Hi guys, I'm J
with Just One Dime.
I'm here to show you exciting information
where you can get your UPC barcodes
for much less from GS1.
They are now just $30 for one UPC code,
as opposed to buying in large,
expensive packages
that you have to renew.
I have Michelle with me
directly from GS1.
They contacted us
because we came out with
videos and other great information on
on GS1 and barcodes,
and they wanted to share this update
with us personally for you guys.
Thank you very much for
joining me today, Michelle.
Sure. I am Michelle Covey with GS1 US.
I lead our partnerships team
and I also help
roll out our new GS1 US, GTIN offering.
Okay, so what exactly has changed in GS1
and why is it important?
Because GS1 is
right now the only reliable location to get
UPC barcodes
or EAN barcodes, any sort of GTIN, which
UPCs and EANs are.
How has that changed over at GS1
and why is it important
for Amazon sellers
in particular to know about it?
Sure. So, first of all,
I wanted to provide
a high level of overview
of what the UPC is.
As you mentioned,
it can be referred to in many ways: UPC,
a barcode,
in Europe, EAN.
A GTIN,
which a GTIN stands for,
"Global Trade Item Number."
So, the terminology all gets mixed up,
but a lot of times
most people know it as a UPC.
We refer to a GS1 as a GTIN
or a global trade item number.
But that UPC or GTIN
is a very important number
that helps brands
uniquely identify their products.
So that brand
is associated to their product
when they go to sell it,
whether it’s on an online marketplace
or even in a retail
setting where they have their UPC
barcode scanned at the point
of sale for recognition for price
and product information.
Right.
So it’s not just Amazon sellers
that use this, but Walmart sellers,
anybody who has their stuff
in a brick and mortar, eBay, etc. Right?
Exactly.
The barcode or the UPC, EAN and GTIN,
it is a globally unique identifier
and it is accepted worldwide
through marketplaces
and retail establishments.
Amazon sellers need a UPC,
EAN or other GTIN barcode
to list their products
on Amazon in the first place.
Correct.
So the changes that we have today
is that specific to UPCs,
which a seller in the US
and Canada might use,
or would that also apply to
EANs that other
countries around the globe might use?
So this is an offering that GS1 US
rolled out through our business model.
Many other GS1 member organizations
have various offerings,
whether it’s prefixes or single GTINs.
So this is a new offering
that we will talk about that GS1 US
rolled out to our US market.
And it is the ability to now
license down to a single GTIN.
So in the past, brand owners
could come to us and they could license
like packs of UPC's like ten, hundred,
thousand capacity.
They would get a prefix
and then from that prefix,
they would then create their GTINs.
We wanted to make sure
that we had an offering for those
small or micro businesses or
companies that are just launching
a product or two,
especially on Amazon,
to have an ability to license a GTIN
quickly, easily,
and one at a time.
Just to clarify what
was happening before, is
you would have to get your
GTINs, your UPCs
in bundles, not just one at a time, right?
Correct.
We wanted to make it easier
and more affordable.
So this single GTIN that we now offer
is at a $30 price point,
annual renewal fees,
which the bundles usually
there is a higher price point
and there is usually
an annual renewal fee.
So we wanted to make it more palpable
for those small brand owners
starting their business
to have a more affordable
GS1 issued GTIN.
So if I just had that one product,
I'm just thinking about this one for now,
I'm not thinking about other variations
I might have in the future
because each variation
needs their own separate UPC code.
Exactly.
So I'm not thinking about
any of that in the future.
Why does this save me money?
What is the price difference?
How much do I end up saving
when I go with this
new one time $30,
as opposed to a
bundle of ten for one UPC code
that I then have to renew?
Well, I think these are business
decisions you have to make.
So if this is your first time
starting to identify products
with a GS1, UPC or GTIN,
this gets your foot in the door.
Really, it allows you
to uniquely identify your product,
put an identifier on there
that is accepted
on the marketplaces
and with retail partners
and understand the value of
that unique identification.
Okay, so if I have one product,
like I am an Amazon seller launching
a new cat bubble backpack
per se.
I don't have any variations.
I don't have different sizes.
I don't have different colors.
I just have the one variety.
This is directed towards me.
This change,
you could get one or two or three
single GTINs, but
it is directed to those various
if you have a small product assortment.
So then who should go for the old model
where you're buying in bundles
of ten or more
GTINs and UPCs?
