Stay away from UPS. Never use UPS.

Great idea Dill. I thought of heating it, but could not think of a way. The glass should work great. (Don't melt it).

I've been waiting to give my thoughts on shipping. First I would like to state to any seller out there placing ads and selling used items to buyers willing to pay. IT IS WITHOUT QUESTION THE SELLERS RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE 100% SURE THAT the item sold is ABSOLUTLY PROPERLY PACKED and ARRIVES safe and undamaged to the buyer or a complete REFUND IS IN ORDER, no questions asked. I do not blame UPS on this one. I BLAME THE SELLER and would also like to state that I think that seller owes you 100% of your money back plus any extra cost ASAP and a BIG BIG apologie for NOT HAVING ENOUGH BRAINS or CONCERN to proberly ship a simple LP. IT IS NOT UPS's fault at all and by what is said, I DOUBT VERY MUCH that UPS will even pay the claim for SHOTTY PACKING of such an EASY ITEM TO PACK PROPERLY. Hate to get anything else from your seller. A'gon SHOULD START ANOTHER PAGE TO TEACH MORONS HOW TO PROPERLY SHIP/DOUBLE BOX different items. If a seller does not know how to double box/properly pack and make sure the iten CANNOT get damaged than HE/SHE HAS NO RIGHT TO BE SELLING THE ITEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. Your seller is 110% wrong on this one, NOT YOU or UPS. I think A'gon should allow a spot on the feedback page to rate the sellers packing. like from 5* being a pro to 1* being a complete moron. Sorry for such a strong reply but this is a VERY IMPORTANT issue that all should be aware of. Most people know how to properly ship and some are just the cheapest mindless disrespectful packers that have no right at all selling used items to unsuspecting paying buyers. If NOT SURE HOW TO PACK, JUST CALL UP THE SHIPPER AND ASK. Every buyer should give explicite instructions on how they want the item packed. ALL ADS SHOULD EXPLAIN HOW THE ITEM WILL BE BOXED. DO NOT USE OUTER BOXES THAT ARE FOUND IN DIRTY DISGUSTING DISEASE FILLED DUMPSTERS that are already crushed with bent and smushed cornors. The outer box should be at least 3or4 inches larger ALL THE WAY AROUND, TOP,BOTTOM,ALL SIDES and packed tightly with sprayed foam or styrofoam packing material AND NOT NEWS PAPERS. I can see why some people send CODS back. You sometimes don't get to hear the full story. Sorry for such a strong post but it very important and all should understand how to properly pack. UPS USES 8FT DROPS and all boxes should be able to take a hit from the largest GIRTH ALLOWED crashing down cornor first. Thats how you pack.

Your information on UPS 8ft drops and boxes crashing down corner first is very illuminating. It explains why the LP package ended up looking like a "V". The seller did use a hard carton box sold by Unlimited Bags for shipping. He is nice and going after UPS to refund me.

I was told that USPS does not have many heavy packages going through their system. Therefore the light packages are much less likely to get damaged. I have bought many LPs over the net. Some sellers packaged their LPs much flimpsier than this seller. They just used a free USPS envelop, not even a box, and amazingly the LPs survived. These sellers are *not* LP lovers for sure :-(.

MikeC is right on (for most of it - sometimes it IS the shipping company's fault - forklift blades poked into the side and stuff like that)
The manufacturer (if coming direct) is responsible for developing the packaging as well as the product. I work in an R&D lab, and there is an entire team of people that do nothing BUT create and test the packaging to endure the "rigors" of shipping companies. You should see the shock and vibe table and be around when they do the "drop tests". What a job - getting paid to try to break stuff!
If it is a personal shipment, I also agree that the shipper is responsible for packaging it correctly. A discussion before buying is in order to gain agreement on who is responsible and what the consequences will be would be a good idea.

- aj

I do agree with many of the above posts regarding proper
packaging. I'm the owner of a 12+ year old video editing
and media duplication company. Over the years I 've received
and shipped well over a thousand packages with UPS alone -
not to mention other shippers such as FedEx and Airborne.
While UPS does screw up with their package handling at
times - I find that the main reason I get any item in
damaged conditon is a result of flimsy packaging. If any-
thing, I try to over-pack everything I ship - so the
receiving end gets their items okay.
I recently received a heavy McIntosh Amp that was shipped
to my location in Portland,OR from southern California. The
amp was shipped in the correct McIntosh double shipping
carton (and I think Mac does about the best job in the
audio industry with packaging!); and arrived in superb
condition. Even the outer carton was in near-perfect condition. I feel this was largely due to the fact that the
package weighed well over 90 lbs. - and was thus not easy
to lift or throw around.
However, in the case of lighter items - I think that
you will have to pack things very well; given the fact
that your package may be tossed around in shipping. So if
you have items below say 50 lbs.; better pack it very well!