EAN
European Article Number
An EAN is a 13 digit barcode number, the form of GTIN used on products in Europe and much of the rest of the world.
- EAN-13
- GTIN-13
What it means
EAN stands for European Article Number. GS1 US calls it “a 13-digit GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) used by retailers across much of the world”. A shorter EAN-8, of 8 digits, suits smaller packages.1
An EAN has three parts. First comes a company prefix, assigned when a business registers with GS1. Next is a product number for each item, “with a unique combination for each variant”, and last is a check digit.1
A prefix from 500 to 509 shows the number was issued through GS1 UK. That is not where the product was made: GS1 says its prefixes “do not identify the country of origin for a given product”.2
Think of it like this
An EAN’s first digits work like the letters at the start of a UK number plate. They show which office issued it, not where the car was built.
For example
A supplier’s column headed EAN13 holds 5012345678900 for a kettle. It is already a GTIN-13, so it goes into Google’s GTIN field or eBay’s EAN item specific unchanged. Store it as text so the spreadsheet cannot turn it into scientific notation, 5.01235E+12.
Why it matters
Not to be confused with
An EAN is not a rival to the GTIN. Every EAN is a GTIN, so a column headed EAN and a field asking for a GTIN take the same number.
Sources
- GS1 US. EAN Numbers and UPCs: What is the Difference?.
- GS1. GS1 Company Prefix.
- eBay Developers Program. AddItem (Trading API reference).