Polle de Maagt 
Polle de Maagt
Story.
More than a quarter of VanMoof’s bikes arrived damaged. The problem was worst on shipments to the United States.
The Dutch brand could have used thicker cardboard, more foam or a stricter courier. Instead, it asked a different question. Co-founder Taco Carlier told CNN: “What do Americans really love? What would prompt couriers to be delicate with a parcel?”
The answer was a TV.
What they did.
A big-screen TV box is roughly the size and weight of a bike box. So VanMoof printed a TV on the outside. The bike was still on the box too, but at a glance it looked like a widescreen TV.
According to the company, damage dropped by 80 percent. It stayed low even after a Wall Street Journal reporter revealed the trick on Twitter.
VanMoof then made the box part of the brand. Its website joked that the TV box came with a free bike inside.
Why it works.
VanMoof did not try to change courier behaviour with rules. It used behaviour that already existed. People handle a TV carefully without being asked.
It is also a story people want to share. A stronger box is a cost. A bike disguised as a TV is a conversation.
Try it yourself.
Look for a problem you are trying to solve with more control. Ask what people already do carefully, gladly or automatically. Then borrow that.
Update, September 2026.
VanMoof went bankrupt in July 2023. That summer it was bought by Lavoie, part of McLaren Applied, and it later launched new models such as the S6. The TV box remains a good idea, whatever happened to the company.
Pick one handover where things go wrong. Write down what the person on the other side already takes good care of. Ask how your thing could look more like that.
Source: my original post of January 2019, based on Taco Carlier’s interview with CNN. Box made with Midjourney.
