Terms of Service

Last Updated: April 30th, 2021

Thank you for your purchase through Barcodestalk.com. Please read the following general policies that apply to your order. These general policies, along with others, are outlined in the Terms of Use agreement, which can be found on the Barcodestalk.com website and is enclosed with your order.

1. Return Policy for Barcode Numbers

You may not return any GTIN, UPC-A, or EAN-13 numbers purchased through Bar Codes Talk, LLC. Due to the nature of these goods, we cannot offer a return service. We do this to ensure that each number is unique and NEVER before issued to another company/person. Any other goods or services may be returned only at the sole discretion of Bar Codes Talk, LLC.

2. File Formats for Barcodes

Bar codes, including but not limited to GTIN numbers, will be provided to you in a compressed format. This compressed file will contain a copy of this Terms of Use agreement, a certificate of authenticity, the GS1 General Specifications, a spreadsheet listing your assigned number(s), and a document containing a printed label price list and instructions on how to use your bar code numbers.

Artwork will be provided in a vector graphics format, which can be re-scaled to any resolution or size in any professional layout program, including but not limited to Adobe Illustrator. Artwork will be provided as a 1.5” x 1” graphics file, whether in .jpg or vector graphics format.

Bar Codes Talk, LLC recommends that you print the GTIN numbers and Artwork on a laser printer at a resolution of no less than 600 dots per inch. Bar Codes Talk, LLC recommends that you print GTIN numbers and Artwork in black ink on a white background to ensure that the GTIN numbers and Artwork remain high-contrast and can be read by a scanner.

3. Warranties and Representations

Bar Codes Talk, LLC hereby warrants that you will be issued a unique GTIN number and that Bar Codes Talk, LLC will maintain a database of all GTIN number prefixes that have been transferred or granted to Bar Codes Talk, LLC. Upon a sale of any or all of the assets of Bar Codes Talk, LLC, Bar Codes Talk, LLC will be absolved of any duty to maintain a database of GTIN number prefixes.

You hereby understand and agree that you will not resell any and all GTIN numbers or Artwork issued by Bar Codes Talk, LLC to a third-party UNLESS given written consent.

You further hereby understand and agree that some retailers may not accept the GTIN numbers and Artwork issued by Bar Codes Talk, LLC because the GTIN number or Artwork is not purchased directly through the GS1. These retailers include but are not limited to the following:

 

^{*Amazon has updated their 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

While Bar Codes Talk, LLC takes its best efforts to notify you of retailers that will not accept GTIN numbers or Artwork issued by Bar Codes Talk, LLC, you hereby understand and agree that Bar Codes Talk, LLC will not be held liable or refund your purchase of goods or services through the Website for the failure of any third-party to accept GTIN numbers or Artwork issued by Bar Codes Talk, LLC. You understand and agree that you have a duty to notify Bar Codes Talk, LLC of any and all retailers that will not accept your GTIN numbers or Artwork.

Bar Codes Talk, LLC warrants that it will forward any information or communication that it receives concerning your GTIN numbers or your Artwork to you provided you have provided Bar Codes Talk, LLC with timely contact information.

You hereby understand and agree that you must notify Bar Codes Talk, LLC within seven (7) days of any changes to your contact information, including but not limited to a change of address, email address, or telephone number.

Bar Codes Talk, LLC retains all of its rights under the law to prosecute the unlawful use of or pirating of GTIN numbers or Artworks that utilize prefixes issued by Bar Codes Talk, LLC.

4. 115% Best Price Guarantee

Bar Codes Talk will beat all legitimate barcode sellers’ price by 15% - GUARANTEED.

Every purchase with Bar Codes Talk comes with a 115% Best Price Guarantee - you can trust that you are always getting the best price when purchasing your barcodes from us. That means that if you find a lower priced barcode package from a verified, legitimate* barcode reseller, we will not only match their price, but also beat it by 15%!

*The following qualifies as a “verified, legitimate” barcode reseller:

• The reseller must be selling barcodes that come from a prefix obtained from the UCC (Now known as GS1-US) prior to the 2002 UCC Class Action Lawsuit.
   
• The reseller has not been in trouble with any state or federal licensing, regulatory, and/or law enforcement agency for any reason, and most especially not for selling illegitimate barcode numbers, or price-fixing.
   
• The reseller is a government registered verifiable business (No fly-by-night companies) with multiple employees.
   
• The reseller must have a working phone number, an address, and email contact information.
   
• The reseller has a website and is not only selling on eBay or any other “auction” websites.

