You may have seen barcodes available online at cheap, one-off rates. There are potentially a few issues with buying barcodes in this way:
- They may have had ‘previous owners’ which means the ‘DNA’ of the barcode will be tied to the original brand or product
- You will be limited to where you can sell your products, with major retailers and marketplaces such as Amazon not accepting them
- You may experience number clashes, causing problems with your trading partners and across the supply chain
Only numbers allocated by GS1 Member Organisations are searchable, verifiable and traceable on our global identifier database. Check your numbers on Verified by GS1 to see if they are authentic and allocated to your business.
The only way to ensure the authenticity and uniqueness of your barcodes is to get them directly from GS1.
Added benefits of licensing barcodes from GS1 UK:
You will be able to use them globally, not just in the UK
You will be able to easily manage your list of numbers in your own member’s area
You will have access to training, webinars, selected events and our friendly support team
You will have access to our community partners who will help your business grow
Find out more about the benefits of becoming a GS1 UK member and join us to get your authentic GTINs and barcodes.