What is GTIN / UPC / EAN?

GTINs are global product barcodes. UPC (12 digits) is common in North America, EAN (13 digits) elsewhere; both end in a check digit.

Example

036000291452 is a UPC-A; adding a leading 0 makes it the EAN-13 0036000291452.

Why it matters

Many marketplaces verify GTINs against the GS1 database, so buy them from GS1 rather than resellers.

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Flashcard

Question

What is gTIN / UPC / EAN?

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Answer

GTINs are global product barcodes. UPC (12 digits) is common in North America, EAN (13 digits) elsewhere; both end in a check digit.

Related terms

SKU

A SKU is your own internal code for a product variation, used to track inventory. Unlike a barcode, you create it yourself.

ASIN

An ASIN is the 10-character ID Amazon assigns to each product in its catalog (for example B0XXXXXXXX). One product page = one ASIN.