Last year I noticed that the feel of the fabric kept changing whenever I folded RTW Mossimo v-neck t-shirts that were either black or white. Turns out there were two different shirts. Every time I managed to separate the stack, that lasted only as long as the end of my shift.
I've also seen items that have a different dpci because while they are identical in every way, fibers used, tactile, visual, they were manufactured at separate times.
Don't risk a screwup by either having two different manufacturing dates or two different but visually identical items. That is why I was trained to scan every tag while backstocking. Yeah it can take a bit longer, but honestly I don't think it makes that much of a difference. You either take the time to count the shirts and verify the size and dpci and re-stack them and then backstock them as a group -or- you pull out the box and place it next to your stack and scan each item as you move it from the stack outside the box onto the stack you're making inside the box, and then replace the box.
