are exempt from any need to rent/license them and will work in just about every P.O.S. system on Earth.
*While these stores are the most notable, this is not a definitive list and stores can change their internal rules, legally, at any time without public notice or notice to Bar Codes Talk. If you have any doubts contact us first and we can help clarify the current state of affairs in the global market. 1-877-263-1343 option 1.
