It looks janky as hell, but it really works. It's a crude sort of composite structure. Waterproofing is the obvious thing, but the tape makes the boxes much to

It looks janky as hell, but it really works. It's a crude sort of composite structure. Waterproofing is the obvious thing, but the tape makes the boxes much tougher. The tension of the tape makes the box much stiffer and more resistant to crush damage. The tape layer also smooths the surface and prevents the cardboard from snagging on package handling equipment. If the box is punctured, it's held together by the tape and is much less likely to rip open. Many Chinese sellers use expanded polystyrene boxes for shipping fragile items, of the sort you'd see in a fish market. They're quite flimsy on their own, but become unbelievably tough when wrapped in tape.