Reader Ken would like to let us know that his deck of Uno cards arrived safely from Amazon.com. [More]
packaging
Lorac Replaces Entire Makeup Kit After Two Eyeshadows Smashed In Transit
By 12.27.09
Lizbeth ordered an eye makeup kit from Lorac Cosmetics, but two of the eyeshadows in the case were smashed when the kit arrived. She contacted their customer service about replacements for those few colors, and got a lovely surprise in return. [More]
It's Hard To Do Your Christmas Shopping Online When The Items Arrive In Their Retail Boxes
By 12.16.09
Newegg wants everyone who lives near our reader Deaf Mute to know that he just bought a Sony Blu-ray player. It arrived from their warehouse last week in its bright blue retail packaging, with a shipping label slapped on it. “If I lived in a worse neighborhood and/or my father didn’t see it,” he writes, “Someone could have stolen it. Not only that, but the gift recipient may have had their gift spoiled.” [More]
Consumer Reports And New York Times Ask Why There's So Much Air In Packages
By 12.7.09
Padding chip bags with air is a pretty well-understood practice by now–supposedly it helps prevent the chips from being crushed. But what’s the purpose of similar packaging tricks in frozen fish, or boxes of instant rice? After a recent Consumer Reports article questioned the amount of air in packages at the grocery store, New York Times reporter Andrew Adam Newman asked two of the manufacturers for an explanation. [More]
This Freshly Shaved Deli Meat Is Making Me Uncomfortable
By 12.1.09
Maybe Oscar Mayer was thinking that folding the turkey that way would make shoppers think about turkey breasts. Maybe I have spent too much time in the more colorful parts of the Internet. Either way, I am not sure I could see this in the supermarket without doing a double take. And probably giggling. [More]
Cheap Package Design Tricks People Into Dropping Motorola Droid On Floor
By 11.23.09 — Updated: 10.25.12
The Motorola Droid is a sweet phone, but the box it comes in is a case study in bad package design. Where every other gadget these days comes in boxes with lids, or boxes designed to be opened in a specific manner, the Droid box can easily be opened so that the brand new phone falls to the floor.
Flashlight Was Proudly Made In The United States Of China
By 9.19.09
David is a little bit confused by the labeling on the flashlight he bought recently. Is this the product of a confused designer, an error, or a vague attempt at social engineering?
It's Not The Size Of The SD Card That Matters, But The Size Of The Package
By 9.18.09
Amazon sent Will this humongoid package for his tiny little SD card, apparently concerned shipping complications might mutate the SD card into a giant mutant capable of eating a computer.
Cisco Now Offers Cardboard Nesting Wireless Access Points
By 8.14.09
The Stupid Shipping Gang strikes again! Their visit to Cisco led to a lovely set of matryoshka wireless access points being shipped to an unsuspecting university in Oregon. Reader Eliot had the confusing experience of opening these packages, and took pictures of the process and the mind-boggling pile of waste it left behind.
How Toothpaste Got Its Stripes
By 8.7.09
If you always assumed striped toothpaste was the work of a magic devil, assume again. It turns out it’s the work of a little extended pipe inside the tube that merges the different colored substances onto the toothpaste highway and straight onto your brush. That mechanical trick is half a century old, however; modern varieties sometimes just come that way, as this frozen toothpaste photo that’s been around for a while demonstrates.
Study: Cigarette Packages Can Help Kill Smokers
By 8.4.09
A new study published in the Journal of Public Health has found that people rate cigarettes in attractive packages as less deadly than others. Or, to put it another way, the study found that people who are asked to compare cigarettes based on their packages are inclined to prefer the smartly packaged ones:
Help Remedies Delivers Medicine To The WebMD Crowd
By 7.21.09
A company called Help Remedies is offering basic drugs and first aid supplies with simple explanations. Sounds good, provided they remain focused on simple maladies.
Sam's Club Includes Free Giant Box With Each Pen Sold
By 7.13.09
Reader Steven bought some cheap fountain pens from Sam’s Club. Perhaps unaccustomed to such a small purchase, Sam’s Club had trouble finding the appropriate packaging.
Grocery Shrink Ray Is Reversed, Called A Bonus
By 7.9.09
CCM just sent us a photo she snapped of these Mission Soft Flour Tortillas. It’s kind of cool to see that in this age of the shrink ray, a company is actually giving you more bang for your buck. Except that in this case, the two added tortillas used to be there until a year or so ago.
UPS' "Professional Packaging" Destroys Antique Car
By 6.13.09
UPS ruined this antique 1953 Willys Aero Wagon concept studio model by shipping it in three boxes taped together with packing peanuts and bubble wrap. UPS claims they can “pack almost anything,” and that their “certified packing experts” “specialize in fragile and high-value items, including antiques.” Whoops!
