What is a UPC or EAN?

The retail barcodes used to match store products to Amazon listings.

UPC (Universal Product Code, 12 digits, mostly North America) and EAN (European Article Number, 13 digits) are the barcode numbers printed on retail products. Unlike an ASIN, which belongs to Amazon, these are universal retail identifiers - the same product carries the same barcode in any store that sells it.

Barcodes are how sourcing software matches a retailer's product to an Amazon listing with confidence. A barcode match is near-certain; a title match is a fallback that needs a human glance. When a supplier price list carries clean UPC or EAN columns, almost every line can be priced against Amazon automatically - which is why wholesale sourcing lives and dies by barcode quality.