GTIN starting with 2: an in-store number
A product’s EAN field holds a code starting with 2, and Merchant Center refuses it. It is usually a number the shop or warehouse assigned for its own use, not the manufacturer’s code.
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The message you see
A message about an invalid value of the [gtin] attribute for a code from a restricted range; wording varies with the interface version.
Google Merchant Center → Products → Diagnostics, on the product.
What Basketly does
Basketly detects codes with prefix 02, 04 and 2 as an error and removes them from the feed. It does not check coupon codes (05, 98, 99).
Why Google flags it
Google does not accept numbers from restricted ranges as a GTIN. Such a code is usually a number used within one shop (hence the panel’s check name: in-store range), so it cannot match the product to other sellers’ offers.
How Basketly handles it
- Products: the in-store-range GTIN check (an error, Google side) shows the code that triggered it.
- Automatic feed fixes remove such a code; the product then goes out without a GTIN.
- It cannot work out the real manufacturer code; you must find it and enter it in the shop or in the product’s manual fix.
How to fix an in-store GTIN by hand
Replace the internal number with the manufacturer’s code or leave the field empty.
Check where the number comes from
If your shop or warehouse system assigned the code, it is not the manufacturer’s GTIN.
Find the manufacturer’s code
Look for the EAN or UPC on the packaging, an invoice or the supplier’s file.
Enter it in the GTIN field
Replace the internal number with the manufacturer’s code. Move the internal number to the SKU.
When the manufacturer assigned none
Leave the GTIN empty and set identifier_exists = no. Give the brand.
What Basketly does not do
- It does not find the manufacturer’s code to replace an in-store number.
- It does not check coupon codes (05, 98, 99).
- It does not guarantee approval once the code is removed.
Sources
- Google Merchant Center Help: GTIN [gtin] (checked )
Frequently asked questions
Your question is not here? Write to us
These are restricted ranges Google refuses as a GTIN. They usually mean a number assigned locally by a shop or system, not a manufacturer’s code.
Not as a GTIN. Google will not accept it. Move it to the SKU or another internal field.
If they have no manufacturer’s code, set identifier_exists = no and give the brand.
See also
- Product feedsYour shop’s feed fixed automatically and by your rules, every product diagnosed against Google Merchant Center and Meta catalogue requirements, served at its own address.Read
- Invalid GTINA GTIN of the wrong length or with a bad check digit: what Google flags and how to fix it.Read
- identifier_exists = noA product with no GTIN, MPN or brand: when to set identifier_exists = no and what it does not solve.Read
- GTIN (EAN, UPC)A product identification number (EAN, UPC, ISBN) assigned by the manufacturer.Read
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