Seattle, WA — Amazon.com has added two more companies to its Frustration-Free Packaging effort, expanding the number of products it offers in simple, easy-to-open and recyclable packaging.
Electronics companies Kingston and Monster are the latest to get on board with the initiative. Kingston is now selling memory cards and flash drives (above) in simple flat cardboard envelopes with little more than the product and guides (the company even said it shrunk its guides), and Monster is selling power strips (below) that come packaged in cardboard boxes that need no other packaging for shipping to customers.
"Kingston and Monster are both industry-leading brands and are hugely popular with our customers so it made sense for us to work together," said Sally Fouts, Amazon spokesperson "We've been in talks with both companies for quite some time - so long that I'm not sure who initiated the conversations at this point, but it was a mutual decision between each company and Amazon to have them join the program."
Amazon launched the packaging effort in November 2008 to combat unnecessarily overpackaged goods, especially in light of that fact that since Amazon ships directly to customers, items it sells don't need the theft-deterrent packaging or eye-catching displays needed for in-store packaging.
The company now has more than 70 items listed under its Frustration-Free Packaging heading. Most are electronics - the Amazon Kindle, memory cards, Bluetooth headpieces, mice and flash drives - with a few toys and coffee accessories.
"We have great relationships with the manufacturers and brands we work with so this is one of many things we're talking with our contacts about on a regular basis," Fouts said. "We understand that all manufacturers have different supply and production chain issues to take into account. For some, the process is more seamless and much faster than for others."
In each case, she added, Amazon packaging engineers work with companies to design and test packaging to fit the Frustration-Free criteria.
Just this March, Amazon added a feature that allows customers to rate the packaging they receive, giving feedback on how easy it was to open, if it protected items and if it was too big or too small.
"The customer feedback feature is also really important to us so we do share relevant customer feedback with manufacturers," Fouts said.