Amazon to video tape boxing of orders?

Posted on Thursday, April 01 2010 @ 19:07 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Amazon has filed a patent in which it outlines a process wherein the company films outgoing packages being boxed up. It sounds a lot like an April Fool's Day joke, but there's a patent to back up the story and there are definitely some advantages for Amazon and even for potential advertisers:
But the idea behind the patent is not just for customers, it's also for Amazon and the sellers of the products. "Merchants may also include flyers or other advertisements, frequently for third parties, when packing and shipping orders," the patent says. "Generally, third parties can only verify that such advertisements are correctly included with orders by making random inspections of order processing locations."

It goes on to say that when something goes wrong--like say a damaged or missing element of the shipment, the merchants wouldn't otherwise be able to point their finger at any one party. Under the new system, they'll at least be able to know it was packed up correctly by Amazon, putting the onus on whatever company was used for shipping, or back on the buyer. So, if you as a customer say something was missing or damaged with your order, Amazon will have a simple record that it shared with you, that can be used to verify a problem before it left the warehouse.
More info at CNET.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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