Just bought a Sirius receiver and I have a complaint

It was a great deal, $149 for the JVC receiver, the wireless car kit and the home docking station. $10/month for 15 months. I was also happy to find that we have a terrestrial repeater near by so I don't have to worry about moving the antenna all over the house for a good signal. Air America arrives on the 19th! :D:D:D

My complaint is also a major pet peeve of mine, and it actually has nothing to do with the product. It's those F*cking industrial strength sealed plastic packages that almost all new electronics come packed in. I had to break out the box cutter to get the three packages open. After the initial cut I still had to rip them open. I now have three deep paper-like cuts on my fingers from the sharp edges of the packaging, one of them drew serious blood. Why do we have to put up with this crap? Is this another instance of retailers considering everyone a potential criminal? All I know is, my fingers hurt and I don't think I should have to suffer nasty cuts on my hands from simply opening a product.

</rant>

If you're referring to those annoying blister packs made out of this stuff, that have the little hole in them for hanging on hooks, then...

* Lighter weight than products in boxes with packing material = money saved
* It's easier for underpaid stock clerks to stock and restock than boxes (you can grab several units and stick them on the hook all at once)
* Manufacturers don't trust retailers to properly display and face their product, this assures that they get to control how their product is presented and as long as the stock clerk can tell the difference between the front and back of the package it'll always be properly faced
* Similarly, the customer can always see exactly what they're getting(*)
* Because the products aren't in boxes, they need more proctection so they use heavier weight plastics

I'm sure there are other reasons, and yeah, theft prevention is probably one of them

(*) (Somewhat) Amusing story: I used to work at Radio Shack during college. Invariably at least two or three times a day a customer would come in, ask about some piece of junk (we're talking Radio Shack here) and decide they don't trust the display model to accurately represent their potential purpose. So I have to leave the sales floor (this always made me nervous because I usually worked alone) and go back into the stock room to haul out a unit that was still in the unopened box, unpack it, set it up, demonstrate it -- so they could see it really worked -- and let the customer run their dirty paws all over it. OK. We're here to help after all. No prob. So, customer decides they're going to shell out their hard earned money on this piece of junk (did I mention this was Radio Shack?) and I then carefully pack everything back up (after figuring out the needlessly complicated packaging that some frustrated Japanese IQ test expert dreamed up), ring up the sale, bag the item and cheerfully hand the proud customer their brand spanking new piece of junk with a big old plastic smile plastered on my face and a hearty 'Thank you for shopping at Radio Shack' while wishing them a horrible death under my breath. The next thing I hear is, "Oh no. I don't want that one. It's been opened. I want a new one." And that is why I hate Radio Shack.

:boring: *tap tap* Hello, is this thing on? :shrug:

I hate those packages too but it's not a problem if you're careful.