I received a pair of rims alone simply wrapped together in paper then in plastic tape. They were sent priority mail. I wonder if the oddity of the annular package led to more careful handling. It seems likely they'd wind up on top of any heap.
The most recent ebay wheels I got were nicely packed in a large rectangular box. Inside were cardboard spacers to separate them from each other and from all 6 sides of the box. The corrugations of the cardboard spacers ran parallel to the axles. It was quite light and seemed like it had a lot of room to suffer abuse and not pass it on to the wheels.
David Bean
Arlington, MA USA
beandk at are-see-enn dot com