# What did we do before bar codes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 8, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789 "2009-11-08T09:03:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/1 "2009-11-08T09:03:15Z")
So here I am at work on Friday past and looking into a container of brake assemblies for the chevy malibu and particularly the bar code label thats printed out and affixed to the brake pedal. I would think that previous to bar codes parts were either not scribed in anyway or they were stamped with just a date code or something along those lines. Ah well. Declan ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/2 "2009-11-09T05:05:25Z")
Prior to bar codes I manually programmed specimen test requests for the instruments in the lab. Took a lot more of my time then it does now that the instruments read the bar code and query the host computer for test requests. Now if I could just get the idjits who draw the blood to put the stickers on reasonably straight so they’ll actually read… ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/3 "2009-11-09T07:02:27Z")
Prior to bar codes, every single product for retail sale had to be manually tagged, stamped or stickered. ---
**Author:** ![St.Anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@St.Anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Anger)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/4 "2009-11-09T07:11:15Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Prior to bar codes, every single product for retail sale had to be manually tagged, stamped or stickered. Often, they still are. Let’s just say cashiering was more of an art form 40 years ago than it is today. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/5 "2009-11-09T14:23:42Z")
> [@St.Anger](#): > > Often, they still are. Let’s just say cashiering was more of an art form 40 years ago than it is today. Indeed it was. Charles Schultz personified it in [this Peanuts comic strip.](http://www.csun.edu/~vcmkt003/marketinghumor/cartoon_snoopygroceryclerking.html) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/6 "2009-11-09T17:36:47Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Prior to bar codes, every single product for retail sale had to be manually tagged, stamped or stickered. …like Johnny Dangerously stamping price tags on the pets at the pet store. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/7 "2009-11-09T17:44:01Z")
I can remember going to the A&P with my mom as a little kid. I thought it would be such a cool job to be the guy with that machine that stamped the prices on cans - little blue numbers in a circle. The dangers of setting one’s career dreams too high - imagine my disappointment at ending up a lawyer! ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/8 "2009-11-09T19:59:29Z")
I remember at Aldi, it was more amazing, 'cause unlike other supermarkets, nothing at Aldis was tagged. The price was on the shelf, and the cashier at Aldi’s memorized all the prices. Every other grocer had each item price tagged. I recall those price taggers, they were fun to work. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/9 "2009-11-09T21:07:14Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > …like Johnny Dangerously stamping price tags on the pets at the pet store. Exact image that came to mind. Fargin amazing! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/10 "2009-11-09T21:45:44Z")
Before bar codes, you took the sticker for the $5 hair dryer and put it on the $50 skateboard you wanted and hoped they didn’t notice. Not that I would \*ever \*condone anything like that. Besides, they always figured it out anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/11 "2009-11-09T23:46:53Z")
Bar codes were the cause of my most hellacious day in retail. I was working in KMart as a cashier: the new bar code scanners had been installed, tested, and were ready to go. So management flipped the switch, and we went to scanning the bar codes. First day out, the system crashes. And management, in their infinite wisdom, had removed every single sticker from every single item in the store. So we had to yell for price checks on everything that came through our lines for the rest of the day. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/12 "2009-11-10T00:39:46Z")
We didn’t [upset our mothers](http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e266/WryOnRye/image001.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/13 "2009-11-10T18:37:17Z")
The stock clerks had these little machines that looked like tape dispensers. When they slammed it on an item, one small (maybe 1/2 inch square) gummed label stuck to the item in question. I think he could set the price on the machine and that would be printed on each sticker till it was changed. It wasn’t quite as labor intensive as it sounded. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/14 "2009-11-10T18:42:56Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I can remember going to the A&P with my mom as a little kid. I thought it would be such a cool job to be the guy with that machine that stamped the prices on cans - little blue numbers in a circle. > > The dangers of setting one’s career dreams too high - imagine my disappointment at ending up a lawyer! Just get yourself one of these and you will be back on track: [Home - Trodat USA](http://www.trodat.net/040-trodat-stamp-products/_200-stamps-for-the-office/_en-US/022+DATER.htm) . ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/15 "2009-11-10T19:16:49Z")
You could price a case of canned goods in less than a minute with practice. We used to use them for retail goods and it wasn’t that big a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/16 "2009-11-10T19:27:48Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > The stock clerks had these little machines that looked like tape dispensers. When they slammed it on an item, one small (maybe 1/2 inch square) gummed label stuck to the item in question. I think he could set the price on the machine and that would be printed on each sticker till it was changed. It wasn’t quite as labor intensive as it sounded. These still exist, and are always in use in my big box store known for embracing the highest-tech stuff; they may be low-tech, but they’re useful and haven’t been replaced by anything better. They’re handy for pricing things like clearance products, and (never been sure if this policy is from my store or corporate) toys during Christmas, since the toys department is a perpetual disaster and it’s easier to have the price marked on the box, since the box has likely been picked up and dumped elsewhere by a customer. In some localities, including IIRC the state of Michigan, most products by law must be price tagged. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-we-do-before-bar-codes/516789/17 "2009-11-10T20:19:58Z")
I was at the local produce stand yesterday and noticed the clerk standing on a box to use the pricing gun on some merchandise (packaged bread products). His gun spits out bright orange labels with the prices.