From the looks of David’s package, Dell isn’t close to honoring its promise to switch to alternative packaging within the next two months. This obscenely large box contained nothing more than a 2GB flash drive. David’s son snapped a few pictures, which appear as an eerie slideshow after the jump.
packaging
Wrigley's To Introduce New "Slim Pack" Gum Packaging With Two Fewer Sticks, Same Price
By 3.27.08
Sometime soon Wrigley’s will start promoting its new Slim Pack packaging in select markets, and nationwide by 2009. It’s slimmer! It’s easier to carry! And it’s got 15 sticks instead of 17—for the same price! A Wrigley’s vice president told Brandweek that consumers wouldn’t care that they’re getting less product: “To them the value goes up because they’re getting a better tasting product in a better package.” Ha ha consumers sure are stupid, aren’t they, VP of Wrigley’s?
Black & Decker Food Processor Comes With Creepy Religious Materials
By 3.16.08
Ever wonder how Jesus and American Idol are different? Reader Jessica didn’t, even after she found a religious pamphlet on the subject in a Black & Decker food processor she picked up at Walmart. She is now “totally creeped out,” and doesn’t quite know how to respond.
OfficeMax Ships Spindle Of CD-Rs Without The Spindle
By 3.15.08
Hey OfficeMax, Bill ordered a spindle of CD-Rs, not a batch of CD-Rs carelessly dumped into a box without the spindle or any protective cushioning. Did you seriously think he wouldn’t notice or complain about the pell-mell packing job? Unsurprisingly, the CD-Rs are scratched and ruined. Bill isn’t pleased, but he’s taking the flub in stride.
Circuit City's AA Battery Packaging Is Remarkably Sturdy
By 3.13.08
Reader Dave has an issue with Circuit City’s battery packaging. I ordered some batteries on sale from Circuit City, recently. When they arrived, the package made insane amounts of noise.
Target Delivers Dresses With Correct Amount Of Packaging
By 2.13.08
Morgan writes:
I’ve seen a lot of poor shipping posts in the past few weeks, and thought I would share a positive shipping story! I recently ordered 12 bridesmaid dresses from Target.com (2 sizes for each girl, just in case, plus two for myself). I expected a barrage of boxes at my door, but was pleasantly surprised to find 10 dresses neatly packed into one Amazon box, and two more dresses in a smaller Amazon box. I guess some companies CAN ship competently!
The right size box for the amount of material inside…AMAZING! What will they invent next? Maybe Target can share this secret with their retail brethren.
What's Inside This Big Box From IBM?
By 1.21.08
Ooo, what could be inside this box that IBM shipped to a reader—retail-packaged software? Peripherals? Maybe a hard drive with air padding? A logo-emblazoned hoodie? Monogrammed pencils? A kitten?
Companies Respond To Wrap-Rage, Design Packaging That Isn't So !@$% Difficult To Open
By 1.20.08
Companies are starting to use tamper-resistant packaging that doesn’t cause wrap-rage or puncture wounds. Retailers love those maddening plastic supermax containers for the theft-deterring frustration factor, while manufacturers just want consumers to see the eye candy within. What’s the compromise?
Dell: Let's Ship Tiny CDs In Massive Boxes!
By 1.19.08
Dell has promised to stop shipping individual CDs in 10x19x10 boxes after Christian over at Technologist for Hire posted a rant about Dell’s growing love for wasteful packaging.
Wal-Mart Joins The Stupid Shipping Gang
By 12.26.07
A reader writes, “As part of our Christmas shopping; we ordered several DVD’s, video games, and a phone card from Wal-Mart’s website.” The items trickled in over several days, then “this showed up. A 10X11X5 inch box, an air-filled air bubble, and one thin phone card taped to the bottom of the box.”
Companies, this has got to stop! It’s wasteful and annoying. It’s stupid. It can’t cost that much to hire someone to put together a shipping program that uses different package sizes for different types of products.
Crate & Barrel's Wooden Spoon Packaging Is Very Efficient
By 12.20.07
Reader Mark says:
I recently ordered two wooden spoons, a wooden spatula and a silicone spoon rest from crateandbarrel.com – all in the same transaction. Today I received these two big boxes! One box (10x7x20) held ONE 13.5″ spoon. The other box (13x13x7.5) held the other spoon, spatula and spoon rest.
Carbon Monoxide-Treated Meat Is Here To Stay, For Now
By 11.14.07
In hearings today, the meat producers Hormel Foods Corp and Cargill Inc testified that the practice of treating meat with carbon monoxide to preserve its red color is safe and should be allowed. As a compromise, they suggested a label on all CO-treated meat and fish that reminded consumers to refer to the date on the package to determine its freshness. According to Reuters, “officials at the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Agriculture Department said they stand by the safety of the carbon monoxide practice and would revisit the process if new data becomes available.”
Apparently Marketers Still Have A Lot To Learn
By 9.6.07
Adweek reports that in a recent Nielsen study of shoppers’ in-store behavior, even the study authors were surprised to discover how little some marketers seem to know about what works and what doesn’t. First, they determined how we shop for specific product categories:
Package Redesign Gone Wild
By 8.10.07
The NYT has an article today about the terrifying rate of package redesign, a phenomenon the industry blames on, what else—the internet. Oh, and Tivo.
When Liberating Your Sony Headphones From Their Plastic Shell, Be Careful Not To Stab Yourself With An X-Acto Knife
By 8.1.07
My colleague came to work waving around a new pair of Sony headphone’s he’d bought on the way over, still new in the blister plastic packaging. He was excited because he got such a good deal on them, and tried cutting through the package with a pair of heavy duty scissors. The plastic was unusually strong and was resisting even our most well made scissors (we work in a printing facility, and have lots of types of scissors, all high quality). He switched to the x-acto knife after the scissors were unable to pierce the thick bonded plastic.
The New Coke Can Design Is The Old Coke Can Design, But Better
By 7.9.07
Coke has redesigned their can, removing all the awful fake bubbles and that weird yellow ribbon. We’re not a design blog or anything, but we know what we like.
Pillsbury Offers Conflicting Biscuit-Baking Information
By 2.24.07
Aaron’s Pillsbury 12 Flaky Layer Biscuits say bake for 11-20 minutes and 20-28 minutes. Aaron, confused and hungry for flaky layer biscuits, tried calling for help.
When I called their customer support line, they were gone for the day. You’d think they’d have someone working when people are most likely to be using their products.
Should Aaron bake his biscuits for 11-20 minutes or 20-28 minutes? What other products offer conflicting information? Tell us about them in the comments. Send pictures to tips [at] consumerist [dot] com. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
