UPC and EAN are the most common types of barcodes for sale on trading platforms such as Amazon and eBay. UPC — USA and Canada, EAN — rest of the world.

• UPC (Universal Product Code)

Countries: Primarily USA and Canada.UPC-A: 12 numeric characters.UPC-E: 6 numeric characters (compressed version of UPC-A).

• EAN (European Article Number)

Countries: Internationally, especially in Europe.EAN-13: 13 numeric characters.EAN-8: 8 numeric characters.