The *&%$# clamshells that are a pain to open are going away

[greatauntoftriplets]

And it's about time!!!!

Retailers burst plastic bubble
The *&%$# clamshells that are a pain to open are going away

By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Special to the Tribune
Published September 3, 2006

You buy vitamins or a video game, tools or a toy. All that now stands between you and your purchase is a thick layer of rigid plastic that seems tougher to crack than Ft. Knox.

The ever-so-frustrating process of opening it has yielded the term wrap rage. But now there are moves by leading retailers and consumer products manufacturers to replace that plastic packaging with materials that would be friendlier to the consumer and the environment.

The end may be near for the seemingly impenetrable plastic clamshell package.

Costco Wholesale Corp. will begin rolling out to its membership warehouses this fall more product packaging that combines plastic and stiff cardboard.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609030236sep03,1,1261233.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

[NV Whino]

1. i have been know to return products

simply because it's taken me more than 10 minutes to get them open.

I do the same thing with products sporting permanent adhesive labels.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Ooh! Good consumer move.

Unless we complain and stop buying the products, there is little incentive to change.
I hate the clamshells because they're designed solely for theft prevention and there is little regard for the buyer's convenience or for responsible use of materials. An i-pod sized device shouldn't be packaged in enough plastic to encase a dinner plate.

[NV Whino]

3. Yep.

Recently I purchased a handsfree headset that stated on the package that it was universal and fit all phones. Nope, didn't fit mine. I called the manufacturer to get an adapter for my phone. Nope, my phone was too old (2 years), they didn't support that phone. So after slashing the package to strips to get it open to find I couldn't use the product, I had to return it. No way for the retailer to repackage and resell. While I had the manufacturer on the phone I told them in no uncertain terms that their "new, better, clamshell packaging" sucked. (They actually advertised the "new, better" on their website. Oy vey!

But the kicker is I had to get a new phone due to the AT&T/Cingular merger in order to get free nation-wide roaming, which I was going to need for a trip. So, I bought the same headset again, shredded the clamshell again, found they didn't support my new phone again, and returned destroyed package to retailer again. Oh yeah, I bitched about the clamshell again to the manufacturer when I tried (again) to get the right adapter for my phone.

:grr:

[Deja Q]

4. Ah. You mean the 'blister pack'. I HATE THOSE THINGS TOO!!!

Nice to know that stiff things are coming back in vogue...