In another step in the process of doing away with the price-point UPC bar code printed on the back of mass market paperbacks, wholesalers and distributors that service mass merchandisers will soon distribute an online survey to these accounts about whether they use the bar code. The findings will help the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group to come up with recommendations in the next few months for dealing with the issue.
The survey follows an AAP meeting last month at which some 50 industry people discussed BISG's resolution in September that called for the Bookland EAN bar code, which includes a book's ISBN, to be the only bar code printed on all books, effective January 1, 2005. Currently, the Bookland EAN bar code is printed on the inside front cover of mass markets; it is the only bar code on trade paperbacks and hardcovers. The price-point UPC bar code, which does not include the ISBN, has traditionally been used by grocery stores, drugstores and convenience stores, among others, but with rapid technological changes and the move to international standards, no one in the industry knew of any retailers still using price-point UPC bar codes. "It's been sort of mysterious," Ed McCoyd, director of digital policy at the AAP, told PW. "Before the meeting, we couldn't find any hard evidence of anyone using them."
But at the meeting, attended by representatives from Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Levy, Hudson News, AMS, Anderson Merchandising and the National Association of Convenience Stores, among others, attendees heard that some retailers continue to use the price-point UPC. The AAP wants to send a report on the subject to its members by January 1. Among possible recommendations: stickering price-point UPC bar codes for accounts that will continue to need the old bar codes. "The AAP sees the benefit of change so long as we can keep selling to these customers," McCoyd said.
Jeff Abraham, executive director of BISG, commented, "The bottom line is stickering. Who does it, and how is it paid for?" Abraham added that the meeting was encouraging because attendees showed "a general recognition of the values of moving to a single bar code on books and of the 13-digit ISBN and are discussing, not if and why, but how to make the transition."
