Amazon Frustration Free Packaging - Just How Easy Is It, Really?
Let me paint a picture for you, and if you are a parent, or have helped a young child with opening a present, I think you will be able to relate:
Little Sally just got a present! Boy is she happy! She is begging you to open it, she can't wait to play with the pink-princess-pony-rainbow-sparkle-extravaganza that she just unwrapped. She is bouncing up and down, she starts to get a little higher pitched in her requests. She says "Please? Please? PLEASE!". You say "yes, yes, I will open your little present now, settle down."
Then you say the fateful words you will soon regret.
"This will only take a minute."
Thirty minutes later, you are still undoing twist ties, cutting through plastic, and trying to understand why each little piece is tied down so tight you would think they were made of crystal and not plastic. You have used about 15 tools, 2 pair of scissors, your teeth, and a box cutter. You now have three bandages on your hands, and you have had to tell little Sally you are very sorry for using "that bad word" five times already. In between begging Sally to stop crying, you are trying to stop the bleeding on your fourth hand wound, and you are slowly adding to the huge pile of waste packaging from just this one toy.
Shouldn't there be a better way?
Lucky for you, there is. Amazon Frustration Free Packaging is here to help.
But just how easy is it? We here at Toy Whimsy decided to find out.
First up was the Fisher-Price Imaginext Ocean Boat:
Fisher-Price Imaginext Ocean Boat...
next up, the Fisher-Price Camera Kid-Tough Digital Camera
Fisher-Price Kid Tough Camera...
So what did we learn? With Amazon Frustration Free Packaging, when you say, "This will only take a minute.", you mean it. It took us 45 seconds with the Ocean Boat and even less, 18.29 for the Kid-Tough Camera. And as a bonus, the only packaging is a fully recyclable box that is easy to break down and put out at the curb.
To see more Frustration Free Packaging toys you can click here, and to see the full list Amazon.com offerings for Frustration Free, you can click here.
--Laura McMullan
fit flops on November 12, 2009 at 10:35 PM
I agree with you. I had bought an item from Amazone and got a delivery it was packed so stickily and tight. And I was unfolding it too carefully as I doesn't want my item to be break or damage and I felt uncovering was so so daunting task at that time..
Shon Wedde on November 16, 2009 at 05:33 AM
Frustration-Free Packaging is a great start, thank you for your efforts in this area. It’s great to see you’re listening and willing to take action – a “consumer’s ombudsmen”.
Now, how can we get to the next level – environmentally aware packaging. Last time I check my objective was to obtain the item and not the packaging, even if it’s frustration-free. I believe everyone is aware that a sufficient level of packaging is required to ensure a successful delivery however; why not packaging which is environmentally friendly? As for me; I’d be willing to pay more if the packaging (from the manufacture and/or Amazon) where of a type I could drop in my composter! Let’s see, is the ink on your shipping boxes vegetable based? Can you use a tape that is not plastic? Why do you need the full word “Amazon” on the box?
Regards,
Shon