More shipping damage again?

All the original manufacturers packing is solid Styrofoam, not peanuts, soft foam etc, wonder why. The solid stuff is available at Home deport in large sheets. Best to double box and double line the sides, top and bottom of the space between the boxes. As mentioned in other posts, any air space will provide the ability to shift, leading to damage. All carriers are about equal, it is the packer that makes the difference. Want special handling, insure the item for $5,000. That way it goes through a better handling path. The added insurance cost is well worth it on fragile item. But in the end, pick up works best. You know exactly what you are getting.

I also recommend a wood pallet for expensive speakers even if they are in the original boxes. My Aerial LR5's came from the West coast to NYC in great shape as they were wrapped on a wood pallet.

I was looking at a couple of pictures the buyer sent to me.
If I were to take a sledge hammer and hit the top corners this kind of dammage could happen I suppose. Unbelievable.

I have had the best and cheapest results with FedEx Ground. This doesn't mean they are infallible, however. Also, for lighter items, I have had great luck with the USPS.

I have an account at a local UPS Store and they recommend shipping anything of value or fragile via overnight and/or 2nd day rather than regular ground for the simple reason that a regular ground package is handled and loaded/unloaded, etc. much more than a overnight or 2nd day package. Reportedly, the average package on a coast to coast trip may be handled by as many as 100 workers, whereas that number reporteldy drops to about 15 workers when sent overnight/2nd day.

As to the choice of FedEx or UPS, I have never (knock on wood) had a damaged delivery with either and I've shipped a LOT of stuff over the years. However, I usually ship UPS for the simple reason that the proprietor of another local shipping store I sometimes use that services both FedEx and UPS claims that in more than 5 years he has never had FedEx pay a damage claim, whereas UPS pays claims regularly (although they may make you jump through hoops). Apparently, FedEx uses a third party claims handler whereas UPS handles claims in house. Again, I have no personal experience here so YMMV, etc.