Actually, retailers like Wal-Mart are slowly but surely reversing this trend. I read an interesting story recently how Wal-Mart got with General Mills and forced them to reduce the size of their packaging. They did it by doing things like "pre-settling" the contents of their boxes, reshaping the pasta in their Hamburger Helper (same amount of food in less space), and so on.

They did the same thing a few years back with P&G and the other laundry detergent manufacturers. You'll notice that the bottles are now 1/2 the size and the product is "double-concentrated" (same cleaning power, half the volume).

Single dudes like me who do their own grocery shopping notice these things... ;-) The point being that the companies who put this stuff on the shelves have all the power to force changes like this, and the realities of rising transportation costs are giving them the impetus to do so.

I think this is what the package looked like before:
http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/SanDiskCruzerMicro4GBUSBStickReview-jmke-23053.jpg

Which means the only improvement is they have 3 of them in a single package, so it's marginally less plastic. Still, it's a complete waste of resources and their own money.

@Arthur - interesting picture link :-} Apparently they don't allow cross linking their images...

It's to prevent "shrinkage"... now, not the "just got out of the pool" kind, but the kind where small volume/high value items disappear from the store without anyone paying for them. Just try to fit that big ol' package in your pocket. I hate it too, but I can kinda see why...

I seem to recall from years ago the package was designed to stop shop lifters. If it was reasonably sized around the size of the thumb drive, it could be hidden better in clothing or a bag. But with the size of that packaging, it would be hard to conceal in clothing. And clothing (or bags) that are big enough to hold it will cause enough of a scene getting it into said bag/clothing that someone might notice you.

Amazon is trying to reduce the wast a bit - http://ecorenovator.org/amazon-reduces-waste-frustrationfree-packaging/

I thought I heard before in some cases it was for theft deterrence.. harder to stick an an enormous blister pack in your pocket. Not sure.

Either way, I up with the packaging for a laptop wireless card, dollar bill for reference.
http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=n29200410304266585061.jpg

@Justin - you've obviously never tried stealing something from CostCo, past the mad item counters at the door :-}.

FWIW, I'm not opposed to some sort of packaging, but this "help I'm drowning in packaging" approach is silly.

Amazon - well, I routinely get books from Amazon where books arrive one by one (instead of in one batch) even though I almost always use the cheapest, free shipping (which supposedly bundles everything). Further I still see lots of single books arrive in a box that fits big format books. Rare is the occasion where a single box actually arrives in the fold-over flap packaging.

I yahe the same question too. I never understood marketing. It is just insulting for me.
Happy to see posts like this from technical man.

Maybe even more annoying is the fact that this package is pretty much _impossible_ to open without a big knife or pair of scissors. When you need one of those on the road urgently, it's maddening to open!

You can only open those plastic cases with c-4. Or possibly the blood of a Xenomorph.

this is a new trend, they are actually working to get rid of the clam shells, however as stated above, the issue of loss-prevention is slowing things down.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/15/wave-of-mutilation-ends-as-best-buy-sony-and-microsoft-take-a-s/

It's probably just economics - it's probably cheaper for whoever packages those things to have a package that size to package a lot of different products.

The cost of changing the machine or settings or raw materials or whatever to accomodate a smaller package is probably more than the cost of the plastic they waste.

Of course, this economics does not take into account the cost of the extra plastic's effect on the environment, or the cost to them of annoying their customers!

If you buy it in a physical store one option is to leave the excessive packaging in the store. (At least that is a consumer-right in Norway.) In addition to not filling your wastebin it leaves a signal that lighter packaging would have sufficed. Of course that is easier said than done with bulletproof plastic like that.

Maybe this already exists, but what if manufacturers started providing a smaller version of the packaging to be used by online or catalog retailers? Shoplifting and display prominence are non-issues in those cases, and it would also lower all sorts of costs.

And we always complain to each other how immature software industry is and how we can't build bridges... This package is probably just at version 745.95 - and look, they already making progress!

http://www.lovedance.co.uk/stupidness.html

^^^ Have a look at that, the most excessive use of packaging I've ever seen.

I have almost, several times, removed appendages trying to cut that plastic wrapping off with a razor knife. I would think that some people would find it near impossible at times.

