Why do video cards come in a giant box?

[Jhill]

I just opened my PNY geforce 3 ti 200 and about 25% of the box was used. The card and manuel could of fitted in a box about 1/4 of the size. The videocard and the manuel were in a little compartment at the very top of the box and the rest was completly empty. Why do companies package cards this way?

 

[gsaldivar]

Theft prevention.

 

[Kerle]

And marketing; it helps people part with $300 easier if they get to take a big box out of the store.

 

[Elledan]

Looks.

And giving the idea that it's actually worth it to spend $500 on

 

[theplanb]

Softwares aren't even tangible asset..and they come in huge box.. seems kind of..well..waste..really..

 

[ElFenix]

i think EA stuff comes in smaller boxes now.


you ever seen the "white box" stuff? those are small boxes. razor thin margins on outdated computer equipment. sometimes don't even say which graphics chip is on the card.

 

[flavio]

Wasteful packaging drives me nuts

 

[SocrPlyr]

i would assume for several reasons...
1. protection, stores and shipping companies aren't always kind to boxes(although we probably wouldn't wanna buy a damaged box, but the card is still probably safe...)
2. marketing, more shelf space the more it is seen and the more likely you are to buy
3. theft prevention (as mentioned before), bigger box, harder to sneak out, esp for high ticket items like these cards

probably more but those are what i could think of...

Josh

 

[AndyHui]

Marketing.

They need to fit all the cool looking pictures, jargon laden catch phrases, important sounding specs and meaningless graphs onto the box.

 

[bacillus]

<< Why do video cards come in a giant box? >>


maybe the packers have very big hands!

 

[Shalmanese]

OEM boxes come in much smaller packaging, the retail boxes are just for marketing.

 

[unclebud]

to protect the contents. hard drives, memory, monitors, printers... they all have oversized packaging.

 

[flavio]

<< to protect the contents. hard drives, memory, monitors, printers... they all have oversized packaging. >>




Bah....you don't need a two foot long box to protect a videocard. A well designed 6" box with the appropriate packing would do just fine. For example the last time I bought a stick of ram, it came in small plastic see-through packaging which protested it just fine.

 

[RSMemphis]

I remember buying a 512k memory extension for an Amiga 500, and my mother was surprised that this little thing (about 4-5 times the size of a current DIMM) cost $100...

Hee hee, those were the days.

I agree, people like getting big boxes for their money.

 

[Jen]

its all for marketing...........give the consumers a big package with a very nice picture on top. same with software has anyone noticed how big the box's are on them as well. i mean its only a cd and sometimes a manual




Jen

 

[insdav3]

Because it makes it SEXY hehe (geforce3) *boooooinnnnngggg*

 

[farscape]

Testosterone!!!

Possibly they think that implied size means everything. You open the box and 'its how you use it'!

 

[Pariah]

Psychologically, if my brand new $300 video card came wrapped in a paper towel, and packaged in a ziplock bag I'd feel ripped off. The big pretty box does make you feel like you're getting more.

 

[Innoka]

ib]"Why do video cards come in a giant box?"[/b]
Excuse me, I paid a lot for my videocard, I deserve a giant box.

 

[MoFunk]

Because waste is good and I hate tree's! :Q

 

[kjacobs]

It's an idea promoted by former software marketing folks!

 

[lorlabnew]

Looks better on the store shelf in big colorful box; btw do you like your new PNY Verto? Have the same card since November '01 or so, and have no problems with it... also, the card came with lifetime warranty

 

[Lord Evermore]

They could easily make them come in smaller boxes, vid cards and everything else. But nobody will ever be the first one to do it (at least none of the big names). Cuz then their boxes are smaller than others, so people see them on the shelf only after seeing the big box, which means a lot of people might not notice them at all or think it's some other product, couldn't possibly be a graphics card in that small box. And if everyone has big boxes, then it means stores can carry fewer kinds in the same space, which means they have to compete harder to be given the privilege of being sold at that store.