To be honest I just assumed that aaron's post was something he wrote in jest to vent some angry he would feel in the same situation, I didn't think he really would do.

That being said who has some more tips on how to pack their boxes when shipping to try and avoid this happening to someone else, so far I have said more rigid box, Jack as said a stack, Ruttings mentioned how almost eden packs which sound like it is a great option as well.
Before this thread gets deleted, I'd like to say something :)
I was impressed with the way Almost Eden shipped some fig plants I ordered last year. 
They came in 4" pots. 
Each pot had its soil covered with wet newspaper, which was taped down with packing tape to keep it from shifting or drying. 
Two pots were placed facing each other, and stakes (longer than the two plants and their pots combined) were taped around the pots. 
Corrugated sheets of cardboard were then rolled around the two pots and cage of stakes. 
Amazing job. I bet you could drop that packaging from a second story window and not harm the plants inside. 

Harvey does a nice job with packaging his plants too. Adding a couple of sticks really makes a difference.  From Ruuting.

Box in a box is very effective.

Filling the void in the box with packing material like peanuts helps prevents the crushing you experienced.

Also choice of box,  some of the prio mail boxes are of a thinner gauge cardboard
and do not stand up to the abuse as well.
For plants in smaller diameter containers, 
I would choose the prio mail triangle shaped tube/box,
more resistance to side crushing.

More rectangular shape a box is, the more susceptible to crushing.



These are very good tips, I have used packing peanuts before but only within the trees, usually just crumpled up penny savers to keep them from being tossed around, but the box in box also makes sense, when I have to transport plants in low temperatures (40 degrees or lower) I always place inside a garbage bag that I inflated then place inside a second bag that I inflate as well, different concepts but very similar for using the buffer space like a shock to reduce movement, I like this one a lot.

I always seem to forget about the cardboard tubes, these seem like an obvious choice for the size plants you talk about, very simple solution for those types of plants.

Your pictures of the box pretty much says it all.  They had the gall to leave that on your doorstep?  Talk to your local postmaster, not the carrier.  That is appalling.  They will, however, only cover your actual cost (receipt required).

As an avid fig grower and a letter carrier for the USPS I will not defend the P.O. Other than to say that we do not always have control over the packages we receive or their conditions. When I sort my packages before I hit the street some of them may be damaged. Most of the packages that are priority or express are shipped on Fed Ex planes. Those are 1 to 5 day delivery packages. Anything more than that such as first class and parcel post are shipped in our own trucks. Sometimes we receive them damaged, others are damaged in the sorting process in the postal plants. With the new Priority you get $50 worth of insurance for free. If you have something more valuable you can pay for additional insurance. I know it does'nt make you feel better, but no matter what company you use there will be some damage to packages due to the volume of packages moved. I use the P.O. to ship most of the packages I send. No matter how much you bad mouth the P.O. We still provide great service. If I get a package and it is damaged I will always try and deliver it in person to the receiver. Some people ask me why I'm delivering a package that is damaged and the answer is that I'm required to. The sender is paying to have it delivered regardless of its condition. If it is so badly damaged that the contents are destroyed, contact the sender and they can get their money back. You know it makes me laugh at people sometimes when they expect there to be no accidents or damage to their mail or packages but in there own lives do the expect to never have accidents at their homes or in their jobs. It's an unreasonable expectation. The best thing you can do is contact the sender and maybe they will send you a new one.

Sorry
But I hate to see people go Postal on each other

Swizzle

Swizzle, this is the best post on this thread, your words and attitude made the difference. If all carriers responded like you on a damaged delivery the receiver would understand, maybe not be happy, but would understand. You changed my view, not 100%, but close.

Some cardboard boxes used for shipping plants are too flimsy, IMO.  Use heavyweight cardboard and select a size that is appropriate for the plant.  Moisture from the plant and potting soil should be separated by some barrier such as a plastic bag from getting the cardboard damp.  I've received too many boxes where the cardboard was soggy in spots.

Neil is spot on, IMO, all carriers are pretty much the same as far as package handling.  Out of about 1,000 packages shipped by USPS last year 1 got beat up really bad and returned to me without a legible shipping address so USPS insurance paid me the insured amount plus postage.  About 2 or 3 packages took more than a week and about a dozen took 4-5 days instead of the expected 2-3 days.

Some packages arrived by UPS to me earlier this year with damaged goods but I felt it was the fault of poor packaging by Amazon.  Because of the number of customers complaining of damaged packages for this particular item, Amazon temporarily discontinued selling the item until the figured out what to do.  My UPS driver told me to check out YouTube for videos of how their packages are handled in sorting centers and that helps give a pretty good idea why any package is subject to damage.  Imagine a case of 10 reams of printer paper coming down the line on your fig tree!

  I've had pretty good results with plants that are sent in shipping tubes.  I don't know if it is the odd shape of the tube that doesn't lend itself to being stacked along with the boxes, the extra rigidness of the round shape, or a combination of factors.  I've only had one shipping tube crushed/collapsed and the contents were still salvageable.  I've never seen an instance where there was significant damage to the shipping tube caused by pressure applied to the ends.

I have had some very large expensive figs come to me in perfect condition.  Not a ding.   Then then next day I received three shipments.  One box was empty  just a stick.  (I have ordered from this person before with no problems) so I guess that was an exception.  The second box was strange looking.   When opened, katy bar the door.  The inner box was original box badly smashed.  Poor plant inside was scared spitless.  The post office had repacked it I guess after using it for volleyball practice.  The last box was bent in two.  The plant was lucky it was smaller and was in the larger half.   I can safely say this.  Our rural post office takes care to deliver things right end up and with care.  I am on first name basis with the UPS driver and he is always very good.  It is the time between that you just never know.   Gee when you see someone on TV wiping a hamburger on the floor before serving it to someone that you wonder what this world is coming to.   We should all move close to one another so we can drive over and pick up our fig prizes.    Perfect World.    LOL  :)

That's totally unacceptable. I would claim 50.00 insurance.