inof

I agree that LEGO did a mistake by putting that second barcode on the bags that enables people to distinguish the figures (maybe they will correct this mistake with the second series available in September). However, that barcode does exist, and some people do have camera phones with barcode software, so those people are at an advantage. This barcode PDF that you can print out enables people who don't have such a phone to do the same. So it improves fairness, actually. Also keep in mind that it is actually quite easy to recognize the minifigure by feeling its shape through the bag. Everybody can do this, and this might be even quicker than comparing barcodes. Each of the 16 figures includes some unique shape of accessory or headgear. Another way to avoid duplicates is to cut out the barcodes of the bags that you've already bought and glue them to a sheet of paper, effectively creating your own barcode collection. Probably many non-AFOLs (even kids) will do this, as soon as they've bought two bags and noticed that the only difference is in the barcodes. Kid's aren't that dumb.

Probably depends on the shop. I think in the LEGO stores (at least here in Germany) they will give people a chance to "feel" the bags in order to guess the contents before buying. After all that's half of the fun, especially for kids.

Ok, this is me and my wife in Legoland Guenzburg (Germany). We are in the third row, I'm the guy wearing the blue T-shirt.

Here is a collection of the barcodes. However, these are only valid for bags sold in Eastern and Central Europe. USA and UK seem to have different barcodes, unfortunately.