From the Archives – February 28, 2012
The world of the super-pack is upon us, and I don’t mean the political version. I mean the world where you have to buy twos and threes when you only want ones.
For example, I needed a roll of paper for my old-fashioned calculator. You know the kind where you run a tape and you can see your error when the answer doesn’t make sense. One roll of paper lasts me a year or two. But the smallest quantity I could find was a pack of three rolls.
I also wanted one of those flat cardboard boxes you fold into a storage container for various papers you need to keep for posterity. But the smallest quantity I could find was a bundle of four. I didn’t have that much posterity in mind.
It’s the same with red pens. Really, how many does one person need? The pen manufacturer thinks I need five. The file folder manufacturer is positive I need one hundred. It isn’t just with office supplies that I’ve noticed this trend. It’s sneaking into grocery stores and drug stores and convenient marts as well. Even pizza restaurants and donut shops.
Perhaps manufacturers and merchants figure it’s more economical to package things together than individually. Perhaps they would rather have the money for three rolls of paper all at once and wait three or four extra years for me to run out. Perhaps it’s our culture’s mentality of making sure we have enough “stuff.”
Whatever it is, I probably will need those extra cardboard boxes just for storage.
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