Packing 2U Dell servers

Not sure where else to put this.

I recently shipped via UPS. I paid them to pack the server and ship it. They sent it woefully under care for, and it cost me $200 to repair parts for the final customer. I did it because I felt I owed it to him to get a solid product like it was when I sold it. But I wonder if I even did the right thing.

I won’t ever ship that way again, so I’m left wondering how people send 2U servers/NAS, etc. This was an md1220 that had 24 drives all installed and reconfigured as good. So build a new stack and go. I had to replace the case itself and several of the drives.

Anyway, I still have an MD 3200 and two Dell 2U servers to sell. I found a 2U server box on Amazon that they claim would fit my NAS, but I’m unsure where to go.

When I had mine sent to me, it was always done by a guy who had access to that expanding foam and always shipped them that way. This worked out great for me because he trusted his packages. When one arrived with a broken interface, I could see it was there before they shipped. He didn’t know; he was just a wholesaler clearing out a deal they had.

How do you suggest I ship these units out with maximum protection?

I am always paranoid about things arriving broken since some of my family members went to work or UPS and USPS. There is no care given to anything you ship. Doesn’t matter who you go with, in the warehouses and backrooms, those things take a beating.

My father in law was a diabetic that used to have his insulin mailed to him in these small white Styrofoam coolers. We used them all the time for various things, but I would take a very sharp knife and cut them into whatever shape I needed. It was nice to have corner pieces.

The only thing I truly recommend is insurance coverage far exceeding the value of what you are shipping. Those packages are flagged in the system and just might actually get handled by a real person.

My my God what a story you have that’s just awful. I’m truly sorry you were put in that position.

I worry because the servers are very fragile even though they’re very heavy, and I would hate to damage things. I just don’t know what the best option is for shipping these servers, and it doesn’t seem like, based on the replies, many people here have any answers