wrote:
Cydrome Leader wrote:
Phil Allison wrote:

http://cdn1.gbase.com/usercontent/ge...4xiemwh_so.jpg
Note that what appears to be a bar code & serial number is the same
on both boxes.

FWIW, the (21) is actually an indentifier for the number being a
serial, so you are correct.

Just curious... is this a Chinese standard, or worldwide, or...? Are
there other prefix numbers that indicate other things, like a model
number?

there are standards, and there are hundreds of "application identifiers"
as they're called. Here's some:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GS1-128

The give-away you're not looking at just random house data is a long
barcode and (xx) in the human readable section.

Supply chain folks love this type of data, which is why components from
major distributors come with 4000 barcodes and 4 bags per pack of 5 LED or
whatever you're ordering. Once you notice this sort of barcode, you'll
start to see it everywhere.

As for codes for a model number, GTIN may be the closest thing, but rarely
is this the actual model number of product. It will be a unique number
which then maps to an actual product.