Archived No Barcode Items

[NewCashierLT]

I would like to know how you handle items without a barcode or DPCI number. Do you press one of the K buttons (K3 I think?) and input it as No Barcode and come up with a price that you think is appropriate for the item?

Yesterday, I had a guest come to my register and among her several items, she had a pair of high heels without any tag or number on them, and she claimed that the high heels were in the clearance section. I looked the high heels up on the Target app through the brand and found the DPCI number with the proper size, and while I was looking for the item, I noticed the page said "Out of Stock in Store Location". The price displayed on the Target app was in the $22-$25 range, but when I entered the DPCI number, the high heels came up as $8.48, meaning that they were on clearance.
I would also like to know if there is an issue with what I did in ringing up an item that was out of stock.
There have also been times when a guest has brought an item that I could not find the exact DPCI number for by searching through the Target app (water bottles for example) and I just used the No Barcode option to input the items with an appropriate price. I have noticed that a lot of times, the guest will say that they don't want the item if it is too much of a hassle to find the right price or DPCI number. Will that mess up the inventory count for the items that were sold?
I appreciate your answers and advice in advance and I look forward to hearing back from you guys. ​

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Ask gsa for help.

 

[countingsheep]

This is deffinitely something you need to find out from your gsa every store is different on this. We used to do no barcode until our shortage became a bigger mess and now we need actual dpcis. It does mess up inventory because it shows up as just a product and the item will need to be hunted down to see what it was. Im not sure how that works internally hut its what my ap tl has mentioned.

 

[Anelmi]

Yes, the item was clearanced but for whatever reason it hasn't been salvaged out yet. So putting in the last known price is correct. Typically shoes do have a number on them (imprinted on the side or the flap).

However, a cashier shouldn't be spending time looking items up on an app. Turn your light on and ask for a price check from the GSA/TL. If it's going to take a while, sometimes a cashier will suspend the sale and the GSA/TL will take the guest over to GS to finish the transaction.

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

Do not use No Barcode without prior approval from a GSA/TL. Owned brand clothing always has DPCI on a tag sewn in.

 

[NKG]

Your GSTL should have a list of department codes. I tell my cashiers to use no barcode as a last resort with my approval.

 

[qmosqueen]

Do not use No Barcode without prior approval from a GSA/TL. Owned brand clothing always has DPCI on a tag sewn in.

So just that those who know what it actually is enter it

 

[toredandkhaki]

Also, since most clothes are through a target brand, they do have the dpcis on them, clothing on a small tag inside and shoes usually have it printed by sizing information, or some hidden area like that

 

[Tessa120]

Owned brand clothing always has DPCI on a tag sewn in.

Socks and underwear don't. Half the online only items don't. This year some of the winter gloves and hats used stickers that peeled off far too easily instead of sewn in.

And I'm not sure how reasonable it is to expect a cashier who doesn't work in softlines to know that there's a teeny little tag with microprint listing the number and all the hiding spots it could be. Or to know that the Hanes owned brand Champion does have those but the Hanes owned self name brand doesn't have those. Or the non-Target brand Osh Kosh B' Gosh does have those tags while Gerber doesn't.

Edit: I forgot about the fun one. I wouldn't expect a cashier to know that Wrangler jeans have the UPC on the tag while Denizen by Levi's doesn't.

 

[buliSBI]

Most clothes and shoes have the DPCI on the inside tag or imprinted.

You can also research the item and see if you can

<old man voice> "You kids have it easy with the MyDevices. Back in the day, if an item had no barcode or DPCI couldn't be found, you had to go to GS or operator and look for the item in the BIG book of DPCIs and vague item descriptions."

 

[NewCashierLT]

Socks and underwear don't. Half the online only items don't. This year some of the winter gloves and hats used stickers that peeled off far too easily instead of sewn in.

And I'm not sure how reasonable it is to expect a cashier who doesn't work in softlines to know that there's a teeny little tag with microprint listing the number and all the hiding spots it could be. Or to know that the Hanes owned brand Champion does have those but the Hanes owned self name brand doesn't have those. Or the non-Target brand Osh Kosh B' Gosh does have those tags while Gerber doesn't.

Edit: I forgot about the fun one. I wouldn't expect a cashier to know that Wrangler jeans have the UPC on the tag while Denizen by Levi's doesn't.

I actually had another situation yesterday in which a guest wanted to buy a Corelle dinnerware set as part of their purchase. It had a barcode on it, but when I scanned it, the price didn't come up and the POS asked "How much is this?". I scanned the barcode on the Target app, and it came up $34.99, and I tried to enter that price in, but the screen flashed this message: "Needs DPCI turn on lane light". I was kind of rattled at that point, so I flashed my light for help, and a supervisor checked the dinnerware set with a MyDevice and entered the DPCI number and the proper price came up. She explained that the dinnerware set was an online item, which is why the POS initially asked how much it cost. I could have misunderstood what she was saying since she was in a hurry, is it true that many online only items don't have a DPCI number? Would the Corelle dinnerware set be considered an online item if it had a barcode, but the price did not appear when I scanned it?

