The shrink wrap thing goes back to vinyl records, which certainly have the problem. Some of this is because the corners on a record sleeve are naturally week due to the fact that the record inside is round. I've not seen this effect newer stuff though, so maybe the problem was cured in the mid-80s. I bought a copy of Lou Read's "Transformer" a few years ago that was a pressing from...the early 80s, I think, and the shrink had not damaged the sleeve. The record inside though was very warped and in need of repair, so that proves what shrink wrap means (nothing). I once bought a shrink wrapped record that was actually cracked inside.
I f*cking hate it when the smaller, cleaner, niche record shops shrink wrap everything, even UK and EU releases that never had shrink in the first place, DJ promos, etc. All the cool stores let you see the vinyl and most of the time let you hear it also like record stores did back in the 70s. I'd pay money to see the twat with the $1200 copy of Chrono Trigger open up the game (for some reason) only to find that inside is a copy of Zoop with a Block Buster sticker on it and a coverless manual for Home Improvement.
There is something much worse than a crushed box though that also results from collecting things in shrink wrap; it makes you a %100 guaranteed douche bag.
Get a f*cking life...wtf...