Question about shipping damage

UPS stores are actually net very good at packing. Right off 'bubble wrap' is crap on heavy items. It cannot 'hold' the amp in place, the amp has way too much mass. So anything sticking out will get wacked.. like the speaker posts.
IMO the UPS store is responsible for 'poor packing'.
Bubble wrap an amp is rediculous. Yo need solid foam to hold it.
Bubble wrap is for a few ounces. not 40 pounds of steel.
If the person at the UPS store is too dumb to know what to do to make the package safe then they are responsible.
Just because they think it is what they are supposed to do does not protect them. they are just idiots disguised as experts. They do not know crap about packing anything.

So sueing the UPS store.. and realizing UPS stores are useless at packing and know that you failed to protect the shipment and should just pay up is the other option.

Here's their latest commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onXVl4hxi-U

As you say, they packed the item.
They should be responsible.

Period

As Daniel just said, you are in a good position because you had them do the packing. Call your store and get it taken care of. And ask the customer to put a big dent in the corner of the box before he takes the pics ;-). Just to be safe. Agree with Elizabeth--they do not do as good a job packing as you or I could.

Thank your for the insight and I agree on several points. I have refunded the buyer and spoke with the manager at the store and after appoligizing for not packing er. After apologizing for not packing it better, he told me he would handle the claim process for me and stated that they would make it right. How this will shake out I can't say but chalking it up to lesson learned.

After reading of horror stories in regards to both of the major shipping provider and aside from packing it myself what else should I do to insure safe travel? I have read in other forums where gear was shipped in original packaging and still suffered major damages.

Thanks for the responses.

Problem is, many original packing boxes are entirely inadequate. I think many packages are designed to be shipped palletized in a large bundle and that's a different kettle of fish from shipping a single item. Marantz, Cambridge, & PS Audio are brands I've bought with woefully poor transport boxes. UPS says packaging needs to be stout enough to survive a 4 foot drop onto bare concrete, so think about how that relates to what's needed for a heavy amp, etc. I'm lucky in that I have access to very good packing materials through my job and I make most of my own shipping boxes from double wall corrugated cardboard. I glue the corners with wood glue and reinforce them. As Elizabeth mentioned, surrounding equipment with foam of adequate density is vastly better than bubble wrap. It is hard to source unless you have a Uline store close by and it costs too much. If you do use bubble wrap, use the heavy duty variety with fat 1" bubbles, not the thin stuff with 1/3" bubbles. Peanuts have no place at all in packing heavy audio equipment. When I need to fill the space between a double box, I use pieces of expanded polystyrene sheet that's used for wall insulation.