In hindsight, I could have found the DPCI number from the description of the item in the Target app.

Sorry for the complicated questions, but I really don't understand how the shortage and inventory is counted at my store and affected by whether cashiers use the actual DPCIs or No Barcode, or in the case of clothes, a similar item in a different size that a guest wants, but the item the guest wants to buy not having a barcode. I will try to ask a GSA for help on this for sure.

 

[NewCashierLT]

Most clothes and shoes have the DPCI on the inside tag or imprinted.

You can also research the item and see if you can

<old man voice> "You kids have it easy with the MyDevices. Back in the day, if an item had no barcode or DPCI couldn't be found, you had to go to GS or operator and look for the item in the BIG book of DPCIs and vague item descriptions."

buliSBI, you are definitely right that with the technology we have today, cashiering, managing inventory, even AP or security are easier today than it was many years ago. Older guests have even told us about how they had to manually input item numbers when they were cashiering and it makes me appreciate how much faster and easier cashiering is today than in the past. I can't even imagine how long it took cashiers to handle customers at busy malls and department stores back then.

 

[Tessa120]

All Target items have a dpci but it's not always printed on the box/tag.

Most online only items will prompt for an "As Is" tag to be printed, which has its own barcode. Some of them don't need that tag and can be put on the floor at regular price.

When tagging my instructions are not to spend too much time looking for a dpci and to pick something close if need be. Some items have hung around long enough that when the tag goes missing they are no longer listed on Target.com. Other times, it's not worth the wage they are paying me to go through 500+ Cat and Jack headbands to see if it's still listed or if it's the 495th item on the list. It's red, it has a bowtie, 21st on the list that's also red with a bowtie will work just fine.

Sometimes when I've been asked to find a price for an untagged item by GS because a guest found the item before we did, we don't have another one on the floor. Those cases, GS has asked me to find something close in description so that they can complete the transaction and not have the guest get frustrated by the length of the time they are standing there when they could be walking out and continuing on with their day. Especially since the longer it takes the more likely the guest is going to say it's not worth the time and not buy the item.

@NewCashierLT if you can scan the barcode and pull up the item on the Target app, select all options if applicable (like color or size) and then scroll down. Where it starts describing the item and says "Read All Details" and then go to the bottom of that. "Store Item Number (DPCI)" is the code you need, below TCIN and UPC. If the dpci and the UPC don't appear under the TCIN then you haven't selected all options to narrow it down to the item you have.

Edit: As far as the old days, as long as there was a label on the item it seemed like a pretty fast process. I was young but I do remember the cashiers put in numbers very quickly. Much more quickly than when a cashier (at other stores, not Target) keeps trying to scan the barcode over and over and something about the packaging makes it hard to scan, and when you ask them to give up scanning and put the UPC in manually they tell you they are not allowed to do that.

 

[Yetive]

Most clothes and shoes have the DPCI on the inside tag or imprinted.

You can also research the item and see if you can

<old man voice> "You kids have it easy with the MyDevices. Back in the day, if an item had no barcode or DPCI couldn't be found, you had to go to GS or operator and look for the item in the BIG book of DPCIs and vague item descriptions."

Remember the big TD that would print on that folded kind of paper?

 

[REDcardJJ]

is it true that many online only items don't have a DPCI number?

this technically isn't true, because every item DOES have a DPCI. basically the simple explanation is that POS knows which items are carried by Target, but it doesn't know how much they cost unless your store sells them. if this happens again, grab your GSA and they can sort it out (and the guest shouldn't mind if you let them know that they'll actually be getting that product at a discount, as this process reduces the selling price of the item)

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

this technically isn't true, because every item DOES have a DPCI. basically the simple explanation is that POS knows which items are carried by Target, but it doesn't know how much they cost unless your store sells them. if this happens again, grab your GSA and they can sort it out (and the guest shouldn't mind if you let them know that they'll actually be getting that product at a discount, as this process reduces the selling price of the item)

You can see the DPCI of an online item by going to more details. ALL items sold at target and target.com have a DPCI.

 

[nkkingofthelords]

<old man voice> "You kids have it easy with the MyDevices. Back in the day, if an item had no barcode or DPCI couldn't be found, you had to go to GS or operator and look for the item in the BIG book of DPCIs and vague item descriptions."[/QUOTE]

We can also restock reshop by looking at the aisle numbers on the Target app if we entered in our store as our local store

 

[Tessa120]

We can also restock reshop by looking at the aisle numbers on the Target app if we entered in our store as our local store

Not foolproof. There's an item at my store that keeps getting passed between hardlines and softlines, for a few weeks now I think. First three numbers are a luggage code, the my device says location luggage, the GS register says accessories and the Target app says it can be found in accessories. GS goes by what the register says, we toss it back in the hardlines cart, they toss it back, at some point GS gets hold of it again, and roundy roundy. Since daily schedule varies so much, often the person receiving it isn't aware that it keeps coming back. I'm just about to the point of directly handing it to a hardlines TM and telling them it's not accessories, it's luggage, please take it.

