Freaked out about having a TT shipped

John...sounds like a tank couldn't damage the package..but UPS...?

Well, giving us more info. about the model of TT you're buying, what the feedback rating of the seller is, & the distance it's being shipped would help us in giving advice. Are you buying some high end $5K TT? Or a used Rega P3 for a few hundred $$? If something along the lines of the latter, I wouldn't worry too much. But communicate your concerns to the seller in advance--make sure they have the original packaging, & that you feel comfortable with them. If you're buying something for a few hundred $$ I wouldn't sweat it too much. If you are, just go to your local dealer & pay the new $$ price & get a warranty, etc. Buying used always entails some anxiety--do you want to save money, or have total assurance? Good luck!

I'm having a VPI shipped directly from the manufacturer, i'm sure they know how to pack them, I just don't trust Fedex or UPS.

I think it is worth noting that the same companies who ship these fragile items to you also ship to the dealers. They don't handle shipments to businesses any differently than they handle shipments to homes. It's just another address.
When evaluating a used purchase online, pay special attention to whether the classified says "Original Box and Manual". This tells a lot about how the product was cared for, in my opinion.

BTW, recently I bought a fairly expensive VPI TT 2nd hand & it was shipped to me UPS ground. It arrived perfectly; even the box still looked new. As I was thinking of moving I decided to sell it, & shipped it via Fed-ex ground. The new owner says it arrived in perfect condition (whew!). The VPI factory box & layers of packaging were almost as impressive as the TT. Packaging is key--esp. by ground, it has to be able to survive being thrown several feet maybe several times, & ride in a truck hundreds or thousands of miles with potentially hundreds of lbs. of other stuff on top of it. The seller has to have "packaging chops", & probably some luck.....