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Unbreakable Blister Packs and Industrial Design | 50 comments (50 topical) | Post A Comment
Shoplifting[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#2)
by Anonymous User on Mon Apr 24, 2006 at 04:51:36 AM PDT

I think the idea behind it is to try and make it difficult for people to open up the package in the store and pocket the item, which explains why it is so hard to open even with scissors. Stores had a lot of problems with people using razors or pocket knives to slit open the blister packs. That being said, it is still a pain in the neck to open one.

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It's a symtom of a larger problem[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#3)
by Anonymous User on Mon Apr 24, 2006 at 09:05:59 AM PDT

The blister-packs as theft prevention is just one more example of how honest people are constantly forced to compensate for the dishonest/greedy/criminal people in our society. Some other examples:

DRM - Honest people get burned by defective software DRM. Pirates have no issues.

Insurance - Fraud forces rates higher. I think it's much worse than we are told.

Airport security - No need to explain that one.

Video surveillance - Loss of privacy for everyone just to catch a few criminals.

Other tamper prevention devices - Remember when food containers did not have tons of protective seals? Now we live with this to avoid getting poisoned. (This seeemed to start with the Tylenol murders.)

The fear of liability lawsuits has forced a whole related set of changes on our society which is a world unto itself.

I'm sure there are many other examples I can't think of at the moment.

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You forgot one...[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#4)
by Anonymous User on Mon Apr 24, 2006 at 10:02:40 AM PDT

I agree with you wholeheartedly about the fact that the honest/reasonable people of the world suffer because of those who "figured a way around the system". However, you forgot the #1 example of this: spam. Much of the spam we receive is right in line with the idea that "you can't cheat an honest man". We're offered cut-rate software, dates with horny others, and the opportunity to work with unknown overseas officials to take advantage of bank errors. If nobody ever responded to spam, there wouldn't be any. (Or, more probably, we would see a great reduction and a change in the content.) Having managed a couple audio stores, I can tell you that shoplifters can and will steal just about anything you haven't riveted in place. We used to have to keep the tonearm heads and cartridges behind the counter so they wouldn't disappear between turntable demos. Furthermore, there are two other factors that drive packaging, and they are the same as in grocery stores. The manufacturers want shelf space and visibility, so they make the items big and configure the packages so they can't be stacked easily. The manufacturers also don't want damaged package goods, so they make sure that the package will hold up to shipping, storage, and handling/examination by the shoppers.

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It is an antitheivery device[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#13)
by Anonymous User on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 11:23:04 AM PDT

If you don't understand the need for such tamper resistentant packaging then you haven't worked in retail. At one point in time packaging was designed to make it easy for the consumer to remove the purchased item. The downside was it also made it child's play for a theif to steal the item by removing it from their package. As theivery increased they had to take steps to keep their losses at acceptable levels. To a large extent this has been successful. These days instead of trying to steal the contents of the boxes they steal the receipt, walk in the store, pick their tiems off the shelf and then go ask fo a refund. So guess what, the next step is that they are working on new forms of your receipt to make thwart this new problem. impossible. If you can figure out how to get rid of dishonesty then we might be able to get rid of such hassles like this.

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Not Just Mice & CDs[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#40)
by Tourette on Sat Apr 29, 2006 at 05:50:10 AM PDT

While I'm sure that there is some theft of cold cuts, freshness, tamper resistance and "convenience" is behind the packaging of food, e. g., the ubiquitous ZipPak and the seals that are broken by pulling a finger hole in the pourers of certains canned liquids. But nine out of ten times the "Pull Here" of a ZipPak still leaves me searching for scissors to complete the job, and the finger hole is barely big enough for a small pinky - which doesn't have the strength to do the job - leaving me searching for pliers to finish the job.

I think every idiot who designs these packaging nightmares should be required to spend a day repeatedly opening his or her design. In no time we'd have theft and tamper resistance that's also user friendly.

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Likewise...[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#45)
by Reziac on Tue May 02, 2006 at 09:29:47 PM PDT

I've sliced my hand a number of times on those @#$%^! fliptop soup cans, despite being VERY careful -- problem is, to hang onto the can without it flying across the room, and still get the damn thing open, your hand winds up in the line of fire for the top as it comes open.

Not very different from the @!#$%! industrial-strength blister packs (I've been cut by a few of those too), tho those usually add insult to injury by placing vital printed info on a card that you must slice all to hell in the process of getting the blister pack open without killing yourself or destroying the other contents.

I've made myself a promise that next time I slice myself on ANY such packaging, I *am* going to find myself a hungry personal-injury lawyer.
~REZ~
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Privacy Shmivacy[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#15)
by LANMan on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 11:40:22 AM PDT

Video surveillance - Loss of privacy for everyone just to catch a few criminals.

What lost privacy? Are they installing cameras in your bathroom? Is there one near your home that peeks over your fence at you nude sunbathing? Can't duck down behind the display cases anymore to pick a greener? Can't dismiss those feelings that security guards are secretly poking fun at you in some backroom? Get over it! You're out in public, everyone can see you anyway.

