August 23, 2009

I am not Nature Boy - but..

... even I see this as packaging over kill.












In the front is the pump. The little black thing. That part matters.

The rest is what came with it. Those parts don't matter so much.

In the middle are all the manuals, cables, ezManager program disk and stuff I don't expect the boy will ever use. Most of this will all be stuck on a shelf in case we change our minds and feel the need to reference or otherwise use it.

On the left hand side there is a box with two sets. One each of the two styles of inset sets. This box is twice the size as a box of ten sets. Two sets in the space of 20. Inspired packaging.

In this kid's particular case, "I don't expect the boy will ever use" includes the One Touch Ping meter / remote. Being a boy and having a male wardrobe I don't see him feeling the need to hide the pump. Pants have front pockets and there is where his pump lives. He doesn't have much call for a remote. I checked the case the meter came with. I was looking to see if it said "Goodyear" on the side. I am not saying it is big. I am just saying I figure if I filled it with helium it would be able to fly cameras over football games in the fall.

YDMV. I do think there are those who will make great use of the remote. Our daughter being one. When she can stash the pump and use a remote she, having a female wardrobe, will have more dress options. Specifically more dresses. I also can see parents of toddlers being huge fans. Lock the pump. Deliver via remote control.

All that stuff in the back of the picture? That is packaging. Lots and lots of packaging. It seems almost laughably excessive, except that we are paying for that excess upfront in the purchase price and out the door as trash or recycling to be picked up at the curb.

This could have all fit in a a box 1/4 the size. Even if this is a big box it is a small thing. I guess I can ad this to the list of things that J&J does that make no sense to me at all. It's a long list. It is kind of thing I Should Shut Up about because it isn't all that important in the Diabetes Big Picture but then again maybe little stuff matters too.

5 comments :

  1. I'm with ya. I love my ping but the packaging.....still sitting on my table. I've yet to figure out the best way to recycle.

    What a waste. Sad.

    Hope it works well for the boy.

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  2. We also love our Ping. With a three-year-old diabetic, the remote is like a little miracle.

    I wonder if the packaging is some sort of psychological thing... we paid so much (and worked so hard with our insurance) to get this thing, perhaps the company thinks that we need it to feel 'substantial' when it arrives?

    I must admit... it did feel a bit like Christmas when we opened it up, so maybe there's something to that.

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  3. "I wonder if the packaging is some sort of psychological thing... it did feel a bit like Christmas when we opened it up, so maybe there's something to that."

    Maybe and wonder no more. You are talking about the "out of box experiance."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-Of-Box_Experience

    Saddly this apparently doesn't consider the amount of cardboard used to create the "experiance."

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  4. I just got my ping a week ago and the packaging was TOTALLY different. It also didn't come with as many of the "extras" either...

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  5. Extras? Most of our extras were packing. Glad yours traveled light.

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