The second and third sticky tapes on CDs should be called anti-consumer tapes. CD manufacturers who insisted on using three sticky tapes instead of just one are either mentally challenged or seriously sick.
In the comfort of my own home and with all the time and all the tools at my disposal, I still rarely ever managed to peel off one of those wretched tapes without it breaking apart into annoying little pieces that had to be removed individually. If a shoplifter can overcome a sticky tape and remove the CD in a store without being detected, he/she deserves a free CD. And if one sticky tape cant stop a shoplifter, how are three going to do it? On the other hand, if the intention is to torture CD buyers for as long as possible, three tapes are perfect.
Ive noticed that most CDs from Europe have just one sticky tape or none at all. Does Europe have less talented shoplifters or could it be that CD manufacturers over there are smarter than here?
Tvad: Youre right. The little tool to cut open the anti-theft sticky tapes is fantastic. Unfortunately, pealing them off is still a pain in the neck. The wretched thing still rarely ever comes off in one piece. And the sign that says peel here is a sick joke. You can peel anywhere you want and the tape still wont come off easily. Note: on DVD, peeling the tape off with your finger nails usually damages the plastic cover underneath. Brilliant design!
Adiobugged/Edesilva: The technique you discussedopening the tapsreally works. A Borders employee showed me how to do it. I have used it successfully on CDs with one sticky tape. But with three tapes, we are back to square one!
Prpixel: Im with you. The first person to invent a device to efficiently remove those sticky anti-theft tapes should receive a Nobel Prize, or may be two. Assuming that there are 500 million CDs sold worldwide annually and 5 minutes are wasted on each CD to get rid of those nasty tapes, the device would prevent 40 million man-hours of frustration and restore over 40 million man-hours of lost productivity per year which would be a significant contribution to world peace and prosperity.