Wasteful Packaging

I was talking to someone a little while ago about wasteful packaging. It appears to be even worse than I imagined.

I recently ordered a DeWalt D26453K random orbit sander, the one with that comes with the big, black, plastic case containing the sander and absolutely nothing else. Cost? $103.99. From the same company, I also priced the D26453 sander without the case. Cost? $114.99. Explain that to me?

With marketing like that, it's no wonder we're being inundated with garbage. Future societies, if they do eventually come to exist, will certainly look on us as the garbage generations. I also predict that future space exploration will spend a good deal of it's time transporting garbage to dead planets or shooting garbage into suns for disposal. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a true method of matter/energy conversion.

Reply to
Upscale
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I totally support throwing garbage into volcanos.

Reply to
Robatoy

Wouldn't that put up ash, the same as burning stuff now?

Reply to
Upscale

Pretty straight forward, theft and volume.

The oversize packaging helps to thwart retail theft, therefore increased cost of packaging is offset by reduction in theft.

Since most of the sales are of product are with packaging, providing a product for sale without packaging represents a special which translates into lower volume, thus higher cost.

Higher sales price will also make the special "go away".

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

I guess that makes sense, but it sure seems screwed up. In any event, the sander case is doing duty for a kid who now proudly gets to display his new DeWalt lunch box.

Reply to
Upscale

I saw a news item that Amazon is to start offering various products with minimal and bio-degradable packaging. No retail stores so no problems with shoplifting. John

Reply to
John Siegel

Kreg Mini..

Kit is the jig, drill bit, stop collar.

Retail £14.95

replacement drill bit £15.99 (no collar) replacement collar £2.99

Explain, please, someone?

Reply to
Bored Borg

Buy the kit and give the old jig to some worthy soul.

"The first one is free..." only /sounds/ familiar :)

Reply to
Morris Dovey

Many of these situations can be explained by the fact that the cost of the packaging materials and labor to make the package is worth more that the item being packaged. I have gone through the local hardware store and found many items where this is true.

One way to check the cost of packaging is to look at an items where the package is essentially the same, and compare the cost of several sizes. One example I found was the cork pads to put on chairs so they don't damage the hardwood floors. You could buy packages of 4, 8, 12, and 16 piece. The cost was $2.20 $2.40 $2.60, and $2.80 projecting the cost back through zero the cost of the packaging was about $2.00, and the item was about a $0.05/piece.

If you look you can find many examples of this.

Reply to
Keith nuttle

Trash to energy plants. Not a perfect solution, but sure helps.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I'm guessing pricing has a lot more to do with supply and demand and many other marketing factors than the actual price of the materials in the product/package.

I've seen the same package of "stuff" in several different home stores for roughly the same price. The same identical package of "stuff' will be at several different craft stores for a different price. The only difference (when there is any) is the printing on the cardboard insert. Maybe a different font or coloring, to appeal to frumpy middle aged woman, rather than macho middle aged men.

The bean counters have figured out the market value of the "stuff" to that particular market and demographic and they price it for maximum profit.

Reply to
-MIKE-

Word that will place a premium price on any item are to call it Scientific, (or a variation), Marine, or Organic.

Reply to
Keith nuttle

... snip

Add to that, "Green"

Reply to
Mark & Juanita

We live in a world of very cheap RFID...

Large packaging is no longer an excuse.

Reply to
B A R R Y

Helps in reducing trash but compared to conventional plants they're expensive to run, especially if they also have to be clean.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Or any word that suggests that it is for us on aircraft.

Reply to
J. Clarke

They might have figured out that anybody who buys the kit is likely to buy additional bits later and thus it's profitable to sell the bits for more. Who is going to toss the jig just because they lost or broke the bit?

Reply to
DGDevin

As PT Barnum is credited with saying, "there is a sucker born every minute."

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

You are NOT kidding!

I pay $50 for a wheelbarrow inner tube!

Reply to
B A R R Y

Sorry. Barnum was way off. It's more like 5,000 a second.

Reply to
Charlie Self

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