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You don’t need to see the toy if the image is posted on a website like the one above. Sure, in a shop it’s a good idea to show the item in question. Who needs all that crappy packaging with numerous twists and screws to encounter before finally getting the damn thing free?
For parents, buying frustration free online, when you have prior knowledge of the product, would be a decent sell. My kids don’t care what box something comes in, they want to play with it.
Why would I buy a toy with that ugly brown wrap that you can’t even see that it’s a toy?
I think you’re missing the point that the plain brown packaging is for people who buy online. The windowed packaging will continue to be used for retail stores.
Actually, I think this is a great idea on their part! We got one of these for my son recently, not in the frustration free packaging and my fingers were raw from all the wires we had to untwist. I think this is really smart PR for them. And they took a risk with branding. I would know exactly what the Fisher Price Imaginext Pirate Ship would look like and would be more likely to buy it (and other toys) if I didn’t have to play Houdini every time I had to un-package a toy. If a toy has a strong enough brand recognition, as most Fisher-Price toys do, then this is brilliant!
Too funny. I’m with you. If you can’t see the toy, how dull.
I can see the toy… it’s sitting right there in front of the box.
I agree that you don’t really need to see the product. You’ve already bought it, so you must like it right? I personally like the idea if it saves me from untying a thousand twist ties that hold the product in.
I have to agree with most of the other posters.
Why waste resources on fancy packaging for items shipped from Amazon; even for kids toys. If you want that aw ha moment, then maybe they could put a cellophane cover under the box and perforate it so you can lift the front off, then open it. To me that defeats the beauty of reduced packaging and produce responsibility.
For Amazon it should be a huge boon to their bottom line once they get enough products converted. No need to over-box; ship in the original container. If the boxes are mostly standard sizes, then packing multiples together is also a win. Manufacturers can save as well by not printing up costly packaging when it’s not crucial to an electronic sale.
For us, we get boxes that are most likely reusable instead of instant trash. Maybe we’ll get improved saving passed on to us over time.
Overall, I think it’s a huge PR win showing that Amazon is innovative, respectful of limited resources, and not afraid to shake things up.
I love it. I remember when my daughter turned one that it took 6 adults over an hour to unpackage the toys she got. Though I do wish they had a better picture on the front of the box.
For me it’s all about the experience of the kid receiving the toy.
What about those lost moments between the second the kid see’s the toy until the moment they get it into their hands! That’s the face that makes it all worth it.
My opinion…
I think it’s a great idea for someone like Amazon – in fact I think they should try to expand it to as many of their products as possible. It would show their commitment to green packaging, and reduce prices to boot!
I’d like to see it focused on the cosmetic industry, surely the most ridiculous packaging ever! But maybe that’s just, er, me… :-\
I think I have to agree with Jessica here. Anyone who is buying the toy on Amazon already knows what it looks like. Leave the fancy packaging for brick and mortar stores, give us a more environmentally friendly option, and I will gladly leave the wire cutters in the drawer on Christmas morning!
Thanks for a thought-provoking post!
I dunno Vicky — I see your point, but I kinda dig that “green” packaging. The worst kind of packaging is the clamshell molded wraps… god I hate wrestling with those!
What about when you are buying stuff as a gift?
Kind of a let down for a 4 year old to open a colorfully wrapped brown box. Particularly when they don’t tend to take the gift out the box at the party.
Not a gamble grandma who has waited excitedly to see the look of joy on her grand kids face wants to take. Perhaps it is about changing expectations.
I like the idea, not the execution.
I agree with Jessica and the others.
When I order from Amazon, I know what the toy looks like. If giving it as a gift, the child will know when they open it.
After two kids and many sore fingers opening those horrid wired toy boxes, I vote for the plain box. More eco-friendly too.
As a guy who had to unbox a stupid barbie toy yesterday, I agree with the simplistic packaging. Maybe they could put a picture of the toy on the box, but otherwise “who cares?”.
I hate twist ties and other fancy locks that leave my daughters sitting there waiting and begging for me to get the toy out. I don’t think they give one hoot about the pretty packaging, as it ends up in the trash in like 5 seconds after the toy is remove.
Who remembers the candy wrapper after you eat the candy?
As a parent of 3 kids ages 4 and under, you have no idea how frustrating it is on a birthday to open, and I use that term loosely, all the toy boxes the kids get. They don’t understand why it can’t be opened as soon as the wrapping is off. I still can see myself there twisting those awful twist ties. Even at Christmas time, we open up all the toys the night before and remove them from the boxes and it takes forever. It would be even worse on Christmas morning. As for kids opening a present, all they have to do is open the brown box and yeah! it is already to go. No more, “Mommy, Please open the toy, Mommy, are you done yet??”….lol. I, for one, thank Amazon for doing this. So, Thank you, Amazon. I look forward to my Amazon Brown Box arriving from the Big Brown Truck this Holiday season.
