Tehe' date=' guys, calm down.Now, it is a poor design, granted, but I highly doubt that UD is aware of the product waste. Despite what you all make think they are wasting more money by having people unknowingly throw out their product and buy a new one than someone actually sawing open the container. Think about it, it simply isn't a ploy. Some normal economics classes have taught me that the cost of PRODUCING a product far outweighs the profit. In fact, profit on a single item can be as low as $0.50 per item, and that's not counting fixed and variable costs.I must disagree. If what you say is true, that producing a product far outweighs the profit, companies would be bankrupt and have no reason to sell their product(s). After all, they aren't going to sell to the public out of the goodness of their heart. They sell for the bottom line.
It's no coincidence that they designed the packaging this way. They are *NOT* wasting more money by having people throw out their product and buy a new one-- they are making tons. If you throw out 1/4th of the product (and I have no idea how much is left compared to how much was used to begin with), however, everyone will be purchasing a new product 25% more often than necessary. Multiply that times the people using it and well, that's a hefty profit from mere "empty" bottles.
It's also no coincidence that companies such as Sony, Nintendo, etc. first come out with black and white consoles (as Nintendo did with the Gameboy years ago) and then "decide" to market a color version. Don't think for a moment they didn't have the technology to roll-out a color version in the beginning; they did. However, if you get a person hooked on a "basic" version of something (black and white Gameboy, for instance), how many of those people are going to want to upgrade and are WILLING to upgrade to the color version when the company rolls it out? MANY. They've just doubled their profits with that one move, than if they would have rolled the color version out to begin with.
Companies are in business to make money. They can say that the customer matters, etc. etc. And, to some degree that is true. However, when the customers' wants start materially affecting a company's bottom line, then the customer matters much, much less than their profit. After all, the companies' profits are what put the food on the table for the employees and put the Harry and Winston diamonds on the hands of the CEO's wives
I don't even use the product (buying some tomorrow, however) BUT I am definitely writing Urban Decay to express my disappointment in their marketing ploys and presuming customers are just plain dumb.
Warmly,
beaglette
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