Thanks for letting us know GAD, this is great news.
You know I wonder if someone like that has just been around so long, doesn't necessarily sell guitars so often...
just innocently doesn't realize what is involved with packing and shipping a guitar these days. years ago, the level of service was much higher- you would not even need to put the guitar case in a box, just write the address right on the guitar case, and have no fear (extreme example but honestly not so crazy back in the day)...yeah those days are ancient history to say the least!
around the time this happened to you, I sold a $500 guitar on ebay. it was double boxed, heavilly padded, and had about $30 worth of tape on the box. plus shipping and insurance was almost $60. this thing was packed for the war...bottom line if a $500 guitar breaks in the mail, or a $5000 guitar breaks in the mail...either way u failed. I was just so baffled when u said his packing was so light. he must have been stunned that anything would have happened at all. he just didn't have a clue, that someone working for a shipping company could even possibly have a care in the world for the actual job they are doing...
UPS wants your package to be packed so that if it were to fall off of a counter (or a desk, say), that nothing bad will happen to it, and if it does, it is not their fault (unless u paid them- crazy money-to pack it). Anytime I buy anything in the mail anymore, I pray to the stars in the sky it arrives as expected- not just guitars- anything! my ratio of success just gets lower and lower every year.