Comments for Circuit City's AA Battery Packaging Is Remarkably Sturdy

Circuit City's AA Battery Packaging Is Remarkably Sturdy

2008-03-13T20:48:18Z

Reader Dave has an issue with Circuit City's battery packaging.

I ordered some batteries on sale from Circuit City, recently. When they arrived, the package made insane amounts of noise. I opened it up and found that the packages were basically destroyed and dozens and dozens of batteries were loose. For some reason, there's something really disquieting about having a box full of loose batteries come in the mail - maybe it's the low-toned clacking sound they make?

Yikes. It's like AA battery confetti in there.

Comment from RipTheJacker on 2008-03-14

2008-03-14T14:43:37Z

I used to work at CCity. Here are some fun facts.
1. All Nexxtech products have poor packaging. All of them.
2. That is because, Nexxtech is made by CCity.

Nexxtech, Verge, and Element are made by CCity. Just hope to God you have not bought an Element TV yet... if you have, good luck.

Never shop at CCity. In store, or online.

Comment from timsgm1418 on 2008-03-14

2008-03-14T07:01:51Z

actually I think a lot of posts did disappear. I posted a comment around 3 or so and it's gone@ribex:

Comment from timsgm1418 on 2008-03-14

2008-03-14T06:58:35Z

thank you for explaining, I really couldn't understand buying them on-line, but that makes sense@erica.blog:

Comment from bdslack on 2008-03-14

2008-03-14T06:54:28Z

Riveting - I don't know how i will get to sleep tonight.

P.S. Rechargeable

Comment from AlphaTeam on 2008-03-13

2008-03-14T04:12:28Z

@midwestkel: Why should we be asking that? I go to Costco and I buy 2 packs of 48 batteries each. I don't think anyone wonders why other than maybe I need them?

Comment from Redwraithvienna on 2008-03-13

2008-03-14T03:49:53Z

@midwestkel: maybe he is going on a long trip abroad and doenst want his wife to be lonley ?

Comment from midwestkel on 2008-03-13

2008-03-14T03:15:24Z

We should really be asking ourselves why he has this many batteries?

Comment from special4k4 on 2008-03-13

2008-03-14T02:34:11Z

@erica.blog: Admittedly it wouldn't be as big of a concern with AA or AAA batteries, but a similar packaging problem with 9V batteries would be a serious issue.

However, as a simple protective measure, I always store my batteries in parallel with like polarities facing the same direction to avoid any potential issues.

Comment from erica.blog on 2008-03-13

2008-03-14T01:32:08Z

@greensmurf: Yes, with batteries plus loose metal objects like that, you'd have a chance to form a circuit. But with only batteries, I don't see how they're going to line up properly.

Comment from greensmurf on 2008-03-13

2008-03-14T01:21:00Z

here is something to consider, if you have a pocket full of change say two dollars in quarters, and you put batteries in the same pocket you can have a very hot experience I did that once and by the time I felt the heat it was burning my leg. Thank God the batteries didnt explode because they got as hot as scalding water. Good thing my pockets were not close to my nuts because they might have been cooked...

Comment from strife1012 on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T23:45:27Z

I work at Circuit City, seriously, these packages suck horribly. I have opened totes that came off of the truck, to find 10 of the 48 packages open and all over the place, we just set those aside. Who wants to buy these batteries anyways??

Nexxtech for life!!!

Comment from ribex on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T23:43:08Z

@ribex: Oops, sorry. Browser was being wonky I guess. After I had posted all the comments totally disappeared. Sorry for the double post.

Comment from ribex on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T23:41:51Z

What's with the disappearing comments after posting?

Comment from ribex on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T23:40:45Z

@chrisjames: Macy's is notorious for its beyond terrible packing. My mother tried to order something like 8 pasta bowls on someone's registry. I think they were stoneware. They shipped them "naked" with only pieces of paper between them, and the box wasn't snug enough to even hold them side to side which might have marginally helped. I think the first order she got 6 broken, 2 unbroken. They reshipped the second order of 6, and 5 were broken. Third time, 3 were broken. Fourth time, finally got to complete the set of 8. The good news was that she didn't incur any extra charges, but the bad news was that she nearly didn't have a gift for the bride even though she originally ordered several months in advance. It was ridiculous.