Unfortunately, we have to be strict when it comes to resellers in this industry, as there have been a lot of fraudulent resellers taking advantage of businesses not knowing how UPC & EAN barcodes work. Bar Codes Talk is a verified, legitimate barcode reseller but if the website you want us to price-beat can’t make the same claims and back them up, then we won’t be able to verify their prices. We have high standards to uphold and therefore pass these standards to our customers.

5. Works for Amazon Guarantee

Despite our best efforts to provide an exceptional customer experience, we cannot guarantee that someone will not illegally and fraudulently duplicate/use the barcode numbers that you legally purchased from Bar Codes Talk.  That said, should you encounter an issue where your numbers have been fraudulently duplicated and used illegally by a third-party bad actor on Amazon, we will work towards making sure you are able to use the barcodes on Amazon. This means we will replace the affected barcodes or offer a refund depending on the percentage of unusable barcodes once we have fully verified that this is the case. While this is strictly an Amazon issue, we understand that our customers expect that their numbers will be immediately usable and cannot be expected to fight an industry giant like Amazon without wasting time and money. Bar Codes Talk will continue to make customers our #1 priority!

Additional Information about Amazon

Amazon is a private, online P.O.S. (Point of Sale) system & database. Due to this, there are potential issues with any barcode used on their system which only applies to Amazon and not most retailers around the world. Thankfully these issues only apply to a very small percentage of Amazon sellers. As a seller with Amazon you will be required to know what is required of you to work within their rules and specific seller programs.

Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list of Amazon’s rules. These are the most common errors & oversights that we are aware of Amazon sellers making.

The responsibility is on the seller to verify with Amazon before purchasing UPC/EAN/GTIN barcodes.

For a more comprehensive list of Amazon error codes and issues, please visit our Amazon Support Page.

1. Books / Audiobooks - If you are selling a book you may be required to have an ISBN. ISBN's are not UPC/EANs, most books already have an ISBN from the author/publisher. More at: www.ISBN.org
    
2. Selling Major Brands - Major brands may have existing contracts or agreements with Amazon to not allow other sellers to list items using their brand name. Example: Nike / Apple / GE / Microsoft etc. If you attempt to list a major brand name in the brand field and then try using your new GTIN with that brand name, it will not work. This is because your barcode (while being valid) is not one of that brand's barcode numbers. Amazon is trying to keep sellers from pretending to be other brands and mislead consumers with fake-branded products.
    
3. Brand Registry - Seller Program - As of mid-March (2018) this Amazon-only seller program newly requires renting/licensing GTIN's directly from GS1 (meaning you cannot buy/own your own GTIN's and use them on Amazon). This very small seller group is forced to rent codes annually from GS1 directly. We believe this is due to Amazon joining GS1’s Management board in 2016. In addition to Amazon requiring that you rent your GTINs from GS1 they also require you to have both copyrights & trademarks on your brand to be a part of this program. For more info on this contact Amazon directly.
    
4. Legacy Brand Registry Sellers - From what we have seen past listings are grandfathered into this program and are not under the new rules, but any new listings will be under their new set of requirements (listed above). Please read the terms that Amazon provides you to assure your listings are not affected by their GTIN policy changes.
    
5. Product Bundles - If you are listing a branded item for sale that does not exist, like a popular brands items in a bundle, and you try and use a major brand's name in the brand field you will be blocked. This is because you are not that brand, nor is your barcode number from that brand. This is normal and is Amazon's rule on the matter. The Amazon approved work-around is to list your company name (or personal brand/DBA) in the brand field and then list the major brand's name in the item description. Example: This way consumers know that they are not buying a Nike bundle, but a "Bob's Shoe Mart" bundle that includes two Nike products. Some sellers do not wish to lose "rankings" by not having the major brand name not be in the brand field, but those are Amazon's specific rules that they coded into their database.

At the end of the day barcodes (UPC/EAN/GTINs) are incredibly simple identification numbers, Amazon's "site/system" however, is not quite as simple. Be aware of this before beginning your Amazon seller experience.

For a more comprehensive list of Amazon error codes and issues, please visit our Amazon Support Page.

If you have any doubts or concerns regarding barcodes that are Amazon related, you are best served contacting us directly at: contactus@barcodestalk.com or by phone at: 1-877-263-1343 option 1.

6. Cancellation Policy

If Buyer cancels an order, all future work thereon will be stopped by Bar Codes Talk as soon as reasonably possible and a cancellation charge will be rendered in the amount of the costs incurred to the date of stoppage.

7. Shipping Policy

All items are delivered digitally via Email or Download