CD cases come wrapped in thin plastic. I don’t have long nails, so I had to dig my keys out and use one to start a tear. Whew! Got the plastic off.
Why not design it like the plastic wrapping on a pack of cigarettes? The thin pull tab makes it easy to begin removal.
Anyway, I got the plastic wrapper off the CD case, but…
I still couldn’t open it. Another seal remained to be broken. CD cases also have an adhesive strip that folds across one side along the top.
I picked & pulled at the strip, but it didn’t come off in one convenient shoosh. Noooooo!!! Only a portion came off, so more effort was necessary to remove the rest.
Sigh… Why is this strip such a bitch to remove?
And, why is it there to begin with?
Isn’t the thin plastic covering enough?
I do believe it is a theft prevention device. If you can open the package in a flash, you can pocket the disk and leave the jewel box (w/ it’s anti-shoplifting sticker) back on the shelf.
many cds have a tear strip…it’s usually located around 4/5ths of the way down on the packaging, going all round the jewel case.
you can buy little openers (or get them free from conventions, like i do). basically it has a molded channel (it’s plastic, bout half the size of a pack of smokes) with a small razor at the top. you run this across the top of the jewel case, it cuts the celophane and the plastic strip on top. wal-mart sells them, and probably most music stores. i’ve seen them for cassettes too. usually behind the counter or with the packages of empty jewel cases and VHS cases.
the plastic sticker on top can be defeated if you take the front cover’s hinges out of the holes in the spine. flip the cover up, from bottom to top, and bam! you can ease the lid away from the back of the jewel case and usually the plastic sticker comes off in one piece.
I believe one reason for the strip on top is to prove it’s authenticity, it’s officialness. To make sure it’s not pirated or a copy someone made and their trying to sell it to you.
The cellophane wrapping and hard-to-get-off-in-one-piece tearstrip are there to keep you from buying the CD, opening it, copying it, and returning the disc. The cellophane stops the casual pirater; the tape, though not impossible to defeat, gives them a chance to catch the more determined cheapskate.
I’ve known at least one person to invest in a shrinkwrapper to buy software, pirate it, and reseal it for return; it’s not uncommon amoung determenedly dishonest people.
Once again I must extole the virtue of the cellophane packaging on CD’s. As a former store detective, it was music to my ears to hear the subtle “crinkle” noise of a CD wrapper being removed.
Not only did it clue me in that someone was about to take some of my merchandise, but it also helped prove intent to steal when I had to go to court. If a thief just threw the cd (wrapper and all) into their coat, they could say that they were planning on buying it later, and just forgot as they left the store. But removing the wrapping could be shown as an attempt to defeat the security tags that all our CD’s had on them.
Those little CD packaging openers were one of the bane of my job. Kids would take the blades out and glue them to their fingernails, keeping it palmed in their hand to make it harder for us to detect them. They were pretty slick, just one quick pass of their hand and the packaging would be open, and the disc on its way out my door.
The CD jewel case itself must be the outright crappiest piece of modern packaging design I’ve had the agony of stumbling across. They break, they crack–I’ve even had parts snap as I FIRST opened the CD.
The cellophane, for me, is just the opening sequence in a long episode of frustration.