Packaging needed should also be based on the service you are using. Shipping west coast to east coast by ground? That's a good 1.5 weeks of transit time and the better part of 3,000 miles banging across the country in trucks, trains, warehouses, conveyer belts, etc. Using ground for better than a 300 mile trip then double box/quadruple pack it. Going by air from east to west coast on a M-Th (avoiding a weekend stay over) then double boxing is usually not needed (assuming your single boxing is good, and there are always exceptions to this). Going by 1 day air east to west coast in the U.S. is a 15-20 hour trip. It's also very expensive if you don't have a special ship deal (we can do this for the price of 3 day ground, usually less). Don't rely on factory pack on ground shipments. Yeah, "that's the box it came in", so what. Mfr's ship several packages on their ship accts. They have more pull with a claim than a one time cash counter shipment. Have an acct and they want to keep you, so your odds of getting a claim honored are far better. One time cash counter shipment? There are millions to replace you. Fed Ex Ground (aka: RPS)? Fed Ex ground is no better than UPS ground with regard to handling (Fed Ex ground and Fed Ex are NOT the same thing!). BTW: We shipped well over 1,000 hifi items by DHL in 2000 and about 40 with Fed Ex (zero with UPS) and had only *1* claim (with Fed Ex), so this little speech is experience talking (11 years of it). You get what you pay for. Double box those long distance delicate hifi ground shipments; it's much easier than filing a claim.
