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Blister wrap madness

I don’t like to attack my new products with a knife, but some companies leave me no choice.

I bought a $17 Duracell battery charger (includes 4 AA rechargeables) at Walmart.  It took me 15 minutes to get it out of the packaging.  I sustained a superficial cut on the upper knuckle of my right ring finger.

Why do 85 percent of electronics in the $10-30 range come in the strongest packaging known to man?

I assume it’s because most of these products are small enough to fit into a pocket.  The manufacturer can design blister wrap for shipping efficiency and theft deterrent.  A big, reasonable to open, box would take twice the space to ship.

There has to be a better way to secure these products.  Obama ’08.

Comments 6

  1. Geoff wrote:

    Is Obama promoting better packaging for small electronics? If so, he has my vote.

    I have found box cutters/razor blades work well to open these types of packages.

    Posted 08 Jul 2008 at 06:55
  2. Matt Stooks wrote:

    Good call on the box cutter. I just don’t keep them handy like I used to.

    Posted 08 Jul 2008 at 10:01
  3. Austin Michael wrote:

    Maybe you should keep them handy more often. Never know when you’re going to need to hijack a plane.

    Posted 11 Jul 2008 at 00:10
  4. Matt Stooks wrote:

    I think they’d see that coming. Thanks for the advice. Wow.

    Posted 11 Jul 2008 at 08:18
  5. Mixo wrote:

    I’ve used medium/heavy duty tin snips to open this kind of packaging and they’ve always done a great job. Compared to a blade they’re safer, more controlled, and faster, but more expensive. You also need access to two sides of the packaging but that’s not usually a problem because you can just cut round the edge of the packaging and snips have no problem going through that tough little ridge.

    Most folk don’t have much use for them otherwise though. Scissors are generally too feeble and long-bladed to be much use. I guess you could try a gardening tool that’s similar to tin snips like maybe a pruner but I don’t know how they’d compare. Secateurs definitely don’t work. 😉

    Posted 17 Jul 2008 at 16:06
  6. Matt Stooks wrote:

    Thanks for the tips. Bottom line: You should be able to open a product without taking a sharp blade to it.

    Posted 17 Jul 2008 at 23:43

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