 

[NewCashierLT]

I gotta say that I really hate it when guests claim an item was on clearance but it has no tag. For example, I had a guest yesterday who brought a whole lot of clothing, and a couple with no barcodes on them. She claimed they were on clearance, but when I entered the DPCI from the small tag inside the clothes themselves, they weren't on clearance, and when I explained that to her, she decided that she didn't want them.
I also had a guest recently who brought a stuffed animal with no barcode on it, again claiming that she found it in the clearance section. I looked up the stuffed animal on the Target app, and I found similar items were priced at $11-$12. I compromised and offered it to her for $7. She refused, emphasizing that it was on clearance so it should be cheaper, so I gave it to her for $3. I let it go because it was one item only, but in general, I hate having to deal with these situations.
I have made an effort to find the right DPCI numbers and I haven't had too many problems, as I have used a department code as worst case scenario if I couldn't find the proper DPCI number.

 

[SallyHoover]

I gotta say that I really hate it when guests claim an item was on clearance but it has no tag. .

This isn't necessarily the guests fault. Many a time a team member doing re-shop and sees there is no tag for an item will just drop it off on a clearance rack or shelf. That or a guest had the regular price item in hand and found a better deal on the clearance rack and dropped of what they had in hand. The guest has no way of knowing this to be the case. When you find the correct price, just tell them that it isn't clearance and someone and it might have been a guest while shopping must have dropped it on the wrong spot. If they don't want it at the regular price, take it off their order and place back in reshop. If you have a minute and have looked up the dpci for non clothes, write it down so it can be retagged without looking it up again or so it won't be sent back to the floor without a tag.

 

[LearningTree]

And I'm not sure how reasonable it is to expect a cashier who doesn't work in softlines to know that there's a teeny little tag with microprint listing the number and all the hiding spots it could be. Or to know that the Hanes owned brand Champion does have those but the Hanes owned self name brand doesn't have those. Or the non-Target brand Osh Kosh B' Gosh does have those tags while Gerber doesn't.

This is actually very reasonable on some level. I expect every cashier to know that Target owned apparel have the DPCI listed on that little tag on the inside. It's something we go over in training and it's something they should notice over time. Tags coms off of softlines items all the time. If a cashier can't figure out how to locate that little tag after a few weeks of cashiering then something's wrong. The other things you mentioned is something they should notice over time.

I could have misunderstood what she was saying since she was in a hurry, is it true that many online only items don't have a DPCI number? Would the Corelle dinnerware set be considered an online item if it had a barcode, but the price did not appear when I scanned it?

Sorry for the complicated questions, but I really don't understand how the shortage and inventory is counted at my store and affected by whether cashiers use the actual DPCIs or No Barcode, or in the case of clothes, a similar item in a different size that a guest wants, but the item the guest wants to buy not having a barcode.

Every item, in-store and online, has a DPCI. Sometimes you have to select size/color before it displays though. Some online items returned in-store are tricky. Working at the service desk I've noticed that some of them will scan into the system with no problem. Others will take work to get the system to recognize it. When the register asks for a price it means the item is not in your store's system. Sounds like either the rewrap sticker fell off or your GSTMs didn't do their job and forgot to put the sticker on.

Ringing an item as no-barcode creates shortage because 1) the item is never removed properly from your inventory and 2) you most likely sold it for less than it was priced at. Long story short: Your AP has no idea that is was sold under '999' and thinks the item was stolen. Doesn't seem like a big deal when the item is a $3 pokémon toy, but it becomes a problem when you see a cashier doing it way to much (potential internal) or some dipshit rings a $3K TV under '999' (true story).

 

[IWishIKnew]

This isn't necessarily the guests fault. Many a time a team member doing re-shop and sees there is no tag for an item will just drop it off on a clearance rack or shelf. That or a guest had the regular price item in hand and found a better deal on the clearance rack and dropped of what they had in hand. The guest has no way of knowing this to be the case. When you find the correct price, just tell them that it isn't clearance and someone and it might have been a guest while shopping must have dropped it on the wrong spot. If they don't want it at the regular price, take it off their order and place back in reshop. If you have a minute and have looked up the dpci for non clothes, write it down so it can be retagged without looking it up again or so it won't be sent back to the floor without a tag.

^^^ Sally beat me to it. At my store, that guest probably would not be lying--they did find it on a clearance rack or shelf. Good on the first guest who didn't kick up a fuss and fie on the second for somehow deciding that she knows what constitutes a "cheaper" clearance price, since $7 for an $11 item was most likely cheaper than if it had actually been on clearance.