Anyone who ships items UPS does so at their own risk. You can be assured that they will drop or throw the box (possibly more then once) from at least waist height. I recommend packing items very carefully and if possible double boxing. If you don't have the original packing material use plently of crumbled up newspaper. Also insure the item for it's full value; it only costs 35 cents for every $100 over the first $100.
Anyone ever have claims for damage with UPS?
I recently shipped some Martin Logan Aerius in their original boxes via UPS and they cracked both of the side rails on both speakers! There is some dispute whether the box and packing material meets their guidelines. They were insured, taped in four different spots with strapping tape, but the just got abused buy them. Any hints on how to deal with them? It's not over yet, but I am not hopeful.