I was intrigued by this idea, but I wouldn’t send one off without adding tape to make it harder to open. Andy and I have visions of someone/something pushing down on the top in shipping and the contents falling out. What a mess if all boxes did that!
What do you think?
January 9, 2014
I’ve heard of items being stolen from Amazon parcels because they only have little flaps at each end which can easily be pulled out. So yes, a bit of extra tape is probably a wise precaution.
I’ve seen this video before. If all the customer has to do is push down for it to come open, how to they expect it to always survive the bumps, smashes and twists of shipping?
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/12/20/exclusive-ups-workers-caught-on-video-handling-holiday-packages-without-care/
Nick,
Fortunately here the Amazon packages are well sealed, so that’s not a problem. When we send things we always use a lot of tape. And the fellow who sent that record set (the 78 rpm A Christmas Carol) from eBay outdid us. It was a bear to open, but it arrived safely. He used cardboard from an old box with plenty of bubble wrap and tape. I laughed when I struggled with it because he was a man after our own heart.
Mike,
Great link. Thanks! We’re not surprised because they’re under a lot of pressure during the best of times. We’re had good luck with UPS here. Occasionally they’ll toss a light package up to our second-story porch, but it’s very rare that things are damaged in transit.
I’m especially impressed because I ordered a new Apple Airport Time Capsule yesterday just before noon and it got here today just before noon with one-day shipping. My old one stopped working yesterday morning, and I needed it as soon as possible.
i agree with nick and mike AND you.
but i am so proud of these young men. it’s minds like theirs that will eventually make this a better world. like they said… it would save millions of trees. and i’m always all for saving the trees. BUT . . .
maybe they’ve never gotten a package in the mail that looks like the truck has run over it! LOL.
think there might be some glitches that need to be worked out.
My guess is they will have trouble getting funding unless they make some changes. But I agree, they are thinking and that’s encouraging.
This new box will never fly because each company (think of Amazon) has way too many sizes needed. It can’t be standard-ized. ( Jean told me this [sort of] on the phone. She could have said it better.)
I can’t imagine a company would want to use a form like the one the fellows propose if the boxes were of different sizes. I think the Amazon boxes are well thought out, even though sometimes the only box that will fit is too large for the object. I just opened an Amazon box to it’s original configuration, and it was easy to put together. It wasn’t even that hard to turn it inside out so there was no marking on the outside.
Again I like the fact that the fellows are trying to think — it certainly raised my consciousness about how boxes are made. Fun stuff.
Like you I’d add tape. I think it is a classic case of the inventor being fascinated by their gadget and not thinking about how it might be used.
They are quite young.
There are a lot of end uses where such boxes can perform the job without causing problems to the recipient or to the shipper during transit. Things like pizzas and take away food come to mind.