I am looking at selling my games through distributors in the US and Europe as well as directly to some of the American game stores. Could someone advise me on the necessity of having a barcode on my game box?
Personally, I've noticed that almost all of the games I've purchased have bar codes. However, I'm trying to see if there's a way around having one as it's quite expensive to register a barcode :cry: (according to the reaserch I've done).
Thanks in advance!
eve
It's possible to get by without a barcode. I felt the same crunch when I produced my first game. After all, some folks like Cheapass Games seem to get by without it. It is possible to sell without a UPC, and many retailers don't mind one iota.
Now, if I could change history, I'd go back and buy the UPC symbols. Having a UPC will get you into a few more stores. You can't even think of getting into some major retailers without a UPC. It makes the product look more professional for retailers, which makes the retailers happy. Happy retailers are a good thing.
-- Scott S.
My recommendation is to buy the UPC symbols before you go to artwork, and then build them into the box art (so you don't have to use stickers).
Treat the cost as just part of the cost of the game. It's just like all the other costs that you don't want to pay.
You're going to need them if you want to sell to retailers. At least, that was my experience. My experience was more extreme than Scott's. I didn't have a single retailer accept Ice Lake until it had a UPC symbol on it.
Not sure about the actual cost when going through Uniform Code Council, Inc. since they base it on multiple factors (#of UPCs, company's sales revenue, and there is also a membership fee)
But there is also buyabarcode.com, they seem to sell them for $30 (they also have a first time fee). Not sure if the service is legit or not, but if anyone checks into it, let me know how it goes.
Not sure about the actual cost when going through Uniform Code Council, Inc. since they base it on multiple factors (#of UPCs, company's sales revenue, and there is also a membership fee)
But there is also buyabarcode.com, they seem to sell them for $30 (they also have a first time fee). Not sure if the service is legit or not, but if anyone checks into it, let me know how it goes.
I think the $75 setup fee is a bit steep. According to this thread, XXOOCC purchased a bundle of them some years ago for just $300. I'm sure it's more expensive now, but it seems to me like it would be more cost effective to purchase a block of UPCs rather than just one from buyabarcode.com , unless you're doing this as a one shot deal kind of thing.
Just my pence,
-Darke
I don't know about other sources, but you do buy the UPC codes in batches.
I would agree to look into the Uniform Code Council first, but since I do not currently need UPCs, I dont want to go through the hassle of applying just to post some costs.
And since I found the "other" option, I figured I would toss it out there. I would mention again that I dont know about buyabarcode.com, so if you use it dont get upset at me! ;)
The current cost (for the smallest of businesses) for securing info/membership from the UCC for producing barcodes is $750. For this you get a bunch of membership kinds of privelages, but most importantly the right to produce up to 100 barcodes. Unless I did something wrong when signing up (which I'm pretty sure I didn't), $750 is the minimum to spend. I actually indicated that I only needed to barcode 10 products. It then defaulted to 100 (as if this were the minimum) and indicated that $750 would be my fee. I did this about a month ago as I expect to start shipping product for the first time to the retail level this holiday season. For more info or to apply you can visit www.uc-council.org.
Chip
Hmmm - another product for ProtoParts? :)
Late replying as usual, but Chip is correct.
The cheapest fee to join the UCC is $750 *and* there is now a $250 per year renewal fee.
Everyone, repeat after me: OUCH!!
ISBNs are cheaper (IIRC it was about $300 for 10) but are really only a big deal for book products or games you want to sell to bookstores. I put them on mine anyway in hopes of eventually getting them into the bookstores. After the UCC fees it seems like peanuts to do it.
Since 95% of my sales go through distribution, I have never explicitly been told whether having the barcodes has affected a purchase or not, but the 'conventional wisdom' is it's better to have them and not need them than to find out you need them and not have them.
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But I think UPCs are cheaper if you buy a batch of them...? (can anyone confirm this? I've only dealt with ISBN's, and it was cheaper that way)
So if you know you are going to be selling more games in the future, that might help.