Boycotting Memorex?

[trachy]

I don't normally condone public bashing of a company, but today Memorex really chapped my a$$. I picked up a 30-pack of Memorex CD-Rs while I was at OfficeMax, and when I got home this is what I discovered:

http://www.trachy.com/Memorex.jpg

Now, I'll admit that I bought the CD-Rs knowing full well that I was only getting 30 in the package; however, I feel that it's ridiculous they package their product like this, in an obvious attempt to deceive the average consumer.

I know the argument can be made that a lot of manufacturers do this kind of thing (bags of chips are 90% air, etc.), but does anyone else feel this is stepping over the line? Am I just way too AR?

Cheers - Drew

Edited by moderator 10:39 pm est.

[Steven Cedrone]

You could just argue that to save money, they use the same packaging materials for 10, 20, 30, and 50 packs of CD's. As long as you got 30 CD's, I really don't see any problem with this...

Steve

[trachy]

You could just argue that to save money, they use the same packaging materials for 10, 20, 30, and 50 packs of CD's. As long as you got 30 CD's, I really don't see any problem with this...

Steve

Save money? Somehow I doubt that, but your point is taken.

[Janak Parekh]

Save money? Somehow I doubt that, but your point is taken.
Absolutely - only one piece of plastic to be manufactured.

Moreover, the foam acts as a shock absorber. Not a bad thing. ;)

I guess your point is that it makes the consumer think they're getting "more", because it's a larger package -- but honestly, nothing wrong is being done here IMHO, and I wouldn't worry too much about it.

--janak

[Pony99CA]

You could just argue that to save money, they use the same packaging materials for 10, 20, 30, and 50 packs of CD's. As long as you got 30 CD's, I really don't see any problem with this...

I thought the same thing -- they only have to produce one set of packaging. The "30" is displayed in a large font, not fine print. It's not like food products that have the product weight in small print hidden near the bottom of the packaging.

Steve

[trachy]

These are all noble arguments, but while you guys are starting to talk me down from the ledge, I still don't have it in me to think that Memorex is actually saving money by producing one kind of package. If that were the case, BigGrab Doritos would come in one of those 64oz bags and 12oz soda would rattle around in the bottom of a 2 liter bottle.

Materials (not to mention the storage costs) cost money. At some point in time Memorex had to make a conscious decision to see if the marketing ploy justified it.

I feel better already for having vented. :lol:

[Sheynk]

Ok... I see you point, but you have to realize that not only is it cheaper for them to make only one kind of case, it is also free marketing right on the shelf with the size of the package.

[Pony99CA]

These are all noble arguments, but while you guys are starting to talk me down from the ledge, I still don't have it in me to think that Memorex is actually saving money by producing one kind of package. If that were the case, BigGrab Doritos would come in one of those 64oz bags and 12oz soda would rattle around in the bottom of a 2 liter bottle.

Materials (not to mention the storage costs) cost money. At some point in time Memorex had to make a conscious decision to see if the marketing ploy justified it.

Yes, the extra material will cost money, but maybe it's offset by labor costs and time saved. When they switch from producing 50 CD packs to 30 CD packs, they don't have to swap out the plastic shells, saving both time and labor. They also don't need to switch tooling to produce the different shells, which saves more time and money.

I don't know if there's really a net savings, of course, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Steve