Barcode labels

[David H]

Recently I've come across small plastic strips with barcodes stuck to some products, but found at least one stuck on the inside of a sealed packet, only discoverable once it's been taken home. Was this a manufacturing error or do they have a different purpose from the printed versions?

[guy9663]

Not sure I understand the problem here. Are you worried about the price you paid for something? Chances are the sticker inside the packet is a manufacturing or stock control code and has nothing to do with the retailer.
Does this help?

[Skids]

I think you're referring to the security tags, the likes of which are attached to CDs and DVDs amongst other things.  They are deactivated by a device at the checkout so that the security alarms at the door don't go off.

[David H]

I think that must be it, skids. The old ones were more like the little toys you get in cereal packets but smaller, so presumably all they need is a barcode even though it appears to be impossible to read inside a box.

I'm still wondering what the radio tracking tags look like that are inside certain notes (�20s?) and other products, and are the size of a grain of rice. I wonder if the barcode strips have any function once deactivated for security...

[David H]

Guy, I'm not worried about the price, just what a barcode device was doing in a place it couldn't be read. It's a strip of white plastic, self adhesive, about 2 inches long and 1/2 wide, and only has a barcode on it. You do also find them on some CDs etc, which made a security device sound promising, but I think they need to be fully visible to activate anything which these aren't.