Think Inside The Box

What we have here is a big upright vacuum cleaner from a trusted vacuum cleaner brand. It’s not gonna be as light and easy to take from room to room as a stick vac, but that also means you don’t have to remember to charge it. Plus, it has a big honking 10.75" cleaning path so you can cover a lot of area all at once, and a HEPA filtration system for dealing with dust and allergens. Hence why it’s marketed to pet owners.

Also, it’s refurbished.

Now, we want to point out the phrasing we used there. We said, “it’s refurbished.” Like we’re giving it a big red “refurbished” stamp. We didn’t say, “it’s been refurbished,” implying there was a lengthy process to get this back up to that fresh-out-of-the-factory standard.

Why is this so important to point out? Oh, no reason.

Anyway, here’s a completely, totally tangential personal anecdote that’ll lead into a broader discussion of packaging. One Christmas when I was younger, my mom wanted a book. It was a hotly anticipated book, sold out at pretty much all the stores, but I managed to find a copy. Only, when I opened it up, I found a handwritten note on the cover page: “To so-and-so! Love, so-and-so.” It had been purchased, defaced, and then returned. I brought it up to customer service, asking if they had any others, and the guy at the counter informed me that what was on the shelf was what they had, but if I wanted this copy, he could give it to me for half-price.

So I bought it. Duh! Why wouldn’t I? I was getting a new hardcover book that was sold out everywhere for, like, ten bucks! I was gonna turn that down because someone had written four words in it? After all, the stuff beyond the title page is what’s important. And yet, those four words rendered the entire book “damaged goods.”

It’s the same concept as the grocery store drastically marking down the dinged-up can of soup, or the companies that sell boxes of misshapen produce for cheap. Nobody’s going to say, “This chicken noodle tastes a little dented,” or “I really like this tomato sauce you made, but I need to know: were the tomatoes that you used… attractive?” Still, until it gets to your house, the packaging is part of the product.

And so, if it’s damaged, you have to say the product is damaged even if the actual product hasn’t been harmed. And that’s just if it’s something like pots and pans. If what’s in the damaged box is something that’s motorized or electronic or otherwise technological in any way–like a cleaning appliance, say–you need a word that implies said product has been through a rigorous process of refreshment, even if it was only the box that took the hit, and the thing itself is still entirely brand new.

Jeez, sorry. Got off on a bit of a tangent there! What is it we’re selling today again?

Oh, right: this refurbished Shark vacuum!