@reallynicestamps wrote:
I've wondered about that (shopping by UPC code) too.
My understanding is that UPCs are useful for manufacturers and for retailers, basically for ordering and restocking mass merchandise item.
The UPC prevents a plant from ordering too many Multi-Grain Cheerios and the retailer from having too many MGCs because their bookkeeping systems handle numerical codes more easliy than words. And of course the UPCs are more precise for that purpose.
But in the eBay reselling market? As mentioned many items sold here are pre-UPC.
As long as the item (post-UPC) is contained in its original box, or has the original price tag affixed, the UPC is readily available. Or, in the case of CD's, DVD's, games, etc., it's imprinted on the case itself. And, of course, there are countless other items where the UPC is imprinted on the item. But pre-UPC, and for many used items, there has to be some way to bypass that field.
Maybe I'm under-estimating the number of people who will search by this code. Like I mentioned, I might try a UPC search if I'm looking for a particular DVD which has been released and then re-released as a special edition, a collector's edition, an uncut version, etc., and there are dozens and dozens listed. I try to narrow it down by UPC (which I've usually obtained from another site that sells these items and which indicate the UPC in their description). Also, with, say, a clothing item (new with tag), I can compare the eBay item price with the identical item sold on many other sites and make a comparison.
It will be interesting to see what impact, if any, the mandatory requirement for UPC will have on the number of views or sales
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Thanks poco. I know a lot of people have been wondering about that.
