Melanie and I were just dealing with this yesterday: Thick plastic packaging that is nearly impossible to open. It’s at the point where Consumer Reports is writing about and people are selling special tools to deal with it. Not only are these thick plastic clamshells devilishly difficulty to open, they’re dangerous because they leave sharp hard edges.
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Funny, I happen to be in the packaging business.
This form of packaging is favored by the club stores, for two reasons.
1. Bigger packages create perceived value for smaller expensive products
2. The hard to open plastic clamshell prevents theft:
a. It is large enough not to fit in your pants (theft),
b. It is hard to open, so you cannot bust them open in the store an drop packs of Venus Razors or Mach3Turbo, or whatever that new Gillet Razor is that the blades retail for $4 each in your pockets.
The designers of these things pride themselves on making them even harder to open. Notice the ribs on the back. This is so you cannot open easily with a slice from a boxcutter.
Funny Story:
After I was injured at the P2BC Concert, I was seeing an opthamologist. The conversation went this way:
Dr. Sorkin: Joe, what do you do for a living.
Me: I’m in packaging.
Dr. Sorkin: How do you breath?
Bulky difficult packaging is necessary to prevent shoplifting. Just saying.