Whom you buy it from and how they package it is very important but you're still at the mercy of the delivery process. A determined delivery driver can damage anything, regardless of how well it's packed. As dweller indicated, one of the advantages of buying through Amazon is how easy it is to deal with returns. If the item is damaged, doesn't operate properly or you simply don't like it all you have to do is initiate the return process online, print out a free return label and send it back. UPS will even pick it up from you. My experience is that Amazon then sends a replacement or credits your account even before they get the return.