Seriously, with all of the technology in the world you would think that for items like this (not food, not bleach, etc.) a "plastic" that dissolves in a mixture of dirt and moisture after 1 year could be developed, which was also earth-friendly.

Rick, a possible explanation for the box thing. I can tell you that my company has a cost contract with a box supplier on certain sizes that was established years ago. I thought we were wasting too much money on extra packing material and extra postage so I inquired about a box half the size. The quoted price was 3 times as high because it was a 'new item' for us. It may be cheaper for them to use the bigger box!

Also, those boxes from them look pretty beat up by the time they get to me, it's possible that they are reusing boxes from returns or incoming shipments.

Kind of reminds me of the big "box" my MVP welcome package came in <grin/>. "Now with less brains" might be more a-propos.

Yeah - it's about occupying shelf space, and therefore ousting your competitors. It's the same reason that one company will manufacture 23 different varieties of cat food instead of 1. (or breakfast cereal, or shaving goop). If the supermarket fills its shelves with your crap, there's less room for your competitors' crap. Go Figure.

I totally agree with you, Rick. Especially after I've seen this at TED yesterday : http://blog.ted.com/2009/02/capt_charles_mo.php . I got especially disgusted when the guy said that most plastic (PET) bottles actually get on the bottom of the ocean so the junk we see on beaches today is just (pun intended) the tip of the iceberg.

This is the "brain power" of America. We talk about saving resources and a green world...and then we let companies do this shit...no standards in packaging. While the CEOs sip their wine, this waste piles up and we cut ourselves while opening their products.

asswipes. Scandisk has always overused plastic as has half of the US manufacturers.

This is why we won't overcome our depression with idiots driving our economy like Scandisk.

And it takes "others" like Wal mart to bring "Common Sense" and "Effort" to bring across something so fucking stupidly common sense and sensible for the environment and everyone involved.

Again, laziness by marketing.

I'd say this is definitely http://failblog.org/ material, do you mind if I submit it there?

Took the package back to CostCo. The looks of the clerks were golden, but eventually all it invoked was a shrug of the shoulder. No comment, no sympathy nothing... sniff. Apathy - this way nothing will ever change.

Imagine if you had ordered this online from Amazon. Amazon sends tiny things in such huge cardboard boxes!

I am in total agreement too. But I do understand the apparent reasoning behind the duplicity.

I think that the economy of scale and the greed factor nails us today in so many ways just like this. My wife works for a company who supplies products to normal retail channels as well as the "warehouse" markets like Costco and Sam's Clubs.

Instead of spending money on anti-theft technologies such as proximity tags and gateway systems, wholesale retailers like Costco and Sam's require the manufacturers to build the anti-theft "features" into their product packaging.

I can go to our local MicroCenter and pick up a two-pack of the same Cruzer Micro Flash Drives in a small bubble pack that fits in my shirt pocket. However, MicroCenter has a proximity tag attached on the product (or in the packaging) and gates at all entrances and exits to the building preventing someone just walking out with small items like this in their coats/pockets/other hidden body areas.

Instead of paying for the equipment, consumables, maintanence, and labor to employ such a system, most if not all of these bulk warehouse retailers spec oversized packaging on smaller items or a "take this card to the register" (where an associate goes into a locked room to obtain the smaller packed items when you check out) approach.

I guess these companies who want to maximize their bottom line (read "want everyone else to absorb as much of the cost of doing business so they don't have too!") just show that they are in business to make money despite the costs to the consumer and environment.

Just a thought...

@Marty - not sure if that's the case with CostCo at least. CostCo does the check items at the door thing - it'd be pretty hard to walk out with anything bigger than a pack of cigarettes.

Agreed though. Although I shop at CostCo (here in Hawaii it's practically a necessity) I realize that companies like them are evil and one of the root causes of rampant consumption and resource waste. Yet - I'm still there, because for one thing (like those memory sticks) - here on Maui at least we have such limited choice.

I bought a pair of scissors before and it had that sort of packaging.....if only I had a pair of scissors to open the packaging.....

Everyone needs one of these: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/9fb2/. Yes, it is the best thing since sliced bread! And saved me from cutting myself on the plastic. This one is nice as the blade is only exposed when it's in the pkg.