34 ms·

Doesn't being mass-produced sort of defeat the purpose? Buy an identical label, replace the barcode, and you're done.

• paxys 7y ago
  Not if it is stuck inside the box.
  • rootusrootus 7y ago
    I imagine half the point (or more) is to be very visible to encourage anybody handling it during shipping to be careful.
    • ska 7y ago
      That's why you do both. They are cheap (relatively).
• mattkrause 7y ago
  Until someone checks the serial number. See the C097412 in the bottom-right corner? Your replacement will be C097413 or something, and won't match.
  • heartbeats 7y ago
    Yeah, but if you replace the barcode that's not a problem. I suppose you could stick one on the inside and one on the outside, as paxys suggested. Then you'd have both deterrent and tamper-resistance. As an extra bonus, if some schmuck tilts and replaces it, the deterrent will still be in force for the next guy down the line.
    • mattkrause 7y ago
      The serial number is--in theory--recorded by the sender specifically so that you can't just swap them out. You put sticker #C097412 on the crate yourself, record the number, and the shipper takes it away. If things arrive damaged--and these are usually used on very expensive shipments--you can check the tilt indicator AND its number. I would bet it's much worse if indicator #D108523 arrives instead. As an added impediment, they're often on the surface of the item but buried beneath a bunch of plastic wrap/padding/etc.
      • ska 7y ago
        Yes, your shipping department records the barcode and signs, receiver gets the list of them by separate record. Receiver checks these of course. You'll often also put a variety of them inside. It's not just rough handling, but temperature and humidity too. You can audit this sort of thing by sending occasional fake packages with precise recording instruments in them, but for usual shipments just use a variety of indicators.
      • heartbeats 7y ago
        Yes, but I mean, what if you replace the sticker with the barcode and the serial number? You have #C097412. You remove it, and put on #D108523. You then replace the barcode and serial number underneath with #D108523.
        • sokoloff 7y ago
          I, as the shipper, tell you (the receiver) out-of-band that you're getting a tilt indicator with serial #C097412. You check the received label against my out-of-band signal to ensure it matches.
          • heartbeats 7y ago
            And you did, but it's a forgery. It doesn't look like it has the fancy holo stickers or anything.
            • MrMorden 7y ago
              That might not exactly take a Tony Mendez-grade forger, but making a good one is probably not going to be within the skill set of random warehouse workers who enjoy agitating expensive shipments. They have to find a decent forger, get in contact, and arrange for the service. That wasn't going to be cheap to begin with, but the package is constantly in motion, so now someone else has to emplace the forged detector in a different location. Assuming the warehouse worker can afford all that, someone offering anti-tamper-bypass-as-a-service is going to run headfirst into the FBI, SCA, and other well-resourced government organizations with which a sane individual would never consider fucking. That does not lead to rising property values in Tokyo.