I sent a box from WI to my daughter in CO on 1/28 - USPS. It arrived in Denver on 2/1. Then it took until yesterday (2/8) to be delivered the final 45 minutes from Denver.
I had UPS break the rear flange off a stroked and nitride treated BB crank one time.
Chuck (snook)
I had a bell housing shipped here via UPS. It had a hole big enough to throw a cat through after they put a forklift through it on the pallet. Despite the request for $300 in insurance, UPS sent the shipper a check for the automatic coverage, then $50.
As an aside, basic contract law governs shipping accounts in that the shipper hires the company to do the job. The fact they send insurance claim payments to the shipper instead of the receiver -- the person who's actually out the part, the shipping cost and the money they paid for it with insurance -- is just backwards. Having to rely on the now unduly enriched shipper to send you your money is ridiculous and unrealistic in this age of rip off artists.