shipping vinyl

Thank you all for your help.
Jim

Might I suggest waiting until the summer high temperatures are over?

Welcome to the real world of shipping records...You will need a strong and sturdy outside box,newspaper or bubble wrap,then records packed well in interior box.Ship media mail USPS fully insured.I have shipped lots of records this way and it is the best and is also the cheapest.Of course if you have records valued as legitimate collectors items worth hundreds of dollars each,you might pack another layer and elevate the shipping class with the post office or go FedEx.
Pallets,air cargo...maybe for Bruce Wayne's record collection.

The safest is to deliver packages to the airport and use air cargo to the nearest major airport to pick it up from.

Wooden pallets with professional shipping co. I have shipped Quad ESLs this way with no problems.

"What is the best/safest method of shipping this many albums to my new home?"

If the records are valuable, drive them yourself regardless of cost. You will never be able to prove what your records are worth if something happens. Even if you declare a very high value, you still have to prove it or you won't get the money.

If you absolutely must ship them, you can talk to your insurance company and see if you can get some type of endorsement added to your HO policy for the move. But its still risky because insurance companies don't like to pay, even when the claims are legit. Whatever you, don't lie about anything. If you do, that will be their excuse not to pay.

Don't use the same shipping company for everything. Send 1 box UPS, another box FedEx, etc...

If at all possible, ignore what I just said and drive them yourself.