5 ms·

Oh Christ, I was just thinking today how stupid packaging winds me up. From what I recall, I don't have this experience with amazon purchases! For example, the

by jwdunne 13y ago

Oh Christ, I was just thinking today how stupid packaging winds me up. From what I recall, I don't have this experience with amazon purchases! For example, the packaging that requires scissors and a spare pair for backup really does my head in. The backup in case I break the first pair, which has actually happened to me. Another one is the corner tag on food packaging which either is stuck down as well as the rest of the film or it rips off the film AROUND the glue, leaving absolutely no hope of pulling it off the sane way and forcing me to use a knife, which by that point makes me look like a scary individual. By this poiny, I'm slightly more pissed off that I've got used cutlery without actually eating mr making anything. I actually get really wound up and even consider complaining to trading standards. After all what good is a product if I can't bloody open it? I can see why it would affect product ratings.

vacri 13y ago
Clamshell packaging is an anti-theft mechanism, as the article mentions. It's a lot harder to pocket something that's encased in a wide plastic sheet, and even if you do, the number of items you can pocket is significantly reduced. Given that retailers only make 20-40% of the final price of the product, having a couple of items stolen costs them a lot more than your couple of minutes of irritation costs you. The packaging isn't stupid, it's just not optimised solely for you (as the article states, web and brick stores have different needs here).
- sitkack 13y ago
  I wanted to make this a top level comment, but it belongs here. Clamshell packaging has more to do with preventing returns than preventing theft. People feel like they have destroyed some of the product to open it, so are very very reluctant to return it.
  - vacri 13y ago
    It can do both - if clamshell packaging wasn't really for preventing theft, then the plastic sheets wouldn't be so much larger than the product. Large objects take more room and cost more to handle.

by jwdunne 13y ago

vacri 13y ago

Clamshell packaging is an anti-theft mechanism, as the article mentions. It's a lot harder to pocket something that's encased in a wide plastic sheet, and even if you do, the number of items you can pocket is significantly reduced. Given that retailers only make 20-40% of the final price of the product, having a couple of items stolen costs them a lot more than your couple of minutes of irritation costs you. The packaging isn't stupid, it's just not optimised solely for you (as the article states, web and brick stores have different needs here).

sitkack 13y ago
I wanted to make this a top level comment, but it belongs here. Clamshell packaging has more to do with preventing returns than preventing theft. People feel like they have destroyed some of the product to open it, so are very very reluctant to return it.
- vacri 13y ago
  It can do both - if clamshell packaging wasn't really for preventing theft, then the plastic sheets wouldn't be so much larger than the product. Large objects take more room and cost more to handle.