What are these box codes next to UPC?

fulloflead · Aug 27, 2005

Hey, what are the little two-letter codes to the right of the UPC codes for?

Like:
"DE" or "AE" or "EE"

?

I even got two of the same exact knife today and they had different two-letter codes beside the UPC.

What's it mean and what's it used for? Just curious.

.

4 s ter · Aug 27, 2005

fulloflead said:
Hey, what are the little two-letter codes to the right of the UPC codes for?

Like:
"DE" or "AE" or "EE"

As I understand, it's the date of manufacture - month/year

The first letter is month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May
The second letter is year: E=5 (for 2005)

David

fulloflead · Aug 28, 2005

4 s ter said:
As I understand, it's the date of manufacture - month/year

The first letter is month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May
The second letter is year: E=5 (for 2005)

David

Ahhhhh. Very interesting. Thanks. Glad I asked.

.

inspira · Aug 30, 2005

That code reminds me of a system used by Heckler & Koch.

Just a random note, sorry

-- Vince.

C36GSE · Aug 31, 2005

4 s ter said:
As I understand, it's the date of manufacture - month/year

The first letter is month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May
The second letter is year: E=5 (for 2005)

David

You're right. Perfectly explained.

SAKguy · Sep 2, 2005

What I find funny is that it doesn't take up that much space to actually put Jan05 instead of AE. Or how about....1/05 ?

I think sometimes people just use codes just to use them.

Hahahahahaa

sak_collector · Sep 2, 2005

Ack, next thing you know, they will try to start dating them like Case does.

The Spyderco plain letters are 2005, lighting letters '06, script, '07...now if there are 3-dots then...

tim8557 · Sep 3, 2005

I'm in the Building Materials business and just about everything we handle has a Date/Shift/Plant code on each package.

I suspect that it's coded for fear that someone would want their shingles that were manufactured yesterday versus two weeks ago.

For the Manufacturer, its a QC thing, so if there is a product complaint or failure, it can be traced back.

The Deacon · Sep 3, 2005

SAKguy said:
What I find funny is that it doesn't take up that much space to actually put Jan05 instead of AE. Or how about....1/05 ?

I think sometimes people just use codes just to use them.

Hahahahahaa

Well, dealers sometimes object to "open" date labeling on durable goods, as it gives the consumer the idea that they should get a break because the knife is "last year's model". The letter codes seem to overcome that objection and allow dealers to move oldest stock first without encountering resistance from their customers.

stealthmode · Feb 20, 2006

is it really month and year is there a conformation for that? i was also wondering the same thing that is why i seeked out this forum.

The Deacon · Feb 20, 2006

stealthmode said:
is it really month and year is there a conformation for that? i was also wondering the same thing that is why i seeked out this forum.

I'm not sure if it has ever been confirmed, only that it has never been denied. Beyond that, it is just too consistent for me to think it is mere coincidence. If a box ever shows up with a genuine Spyderco label where the first letter is higher than L, or the second letter is higher than the current year, or the second letter matches the current year (F as of now) and the first letter is higher than the current month, then I might stop believing it is an intentional date code (or just chalk it up to a data entry error).