So it’s a good question.
So you have to
think about how your business model is,
even if you have
maybe two or three products.
But if you're gonna
grow your product line, maybe you're
maybe you're now introducing
that backpack,
but you think it’s going to get popular
and in two years,
you want to offer it in four colors,
maybe two different sizes.
Then you're starting to
expand your product category
and it will actually be
more affordable in the long run
to go for a prefix
where you could then get bundles of GTIN.
You also have to think about
your trading partner requirements.
Some trading partner requirements
require additional identifiers
to be created
from your prefix.
If you're going to create
carton labels and shipping labels,
you would look into a prefix
versus just a single GTIN.
So if I only have one right now,
but I plan on getting really popular.
I'm thinking big.
I have the big entrepreneurial mindset.
I feel like I'm going to succeed.
I've done the numbers, during the year.
Should I instead go for bundles
as opposed to one UPC
for $30?
Not renewal,
because the bundles
are still renewal, right?
The bundles are still renewable.
I would say if you're looking
to expand your business
and expand channels,
so if you're looking
at multiple trading partners,
you know, a prefix may be the
better decision for you.
But a single GTIN can work too.
You really have to make
that decision on your own.
So step by step,
I've decided to go with the UPC for
for $30.
How do I start that?
Because I don't want to go with
a bundle of ten
that I want to renew each year or so.
So the first place you would start
is on the gs1us.org site.
So on the gs1us.org site,
we have a couple of places
where you could start.
But most easy is
right here at this top banner.
We have the, "GS1 Barcodes
are accepted worldwide."
So I recommend clicking
on the, "Learn More" button,
and this will take you into,
"Getting your U.P.C. Barcodes
from GS1 US."
The prefix information
is down here at the bottom.
So this is what we've
been offering for many years.
So you could see we have
prefix bundles within prefix
that bundles in ten, hundred,
thousand, ten thousand
or a hundred thousand capacity
depending on your business needs.
So this is what GS1 US has been offering
for many years.
And then we just recently launched
this single GTIN,
and this is what I will walk you through.
The application process is pretty easy.
There are a few steps
that somebody would need
to consider going into this,
but this is where you would start
with just getting your single GTIN.
Okay, and then again,
single GTIN is when you just have
one variation,
you sell it in one color,
one size,
you don't
offer it in bundles of
two and four.
It’s just a single product.
It’s a single product.
And you can have
multiple single products.
But again, if you just have one,
two very simple products,
this is probably
where you would want to head,
getting a GTIN,
a single GTIN.
As noted here, that single GTIN
is $30 each.
And no renewal fee.
What we also do offer
is a subscription to our data hub tool.
This is where you would be able to,
once you actually receive your GTIN,
to assign product information,
additional product attributes to your GTIN
to be able to maintain that GTIN
and a light layer of product information.
And then it’s also shared
within the GS1 registry platform,
which is a database where many retailers
marketplaces do product validation.
Again, to ensure that you are the
brand owner associated to the GTIN.
So Amazon will only check GS1,
they won't check nationwide barcodes
or any other place?
They're just checking
that GS1 database?
Correct.
So this is where that information
gets logged into.
And can you scroll down for a second?
I just want to compare
the prices real quick.
So this single one is $30.
And then an initial fee
for a bundle of ten is $250
and an annual renewal fee.
So in the first year,
if I just have one product,
that means I am saving
$220?
That would be correct.
So let's go through
the process real quick.
It’s a fairly simple,
I'm not going to go through
every single screen,
but there are a few points
I do want to highlight.
So once you click on that, "Get a GTIN,"
it'll take you to the first page.
And what we ask for
is a couple of pieces of information.
We get a lot of questions on brand name
versus company names.
And especially with Amazon sellers.
I just wanted to highlight this.
When you go into, "Get your single GTIN,"
we do ask for two fields of information
that gets stored into that
GS1 data hub tool,
to help continue
building out the product information.
But it also helps
associate your brand name
and your company name
to your GTIN.
But this brand name here
and we have some help bubbles
in this screen.
Really it’s the brand name
that you want to share
with your customers.
So it may not necessarily
be your company name,
but this is the brand of the product.
So I am going to say
I am, "Michelle's Cookies"
and I am going to launch
two kinds of cookies,
and my brand name is going
to be, "Crunchy Cookies."
