I don't know - while I've never actually purchased a set with the clear plastic bubble and ties, I have seen them in the store (WS074 and AK027) and was impressed by the following two aspects:
1) The pieces seem to be held very securely so there was no risk of bouncing around and damaging parts
2) The clear packaging allowed one to easily see the set contents before purchasing them. Once purchased, this also in my opinion makes the set more collector friendly for investment purposes because one can admire the sets in their collection without ever removing them from the box. Furthermore this type of packaging would make it harder for retailers and resellers on ebay etc. to put sets back in their box and claim they are brand new, never removed. One nice thing about toy soldiers versus other collectibles is that they retain most of their value after removal from the packaging, however I do think sellers need to be honest about the history of the products they're selling and this would aid that I think.
An additional bonus, which does not concern me but might interest those on the business side of things, is that clear plastic packaging would allow stores not as familiar with handling delicate toy soldiers (e.g. museums) to stock K&C products without having to worry about unpacking and repacking the sets in the foam every time a customer wished to look at what they were about to purchase. I know Britains has cited this as a reason for their new clamshell packaging.
Granted, I have heard some complaints that the ties can be too tight and themselves damage the figures, but couldn't the ties be padded to prevent this? The owner of the store in which I saw the above sets said some collectors in their haste, and not realizing the figures were held by ties, have accidentally ripped figures out of their clear packaging and taken a figure's arm off in the process, and that this is why they did not like this type of packaging. My response is, surely such collectors a) need to get new glasses b) need to learn a little patience and c) will get used to this type of packaging with time?
I guess I just don't think the clear packaging should be written off so quickly. It has its advantages as well as its problems. Almost all other collectibles use such packaging to good effect, so why the insistence in toy soldiers on only using foam?
