eBay is an online auction and e-commerce site founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 in San Jose, California. It's one of the pioneering platforms for this type of transaction, where you can find an unimaginable variety of products.
The platform is mainly based on auctions: the seller announces a starting price for an item, the listing runs for a set time, and during that period prospective buyers place their best bids. The winner is whoever offers the highest value. The item is delivered according to the shipping and returns conditions set by the seller.
With classified ads, items are sold by listing their features, price, description and photos; buyers simply contact the seller and agree on payment and delivery. eBay acts as the link between buyer and seller and charges a commission on the sale based on the final price.
Do you want to sell your products on eBay?
To sell on eBay, your products need a GTIN —i.e. an EAN or UPC number. These are the same codes used by products in physical retail stores; with them the seller keeps better-controlled inventory of all their products.
These codes also help buyers identify new or existing products in eBay's broad catalogues, avoiding errors when selecting.
These barcodes use advanced technology with a worldwide standard format under certain conditions, enabling commercial exchange with different countries.
Do you need a barcode to sell on eBay?
As in physical stores, it is necessary and very important that all products you auction or sell on eBay have their barcode. The barcode acts as a product identifier, processed at high speed by an optical reader to ease marketing, making the buying-selling process much more efficient and simple.
What types of barcodes are used on eBay?
Currently, the codes used to sell on eBay are the EAN (European Article Number) —also called GTIN or GTIN-13 (Global Trade Item Number)— and the UPC (Universal Product Code). EAN/GTIN consist of 13 digits and are used in the EU and almost every country worldwide, while UPC uses 12 digits and is used for trade within the US and Canada.
What is an EAN and a UPC barcode?
An EAN barcode is a system of lines placed on the product, formed by 13 digits and generally structured as 1-6-6 (first digit: country of origin; second: manufacturer number; third: product identifier).
The UPC barcode is also a system of lines but made up of 12 digits, working the same way as the EAN.
How do barcodes work on eBay?
As mentioned, the barcode of a product listed on eBay serves to control that product: through this code it can be identified and tracked.
It's an omnidirectional code —readable by an optical reader in any direction— and unique to each product worldwide, avoiding shipping, inventory or loss confusion.
How to get a barcode for eBay?
These codes are issued by specialised companies accepted by the relevant bodies, to avoid errors and fraud. To get a barcode, follow these steps:
- Depending on the number of products you want to sell on eBay, place the order. Remember the barcode is unique to each product.
- Pay for the order and wait for the confirmation the company sends to your email.
- You'll receive the barcodes by email in a graphic format, ready to print and apply.
In what format do you get eBay codes?
The barcodes for your eBay products can be delivered in the following formats, depending on the product, size and needs:
- JPEG: one of the most used; compresses images and is readable by any computer.
- EPS: versatile and high-resolution, mostly used by design professionals.
- TIFF: mostly used when a transparent background is needed.
What are the payment methods to get EAN and UPC codes?
Payment methods to get your EAN and UPC codes can be PayPal or bank transfer. Only the company or contact details and the credit card are needed; no product information is required.