On July 28, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission accepted, subject to final approval, settlements with InstantUPCCodes.com and Nationwide Barcode, two US barcode resellers, and their principals, Jacob Alifraghis and Philip Peretz. In its complaints, the FTC alleged that the settling respondents violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by inviting certain competitors in the sale of barcodes to join together in a collusive scheme to raise prices.
For details, see here.
This raises a clear warning to beware of unethical barcode resellers. If you need barcodes, buy your barcodes with confidence from members of the International Barcodes Network.