I think Amazon is smart in one respect, it get’s it’s name on every package.
I’m with Jessica – if I don’t know what the toy looks like, Amazon can either show it like they did above (with the toy in front of the box) or I could click over and find it on the fisher price website…
My daughter and I both get frustrated with packaging for kids toys – she wants the toy out faster than I can get it, and I always feel like I’m about to slit a wrist with the sealed plastic or work my fingers raw with all the twist ties.
I love it! I hate hate hate retail packaging. Opening Barbie’s and WonderPets toys last week made me batty. This concept is much more environmentally friendly. Brown paper boxes are easily recycled. No little plastic ties to fuss with. Amazon FTW!!!!
I agree with all those who said how cares what the packing looks like as long as I can get the toy out. A screaming kid who wants their toy (screaming in frustration)is the worst.
Amazon isn’t a brick and mortar store. Its an online store. So why do they need to spend money on expensive packaging? You already know what the product is. So they simply ship it out to you.
Am I wrong in this thinking? Am I missing something?
Gotta come down on the side of Amazon on this one, because there is nothing worse than having a 3 or 4 year old who is completely overwhelmed with excitement about a new toy one minute–then completely in tears because they want to play with it NOW, and it’s going to take Mom, Dad, and their buddy Mr. Utility Tool ten minutes at least to get it out of the box.
Let the box become another layer of wrapping, I say, and let the kids get excited when they pull out the actual, “You can play with it RIGHT NOW” toy.
I think this is absolutely brilliant! Thank you for letting me know about it even though I completely disagree with you.
I hate the children’s toy packaging and bow to any company who makes it more sustainable & making more sense. (easier to open, no more twisting, cutting & using tools to get the product out – I have three kids, and Christmas mornings are toy-package-opening-hell for us)
The product is sold online, there is no need to have a hands on experience with the toy before purchasing.
Way to go Amazon!
I once worked for a manufacturer years ago whose packaging was exactly like Amazon’s “frustration-free” packaging. The reason for it was simple: Cost.
It’s a lot cheaper to package your product in a standard brown box with basic one-color printing than having to purchase/produce a full color custom package for every product.
In the case of Amazon – whose products don’t have to compete for attention in a huge retail environment whose shelves are stacked with tens of thousands of pretty product packaging – choosing to go with ‘brown box’ packaging is a way to save costs.
This can be translated into a) cheaper prices (making their price-point more competitive = increased sales volume) and/or b) increase profits (greater yield per sale).
Also:
Brown packaging reduces waste – One box serves as the product package AND shipping package.
Brown packaging protects the product better than cutout retail packaging.
There is absolutely no reason why Amazon shouldn’t do this – except perhaps if the product, especially a toy, is intended to be a birthday or Christmas gift. (Packaging matters a bit more there.)
Calling it “Frustration-free” packaging may be a little short-sighted. Perhaps if Amazon had instead gone with an “environmentally conscious” packaging idea, or told the story of how it intends to cut waste, save trees and be more environmentally responsible on their packaging and website, they could turn a purely financial decision into a PR coup in their favor.
Somebody missed the boat there for sure.
I think this Frustration Free Packaging is a GREAT idea and I would absolutley buy it on Amazon vs the store just for this reason! I cringe at Xmas when I have to open a ridiculously complicated package and I have a screaming 4 year old next to me who can’t seem to get to the toy fast enough. Obviously, if there is a picture of it online, who cares about the box?
Maybe the plain brown box will create more suspense for the kiddo who’s opening the gift. Makes it easier to wrap, too. I hate trying to wrap gifts that are part plastic, part cardboard, and mostly odd-shaped.
Amazon’s move is a definite plus for us parents who constantly injure ourselves (and feel like injuring the packaging people) when attempting to hacksaw through the ties, ropes, rubber bands, and industrial-strength, vacuum-sealed plastic these toys come sealed in.
The packaging on most toys should contain warning labels!
Laura Christianson
co-founder, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com
From my own unique perspective, the frustration free packaging can literally be just that for kids with disabilities. Physical limitations can make it impossible to pry toys from those packages and imagine your urgency if your favorite treat was behind a plexiglass wall–JUUUST out of your reach! LOL! My parents always took a few toys out of packages anyways for Christmas day so this works for that too. I’m all for pretty packaging but I like options too.
Are you freaking kidding me? I would buy any toy packaged like that for this holiday season. Sounds like Vicky H doesn’t have chidren and/or has never had the affliction of having to endure the torturous unboxing of toys on Christams morning for example. Good grief, my hands and patience hurt after about the third toy. (What is it with those plastic coated wires twisted everywhere??) The children know what they want and you can see the item online. The sale has been made, what the hell do I need the clear plastic for? BRAVO Amazon. I am WAAAY more likely to buy from them. BRAVO!!!
