Sam, My tenure at UPS as a Mgr. taught me one thing, stuff happens! Follow their guide of 3" of cushioning all around the item (also between items), minimize the use of foam peanuts ( they allow items to "migrate" around to an inner carton wall and suffer damage) and attach an address label directly to each item inside the carton. There is a facility UPS has named Overgoods and it's FULL of stuff that exited a carton enroute with no label and no way to match it up with the mangled carton from whence it came. Those items are eventually sold at auction after they pay a claim for lost goods. It aint' easy, but these steps have been proven to give the shipping process more chance of a successful outcome. Good luck!