Like the hordes of people who’ve been cut, sliced and hopefully not maimed by clamshell packages, I too have had the unfortunate experience (again) of dealing with clamshell packages. And I’ve got scars from the war too.
Clamshell Packages
“A decade ago, as toys and consumer electronics items grew more complex, retailers decided they needed to attract shoppers by showing off items on shelves in clear plastic, instead of opaque boxes.
To do so while protecting the items, they decided to seal the hinges of containers with tough epoxy that would resist shoplifting, or what retailers call “shrinkage.”
Gawd, i hate clamshell packages. bow.
- because i don’t like the long period of cutting, trying to figure out how to open the damn thing before getting my item. I’m all for instant gratification…
- because by the time i figure out how to open it, I’ve already cut myself – normally a masochist like me would like that but this time, it’s so not goood!!
- because those nice little items you use to open clamshell packages in the US, we don’t have here in manila!!! waaaa!
- once you cut the plastic, the edges are all sharp and will definitely cut you. again. cuts. not. enjoying. it.
I’m sure the merchants out there who are inspired enough to put their items on clamshell packages have great and valid reasons to use it, but can’t you please… try to open one yourself before you start selling it to us!?!?!?
I had to deal with a clamshell package when I bought a car lock from blaze. I’m going on a trip this holy week and will be leaving the car in unfamiliar territory so it doesn’t hurt to be extra safe. After all, my darling Viktor will be all alone.
I initially wanted this:
but I couldn’t find one at Ace Festival, nor Blaze and I was too lazy to walk all the way to the hardware store in Robinsons which is south of where I was at that time. My brother recommended something called Bulldog, which resembled a baseball bat but couldn’t find one as well.
So first, I bought the steering wheel – pedal lock at ace for P329. Pretty cheap eh? However, it didn’t work as my brakes or my steering wheel were too far apart, it didn’t lock. HeH. Money down the drain? No, I returned the item the next day at Ace and I had it exchanged for other items (side note: when you’re really looking for something, everything else seems meaningless – I had 329 to spend at Ace, and it took me 45 minutes to get several items…weird) 
So anyway, that didn’t work right. My stubborn self went to Blaze and I bought the one that not only gave me cuts and slices, but somehow, I wasn’t convinced it would work.
For P399, the steering wheel lock clamps on your steering wheel (duh), and the long bar should hit your dashboard, preventing any movements of the wheel or if there are any movements, it would prevent the carnapper from taking your car too far since you couldn’t fully turn the wheel.
I managed to install the thing, it had 2 keys (one on my car keys, the other I’ll.. swallow hhahah), and this little plastic thing to make the locking mechanism a bit tighter (depends on the width of your steering wheel). We’ll see if it works in the next few weeks (no, I am not asking anyone to make an attempt to remove it… !)
So there goes my adventure with clamshell packages and car locks. What a precursor to holy week.
I work in the Lost & Found Dept of the web :) Pescetarian for more than a 200 days now. Loves dogs. and shoes. and ok maybe make-up(i'm just a girl, after all..) 2011= 20eleVEN.