Working on breaking into the local bundle market and am printing up some labels. Wanted to know if you other sellers use a UPC on your packaging, and if some what UPC would one use for .75 cu ft bundles... ? Thanks.
Bundle Sellers...got a UPC..?
- Thread starter Circle B MN
- Start date
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Manatarms
ArboristSite Operative
I think UPCs are manufacturer and product specific....you might want to contact the Uniform Code Council to see what it takes to obtain one.
-mark
Booshcat
ArboristSite Operative
UPC Codes
You can put anything you want on a upc,
description: seasoned firewood
SKU (stock keeping unit) : 1234567
as long as your code conforms to industry standards you are ok
If your retailer uses register scanners, he may ask you to put adifferent sku in that field to match his system, or he can add your upc in his system.
The UCC is an industry group that sets standards for code readability etc.
You will need some kind of software to generate the bar code graphic, I've only been involved in programming commercial software (big big bucks to buy).
There has to be a small app out there you can find, one was/or is called "bartender"
You can put anything you want on a upc,
description: seasoned firewood
SKU (stock keeping unit) : 1234567
as long as your code conforms to industry standards you are ok
If your retailer uses register scanners, he may ask you to put adifferent sku in that field to match his system, or he can add your upc in his system.
The UCC is an industry group that sets standards for code readability etc.
You will need some kind of software to generate the bar code graphic, I've only been involved in programming commercial software (big big bucks to buy).
There has to be a small app out there you can find, one was/or is called "bartender"
I have read a bit about it, and the Mrs at one time worked in retail. As I understand it, and I could be wrong, say red apples bagged are UPC 12345, red apples per pound are 12366, etc. In theory, .75 cu ft bundles should be 44124....again, I could be totally wrong, hence my question.
Booshcat
ArboristSite Operative
You have to think of the bar codes as what they are.
They are the modern price tag.
Thats all.
Some have sh*tloads of information, others are only a price.
There is no "formula" for different sku's for categories of products.
Home depot sku's might be organized into consecutive numbers for copper pipe sizes for instance, but that is just them. Walmart has a completely different sku structure.
You should make a upc that says "Firewood seasoned .75 Cu Ft"
That will show when it is scanned,
The clerks can do the rest
Or you can add sku info if a store requests it.
They are the modern price tag.
Thats all.
Some have sh*tloads of information, others are only a price.
There is no "formula" for different sku's for categories of products.
Home depot sku's might be organized into consecutive numbers for copper pipe sizes for instance, but that is just them. Walmart has a completely different sku structure.
You should make a upc that says "Firewood seasoned .75 Cu Ft"
That will show when it is scanned,
The clerks can do the rest
Or you can add sku info if a store requests it.
Manatarms
ArboristSite Operative
well, maybe I'm wrong then, but I thought the UPC was manufacturer specific...not just product specific.
bcorradi
Arboristsite.com Sponsor
I think it works both ways. I work in a produce dept at a grocery store and their upcs aren't manufacturer specific. Here are some examples
1) All 5# bags of Red delicious apples have the same upc.
2) All Bulk Red Delicious apples have stickers with a certain PLU number that the cashier enters to lookup the item, but they are all the same number on all Bulk Non Organic Red Delicious Apples. Say the PLU is 3252 (usually 4 digits)
3) Organic Bulk Red Delicious apples have the same number as Non Organic Bulk Red Delicious apples, but it is prefixed with a 9 so it would be 93252.
However to my knowledge all or most grocery items are manufacturer and product specific. For example: Kraft 5 oz box of Mac and Cheese has a different UPC than a Generic 5 oz box of Mac and Cheese.
I would think that your firewood since it would be stored outside the store would be using a PLU number instead of a UPC Code. The customer won't probably have the bundle of wood in their hand when they are at the register. The cashier then can type this 4 digit PLU (Price Lookup) number and it will bring up the current price for a bundle of firewood.
1) All 5# bags of Red delicious apples have the same upc.
2) All Bulk Red Delicious apples have stickers with a certain PLU number that the cashier enters to lookup the item, but they are all the same number on all Bulk Non Organic Red Delicious Apples. Say the PLU is 3252 (usually 4 digits)
3) Organic Bulk Red Delicious apples have the same number as Non Organic Bulk Red Delicious apples, but it is prefixed with a 9 so it would be 93252.
However to my knowledge all or most grocery items are manufacturer and product specific. For example: Kraft 5 oz box of Mac and Cheese has a different UPC than a Generic 5 oz box of Mac and Cheese.
I would think that your firewood since it would be stored outside the store would be using a PLU number instead of a UPC Code. The customer won't probably have the bundle of wood in their hand when they are at the register. The cashier then can type this 4 digit PLU (Price Lookup) number and it will bring up the current price for a bundle of firewood.
bottlefed89
ArboristSite Operative
Unless your customers have requested it, I dont think I'd worry about it... Ive sold close to a million bundles without one and its never been an issue for me, though our customers/market may be different. Generally, our products are outside of a store, and dont have to physically go to the counter to be wrung up, but maybe your stores do things differently??
Thanks for the input...
CRThomas
ArboristSite Guru
Info
I sell bundled wood and don't use UPC my customers don't even want my name on there bundle. They want it wrapped with Xmas paper or what every season it is. Some want there name. I have one customer that want the daily news paper. I don't sell firewood for heat my customers buy it for looks. Build a fire and stitch out in front of the fire and fall in love. Bundled firewood sell year round. When you deliver 5 bundles for $7.00 little old ask you take out the garbage smile and say yes ma'am even put a clean bag in the trash can you got a regular. Remember old people living a lone like to talk if you don't have time to hear what they have to say. Get of the wrapping business if they call you at nine o'clock that they out of wood cause her stupid husband for got to call you jump and get dress and go for it. To sell the way I do you have to do little favors that's not in the price. Remember when delivering always be dressed nice and leave the muddy shoes at home. I always wear slip on so I take them off at the door. Carry a bic lighter with you to I hope you luck there is two of us in my area he sells to parks ad I sell to upper class home
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That's some pretty good advice for your market. Never hurts to appear clean and professional. I sell a lot of bulk wood already, and am looking for another venue to move product so my target is a wholesale customer(s) at this point.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Last year the local grocery chain had contacted me wanting to work a deal for bundles.
In the end they reneged, but part of the deal was I needed a bar code UPC. One would think they could assign a number for the product and that's what you use. Well, sort of.
They required that the bar code be done though a contractor they use. I can't remember the name of the outfit, but it was a minimum cost of $500.
I told them if they wanted a bar code that was fine, but it was on them to sort that out, I sure as hell wasn't PAYING for it!
Between that, the 2 million dollar insurance they required, not having a person I could talk to face to face (was some "suit" in the L48 that had some seriously bad people skills.), and a bunch of other things it was a headache I wasn't too interested in.
In the end they reneged, but part of the deal was I needed a bar code UPC. One would think they could assign a number for the product and that's what you use. Well, sort of.
They required that the bar code be done though a contractor they use. I can't remember the name of the outfit, but it was a minimum cost of $500.
I told them if they wanted a bar code that was fine, but it was on them to sort that out, I sure as hell wasn't PAYING for it!
Between that, the 2 million dollar insurance they required, not having a person I could talk to face to face (was some "suit" in the L48 that had some seriously bad people skills.), and a bunch of other things it was a headache I wasn't too interested in.