Comment from ribex on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T23:40:16Z

Macy's is notorious for its beyond terrible packing. My mother tried to order something like 8 pasta bowls on someone's registry. I think they were stoneware. They shipped them "naked" with only pieces of paper between them, and the box wasn't snug enough to even hold them side to side which might have marginally helped. I think the first order she got 6 broken, 2 unbroken. They reshipped the second order of 6, and 5 were broken. Third time, 3 were broken. Fourth time, finally got to complete the set of 8. The good news was that she didn't incur any extra charges, but the bad news was that she nearly didn't have a gift for the bride even though she originally ordered several months in advance. It was ridiculous.

Comment from IrisMR on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T23:40:01Z

I guess they figured out an easy way to get rid of broken packages they can't sell in the store.

Comment from chrisjames on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T23:19:08Z

What's with the shoddy packaging trend lately? My wife and I received some wine glasses from our Macy's wedding registry, and they were chipped and shattered. Why? Because they were all packaged together in one box, with nothing but a single wrapping of thin paper around each glass. We went through two more replacements (more chips) until finally getting some good ones. I've been reading more and more stories like this in the last few years. Can't we just have some god damned styrofoam peanuts?

Comment from Moosehawk on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T22:57:54Z

Couldn't this be a little unsafe? I'm not a battery expert by no means, but if one of them is dented isn't battery acid considered kind of toxic?

Comment from satoru on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T22:43:47Z

Sort of ironically the easy of the package opening is in such sharp contrast to the vitriol we give to those impossible to open clamshells.

Comment from MeMikeYouNot on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T22:33:59Z

I guess I've never had the need for more than 3-4 batteries at a time but I just can't imagine buying that many batteries especially when rechargeable ones are so much easier and greener. (Not that I'm a green freak) But the packaging issue does seem a little irresponsible on Circuit City's part.

Comment from erica.blog on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T22:25:50Z

@special4k4: How could they possibly form a circuit? I don't think having batteries jiggling around is good, but short circuiting doesn't seem physically possible.

Comment from erica.blog on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T22:23:47Z

That is crap packing. Lucky they were batteries and not something more fragile. It looks like the "easy open" slots at the back just couldn't take being bumped repeatedly by the other packs of batteries...

@timsgm1418: Apparently he needed two thousand batteries at once, in which case ordering them isn't too crazy. They aren't that heavy. And you can often get better deals buying them online.

A side note to the OP: you might want to consider rechargeables :)

Comment from special4k4 on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T22:21:03Z

@bossco: The problem is with that many batteries loose, they could easily line up positive-to-negative and short circuit. When they short circuit, the batteries will loose power and potentially heat up and cause damage.

Obviously he's upset that Circuit City sent him packages of batteries that were possibly tampered with (and definitely inadequately packaged), so I really don't see the need for the "OMG. Get a life." comment.

Comment from timsgm1418 on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T21:43:54Z

ok, really not meaning to blame the consumer here, packaging definitely sucked...But why would you order batteries? Wouldn't the weight make shipping extremely expensive? I thought batteries were relatively easy to find in just about any store...maybe I'm missing something here

Comment from bossco on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T21:38:45Z

This had to be the most pointless video ever on he Consumerist. His batteries all spilled out.....OMG. Get a life.

Comment from Manji Kengo on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T21:07:02Z

er....i'd hope the batteries aren't broken. for some reason I thought this was one of those battery recharge kits....

Comment from DJC on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T21:06:04Z

lol, I thought for a moment it was packing peanuts on the bottom.

Comment from Manji Kengo on 2008-03-13

2008-03-13T21:03:19Z

Is the product itself broken?

Honestly, the only time I've been scared/pissed with any packages I've received is when my new computer showed up.

I heard a loud thud then followed by engine revving.
I run over to my front door and see that gigantic package containing my new computer. The thud was the asshole fedex driver throwing/dropping my computer.

It being a computer and stuff, I got super pissed. Luckily, Ibuypower.com has super awesome package methods......with package peanuts and the actual computer in another box with proper packaging.

Anyway, everything worked fine. Moral of the story Fedex sucks. the fucking box said "be gentle".