If you don't expect to sell stuff – real stuff, physical stuff, in a store, where cashiers use barcode scanners – then you probably don't need a UPC barcode. If you are selling stuff, you might.
Barcodes do nothing more than represent a string of 12 to 14 digits. Universal Product Codes have three parts. The first part is a prefix for store use or coupons, the second identifies the producer and the third identifies a product by that producer. International product codes adds a digit, while a Global Trade Item Number adds a second.
An international nonprofit organization – GS1 – controls GTIN codes. GS1 can assign a company a new GTIN so you can use a barcode. But the organization's assignment process is … off-putting.
The organization's Web site forces a potential customer to enter all kinds of sensitive company data – including an estimate of annual revenue and contact information for several corporate officers – before offering a price.
GS1 charges $750 for membership, plus $150 annually, to assign a US company a UPC company prefix. The cost may be larger, depending on how many numbers you need and your company's annual revenue. A company with $10 million in annual revenue and 100 products to code may have to pay about $5000 for an initial membership. A company with $200,000 may only need to pay $760. Of course, GS1 doesn't tell people that up front.
A press officer for GS1 broke off a phone conversation when the subject of pricing arose, asking for questions by email. She hasn't responded yet.
GS1's may have a coy pricing posture because many small companies rent out their GS1-issued GTINs to other producers, often for $100 or less. A single UPC company prefix might be able to cover 100,000 different products for other producers. Many smaller retailers don't care how a company acquires a UPC number, just as long as it has a unique UPC code for each product.
GS1 makes a point of calling the numbers it assigns directly “genuine” and “authentic.” Some very large stores insist that producers use a GS1-issued code – WalMart, Macy's and Kroger, among others. Also, you may find it more difficult to sell goods abroad without a GS1-issued code.
Knowing this, we leave determining the relative merit of a UPC code to you.
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