We've had reasonably good luck with most of the mainline shippers, but there are some differences we've noted. None of them can guaranteed that there will never be any shipping damage or loss; so insurance of course is recommended on high value and/or fragile stuff.

Both FedEx and UPS have their own air fleets, so in most cases when you ship with one of them it at least doesn't get mixed in with "passenger luggage" of unknown kinds. In most cases, nothing in a UPS or FedEx shipment should EVER be handled by anyone other than their own employees. (There are of course exceptions.)

USPS in some areas does have enough traffic to charter dedicated planes, but in places where the amounts being shipped are smaller, their shipments may be just in space available on scheduled airlines, and may be handled - moved in containers through loading areas - by persons employed by the sched airlines or by the airports. Generalizations are dangerous, and usually unfair, but I'll risk saying:

"I have less faith in the benefit package that airline/airport employees receive than in what the dedicated UPS and FedEx folk are offered to purchase their conscientious performance."

In any normal operations, one would expect the shipping agent, whether FedEx, UPS, or USPS to "containerize" so that there would NEVER be a reason for an individual item to be moved on one of the "luggage conveyors" that are the abominable curse of travelers. In order to damage an item in a shipment, they'd have to crush a whole container - which is not impossible, but probably fairly rare.

We've had a very few minor "missed delivery dates" with UPS, but not enough to say it's a general problem. We usually use FedEx for small packages where assured on-time delivery is needed; but rates favor UPS for anything bulky or heavier than a small book so we'll use them and allow for an extra day or two. We've sent very little USPS, so I "don't have much of an impression" (note - read both ways?) on them.

The only absolute guaranties I can offer, based on experience are:

1. Marking something "FRAGILE" doubles the odds it will be crushed, mangled, bent, shattered, and/or polluted with strange smelling but unidentifiable "foreign materials."

2. Marking something "SPECIAL HANDLING" absolutely assures that the shipment will not arrive at the intended destination. It may be "found" elsewhere later(?) but delays are assured.

3. Marking something "DO NOT BEND" is fairly certain to result in received the item folded in half.

The "safest" shipment, if there can be said to be one, is packaged to look like every other package, with clear labels, but with absolutely NO DISTINGUISHING MARKINGS that might attract special attention from anyone handling it. The packaging must, of course, be capable of protecting the contents from "normal handling," which can be pretty rugged.

We all hope of course that you'll get a fair monetary compensation for the lost bows. I don't think they're likely to offer anything in the way of "punitive damages for pain and suffering," so we'll all chip in lots of sympathy - mine is on the way.

John