It’s easy to see why the retail industry has been in love with the bar code for the past several decades. It makes checkout faster, and it probably makes inventory a lot easier when you’ve got a computer system to keep track of everything that passes over the counter. But some retailers abuse the technology by using it as an excuse to not put an actual price tag — written in good ol’ Arabic numerals — anywhere on or near the products on their shelves. The customer is expected to make a small economic leap of faith and presume the item is reasonably priced.