Unless,... you're trying to do something surreptitious where a camera might discover you as one of the few criminals.



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There are some areas where privacy is expected[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#28)
by TonyK on Wed Apr 26, 2006 at 03:57:43 AM PDT

There are areas, even in public, where courts have confirmed a person can expect "reasonable" privacy. One is changing stalls of fitting rooms. Others are public restrooms.

Stores have been sued and employees arrested/prosecuted for violating these "reasonable" areas.

Society has created a class of people, through advertising, TV and other media outlets, that says its okay to take what you want. The criminal mindset is "I'm okay, you're not okay" and that is how some justify their behavior.

About the only way to start to reverse the problem is to find a way to get parents to raise children with good ideals and morals. If the parents do not have them, then it becomes difficult for the child to see or be better, though not impossible.

Peace,

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bug off it's a reply dammit![ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#39)
by Anonymous User on Fri Apr 28, 2006 at 01:01:18 AM PDT

This is why those areas either don't have exits (except back into the store), or have emergency-only exits that set off alarms. Because they can't put cameras there. Some places also forbid taking unpurchased items in there, though that would present a problem for someone shopping unaccompanied.

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The cameras are there...[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#41)
by Anonymous User on Sat Apr 29, 2006 at 07:27:15 AM PDT

You're mistaken - they certainly are allowed to put security cameras in places like dressing rooms. Some stores actually post signs to this effect, believing it is an additional deterrent. I don't feel any better knowing that security cameras are being monitored by FEMALE attendants! It's offensive, but I don't have the time or energy to write the store manager when I know it's not going to make a difference.

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this is not a new thread[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#43)
by Anonymous User on Sun Apr 30, 2006 at 06:03:39 AM PDT

I'm not mistaken; TonyK apparently is. Actually I find your claim rather unbelievable. Where are you, the Voyeurist States of America or someplace equally lacking in civil rights? Here in Canada they definitely can't stick cameras in such places without causing a major scandal, lawsuits, and possibly criminal charges.

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FEMALE attendants[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#44)
by Anonymous User on Sun Apr 30, 2006 at 06:05:13 AM PDT

aren't much of a reassurance if you're a MALE trying on a pair of pants. Or if you're a lesbian. Or bi. Or...

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Everything is not about criminals[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#26)
by Anonymous User on Tue Apr 25, 2006 at 06:00:02 PM PDT

While many things like copy protection and DRM are incorporated as purported anti-theft measures the real objective is to limit the rights of legitimate users. Copyright law has a doctrine of first sale - basically, the copyright holder has only very limited rights to control what you do with something that is copyrighted after you have purchased it. While some of this is about your fair use rights - in reality copyright holder only retain those rights explicitly granted by copyright law - they do not OWN copyrighted works, they own the copyrights. Copyright holders do not want you to be able to record TV shows and play them later, rip your own music and play it on your computer or in your iPod, or cell phone, ... Or atleast they do nto want you to be able to do those things without paying them even more. Contrary to popular belief most of the efforts of the entertainment industry are not targeted at stopping criminals but at preventing and criminalizing ways of using content you purchased that no one has even thought of yet.
As to the rest of the rant on criminals, there is no more crime today than 25 years ago. A significantly larger percnetage of the population is spending a significantly longer amount of time in jail for less and less significant offenses - the retail industry would advocate capitol punishment for shoplifters is it could despite the fact that more retail theft goes out the back door than the front.
Do not misundertand me - criminals need punished for their crimes, but blaming criminals for all kinds of changes that are targeted at finding new ways to bilk more money from honest people, is itself dishonest.
Further what is wrong with corporate responsibility. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, product liability verdicts against well designed products by reputable manufacturers are rare. The real threat is large verdicts against companies that market dangerous junk, or that decide the cost to fix a problem that kills or maims people is higer than the cost of killing and maiming.
Credit card companies railed congress into exempting credit card debt from normal bankruptcy provisions. In the event of a bankruptcy the credit card company is more likely to get repaid than the bank that did its due diligence before issuing your home equity loan. Yet hardly a week goes buy that I do not receive another creidt card in the mail. Just safely disposing of them is an ordeal. While I may receive more than my share of unsolicited instant credit - because I am a good risk, high rate cards are issued like water to people with no possible hope of paying. Loaning money to beople you know can not pay at exhorbitant interest is usery. We are supposed to be locking shylocks and loan sharks up, not doing their dirty work for them.

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These could cause liability suits[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#34)
by Anonymous User on Thu Apr 27, 2006 at 05:28:27 AM PDT

I have cut myself on the plastic edges and with the scissors and knives I have used trying to open these infernal packages. I would think the risk of a really serious injury (especially with a razor knife) is not out of the question.

Someone with weak hands like children, the elderly, and a number of (small-handed) women would be more likely at risk since such efforts can push them past keeping "firm" control of the cutting tool.

ROC

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Idiots[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#5)
by Anonymous User on Mon Apr 24, 2006 at 09:32:37 PM PDT

These days, anyone trying to open a package with a penknife in the middle of the store is going to be caught on candid camera anyway, so what's the point?

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1[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#55)
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