http://shanghaigingerguy.com/

A small suggestion to the DVD shops…

Now, I would never complain about the service one gets from any DVD seller in Shanghai. DVDs are cheap, quick to market, and did I mention cheap? So I just have one small suggestion:

“Can you use a little less packaging?”

I’m far from being a tree hugger – like I could find one to hug in this town – but opening a DVD involves un-peeling and throwing away at least three different types of plastic, the glossy cardboard covers, and another paper sleeve.

And here’s the kicker: for less packaging, I’ll guarantee not one foreigner will complain if charged the same amount. In fact, put them in a recyclable paper sleeve and put the word “organic” “green” or “dolphin friendly” and people will pay extra. It works for breakfast cereal and tuna, why not DVDs?

In the meantime, here’s a suggestion for readers who want to keep away from all the packaging – visit youku.com or tudou.com and search for the program you are looking for. 8 times out of 10 the program will be available at blistering fast speeds inside China.

A big thanks to Ginger guy in shanghai who writes awesome blogs and always has something interesting to say about a wide range of things we all encounter in our daily live as expats. That said his above blog got me thinking about dvds and how few I have bought these past two years. I first arrived in china some 6 years ago and was always shocked and seriously stoked about how cheap the dvds were, which led me to buy loads of dvds watch them all through the year and take the discs to my family at the end of the year when visiting for the festive season. When I returned home this year though I was empty handed in terms of dvds. With dissappointed customs officials scrummaging through my bags at the airport for the first time ever it turned out to be a saving grace. But none the less it got me thinking (after I read the above blog) about the piles of dvd covers I used to throw away and the pouches full of discs lying on the dusty dvd player. When it hit me that now I no longer buy, use, borrow, lend or have dvds at all. Everything I have seen for the past year has been online. All the series, movies news documentaries and even tv has been routed a vast network online and arrives for my viewing pleasure on my pc that now permanently hooked up to the tv with the wireless keyboard and mouse now replacing the remote controls of the dvd player. I visited a bunch of my friends also here in china and they all have similar setups. It makes me wonder how long we will still be able to visit that little dvd shop on the corner and enjoy the cheap dvds and friendly service...LOL.