[...] a genius. They deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. I also have to give a shout out to 37 Signals and Remarkable Parents for letting me know about [...]
How many times have you passed over buying a pair of shoes because they came in a graphics free, dull little shoe box? Not many I assume since you can check out the shoe, try it on, etc. The same is true for the web, only the experience of checking out the product is virtual. The package doesn’t need to sell you, the images, description, and reviews on the website do.
In regards to the gifting concern: If I were a kid, I’d much rather unwrap a gift and find a brown package… that I can then easily open – instead of a fancy package that requires the parents to hack open with a scissors, undo all the little twist ties, etc.
I say congrats to Amazon for thinking outside the box (or inside the box as the case may be) and not trapping their thinking around a historical brick and morter shopping experience.
Look at how plain the box is, kids can’t read…
They’d go “What did I get for Christmas Mom? Huh, what’s that? What’s in my brown box, huh Mom?”
I think this is brilliant. Kudos to Amazon for making it very easy for me to make the right decision and reduce and simplify.
i love this idea – easier to open and I bet less damage in transit too. In a B&M store, i want to see and touch the toy (i want my kid to play with it, instead of screaming, while i push them around the store) but when ordering offline that is no longer a concern for me.
I agree with a lot of the comments, this is for online shoppers so they already see the image of the toy when they are shopping for it. It wouldn’t work in a bricks and mortar store but as an online shop it works just fine. I hate those packages that have all the ties and plastic so I think Amazon is right on.
Good move! Have you seen some of the plastic packaging these days? It’s a pain to yank them open.
Are you kidding me? Do you know how many plastic paper cuts and blisters from untwisting the dozens, (yes dozens of wire devices designed to keep the toy perched beautifully upon it’s plastic and cardboard stage) I get every birthday, christening, christmas, etc. event for each of my kids. It’s enough to send me to the consignment store for used toys. This move is brilliant and good for the environment.
I personally like the idea of the ‘frustration-free package’. Although, not sure if it’s necessary here. I see a novelty in toy packaging like the one in your picture.
The example I’ve seen FFP used for though is on tiny memory cards that are packaged within that hard plastic that you need industrial strength scissors to cut through. Fantastic idea to save the hassle and ‘green’ up a bit.
From previous comment – in response to: “They’d go “What did I get for Christmas Mom? Huh, what’s that? What’s in my brown box, huh Mom?”
I’d say “open the box and find our sport”.
If there is any negative to this: I’d say it just takes away the last chance the manufacturer has to display their brand (in this case, the white Fisher Price font on a red background) along side the product. Thus, the subconscious association of the brand with the excitement of getting the toy may no longer occur. So, if there is a problem worth noting, it’s not that they may not buy the toy or that a child will be depressed somehow when they see a plain brown package – there just might be a missed opportunity to strengthen the brand with positive association – unless your brand colors happen to be black and brown that is
If Amazon were a brick & mortar store, I’d agree. But as a parent who has spent many hours ‘de-packagifying’ toys that are wired, taped, stapled, and plastic-tagged within an inch of their life to ensure that they stay perfectly displayable despite shipping?
Yay!! Yay Amazon!! Definitely buying the easy-open toy. I know what it looks like on the website. When it comes out? My daughter will be ecstatic that it didn’t take 30 minutes to wrangle out of the box!
I think the blogger missed the point completely. Never would Amazon show a photograph of a box instead of the actual product. The hassle free packaging only happens for when the product is shipped to the customer in an Amazon box.
If anything, this is great PR because it highlights that Amazon is trying to eliminate and reduce waste in its packaging process. If Amazon continues down this path, it will be perceived as an environmentally friendly company. That can only bring more positive association from customers, potential new hires, etc.
Plus customers get to open their products without having to pull out the ol’ samurai sword.
This was just a smart, practical move to provide more convenience to customers while gaining a few points in the PR department for cutting waste.
Packaging is for people who buy products offline, only online purchases have no need for visual packaging as it would just end up going into another shipping box and then into the trash once received by the buyer, so the use of a simple craft box for Amazon purchases is a very, very smart move. In terms of cost effectiveness, ease of inventory, ease of opening, and yes for environmental reasons as well.
Packaging has to communicate the content and the promise of that product to the buyer, this should grab your attention as well in an ocean of toy packaging placed in a store isle. Color, shape, die-cuts, windows, fonts, etc, all of these things serve absolutely only one function, and that one function is to attract your eye.
All of this evolved over decades before the internet, with the advent of the internet the buyer is attracted by the product and not the packaging, as this would make no sense.
Form follows function, as is the case with Amazon’s packaging move.
Regards,
-Tony M.
Print & package designer.
San Diego , CA
Why not add a freepost to the box so you take the toy out and post the packaging back to be reused, or have a guarantee it will be recycled in the proper way.