My wife runs a fine art business with a branch in Europe so I'm familiar with shipping fragile and valuable items. I'm not referring to things worth less than $200 or very small items. There are several rules for shipping valuable items: have a crate constructed-if you can't do it yourself try an outfit like Craters and Freighters-they're not expensive; use express shipping-the less time it's out there the better; get the thing insured properly-again if you can't do it yourself use a professional-slight cost but no heartaches afterward. If you don't follow the above guidelines, you're just looking for trouble-not a good idea because usually trouble will find you first.
George Hollenberg MD
CT, USA