So your company name
might actually be,
"Crunch LLC,"
something like that.
But then when
the
shoppers are looking at your listing,
what they're seeing is "Crunchy Cookies."
Just like as opposed to
McDonald's Incorporation.
Then they'll just say, "McDonald's."
They'll just drop the, "Incorporation."
And it may be completely different
than what your actual
business is registered as.
Correct.
My company name could be,
"Michelle's Cookies Inc,"
but my brand name is, "Crunchy Cookies."
You'd put your brand name there
and then the product description.
As a recommendation,
we have these help bubbles.
It’s usually a combination of four items.
It’s usually the brand name,
the type of product,
the product variation and net contents.
So for my example here,
I am going to say it is, "Crunchy Cookies."
These are going to be,
"Chocolate chip cookies."
Maybe it’s going to be a, "2-pack"
and that would be, say, "4 oz."
So that would be a good
product description,
including, like I said,
the product brand name.
Again, a quick description of the product,
the content and kind of the package of it.
So they're the variation.
So once you've entered this
information into the screen,
you could then add that to your cart.
So what this will do is create a cart.
So if this is the first time
ever doing this, you would continue
as a new customer.
And this is where
you would actually enter
all your information, and I'm actually
not going to go through
this whole screen fully, but we would
then in this screen collect
your company name,
your company phone number,
company address,
your order contact name,
your contact address.
And if it’s the same,
we have some radio buttons.
As most people are used to
shopping online.
It’s all your contact information.
And this is where you would put
your company's legal name.
So it is not your brand name.
This is where I'd put in
Michelle's Cookies LLC
or whatever my company entity
entity name is.
The company name associated
to your identifier that you're getting.
So that's only if
you've registered a company name
like you've registered as an LLC
or a C corporation
or any other business entity type.
But if you're just you
being an individual
and
you're just like, "Well, that's just my name."
It says here to instead do a DBA which,
I know is a, "Doing Business As" name.
So that would be the brand
name in that case?
I think it could be.
Yeah, it depends on your scenario.
Great.
So what other steps do
we have to go through
to get our UPC code?
I mean, it does also say that GTIN.
But this is a UPC code more specifically.
Yeah, it would issue a 12 digit GTIN
what is used to embed into
that UPC barcode.
So that GTIN-12
is a UPC identifier.
So after you go through this
company information screen,
then you hit, "Confirm Order"
and then the next screen
takes your credit card information.
So it’s another similar to any other
kind of online shopping platform.
Enter in your credit card information.
And then there is a box to say,
"I accept these terms and conditions."
Once you confirm order is instantly
you're on the screen, be presented
your GTIN.
In the web browser?
In the web browser,
so you could see it on the web browser,
but within a few minutes,
you're going to get a series of emails.
First of all, with your order summary
here, I put it my credit card information
and here's my receipt, my thirty dollars
my $30 receipt for my GTIN.
Okay, so then I paid for my barcode.
I have the emails.
How do I get essential barcode
information that I need?
So that GTIN,
that you've been now issued
is that 12 digit identifier,
is when you now go into
Amazon and list your product,
one of the first questions it will ask you
is, "What is your product identifier?"
And you would enter that 12 digit number
and you would actually select,
"UPC" because it is a 12 digit UPC,
and that would help you
start your process.
Now, if you actually wanted to start
to put the actual barcode
associated to your GTIN
on your product,
within the data hub products tool,
there is a png file
that you could you know use to
then create that barcode
onto your product.
And then we also have quite
a few solution providers
that there is a link to
in the data hub tool
that can help you manage
that barcode file
and print the barcode
and create packaging for you.
So there are quite a few
solution partners out there
that can help you with that.
Is there anything else
you'd like to share with
Amazon sellers starting out today
that they need to know
when it comes to getting a barcode
to sell on Amazon?
I think the thing to call out,
most importantly, is understanding that
if you start off with a GS1,
issued barcode,
it’s probably the best step.
Sometimes sellers
will try to take shortcuts
and go with non-GS1 barcodes.
And what they'll find is
it ends up costing them more in the end,
because they end up having
to repackage their products,
relabel their products.
Their products may not be accepted
on the Amazon platform
or within other retail trading partners.
So it just causes
a lot of frustration and confusion.
And so to do it right at the beginning,
it actually does
save money in the long run.
Thank you very much
for sharing all of this
great information for us today.