I have received over 150 packages via UPS and USPS this past year or so. I
have never received anything broken (yet). The USPS stuff usually comes in
slower but the boxes are damaged the least.

Reasonably careful packaging is probably what saved my packages.

As Andrew mentioned in a previous email. I was raving about UPS until I
delivered his packages to be shipped out. I saw packages being tossed from
distances of greater than 15 feet into a truck getting ready for delivery.
Some of them clearly marked fragile. I was in the San Bruno Depot for at
least 30 minutes. I didn't just see one but at least 6 drivers doing this to
load their delivery trucks. When I asked the counterperson her reply was,
"Don't worry, the shipper is supposed to package them to withstand that
anyway. They won't get hurt."

I immediately purchased extra insurance to cover the total cost of the items.
Their basic coverage was not enough. I went home trying to convince myself
that this was only happening because it was Christmas Eve. I still had about
10 packages at home waiting to be shipped out.

BenT
San Francisco