Gift Giving Guy

Earlier today, I spent an hour removing UPC labels stuck on serving bowls. And not just one tag per bowl. The manufacturer added three other essential stickers: “Made in the Philippines,” “Not dishwasher safe,” and “Hand-crafted from monkey pods.”

Why do companies indelibly tattoo these tags on their products? Several left sticky glue residue on the underside of the bowls. eHow offers six suggestions for removing this sticker gunk. Plus, eHow offers advice for removing labels that involves Q-tips, rubbing alcohol and razor blades. So I need to become MacGyver or a field surgeon to rid these stickers.

That’s just the tags. Some manufacturers humanproof their stuff in hard-plastic clamshell cases, requiring heavy-duty scissors or the Zibra Open It Universal Package Opener to cleave them open. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 6,000 Americans seek medical attention each year trying to pry open these clamshells. Toy manufacturers also contribute to wrap rage with the two dozen plastic twisty ties in their packaging. The reason for imprisoning the gifts you buy: theft prevention.

Thankfully, Amazon.com began a “frustration-free” package initiative in 2008, spanning several years. Amazon’s first easy-to-open product, which I gave my nephew for his birthday, is the Fisher-Price Imaginext Adventures Pirate Ship. Find more frustration-free packaged gifts here. Best of all, Amazon has yet to adhere any stickers to the stuff I’ve ordered.