Freaked out about having a TT shipped

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.....

Make sure the seller knows how to pack the TT in the original box! Just having it doesn't mean it will be shipped correctly. I bought a TT from a friend in the city where I live, after a while I wanted to have it upgraded. I packed it in the original box in the way I thought was right. The entire suspension was trashed when it arrived at Sota because I did not pack it right. It wasn't the fault of the packing, but the moron who packed it.

I would ask the person if they are the original buyer and if they know how to pack the TT in the box. They might lie, but at least you did as much as you could. Feedback is important too.