Drop the box from shoulder-height onto the floor. Throw it a few feet. Kick it. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, then it's probably not packed well. If the tape moves or comes loose anywhere, you should consider buying better tape.

Ask yourself, How are packages typically handled? Gently? How many times do they change hands? Will your box be at the bottom of a pile or at the top? Can someone put a pair of speakers on top of your box? Can your box roll 50 feet down a sorting treadmill and slam into another box? Is your box of precious cargo any more special to a mail handler than other box of equal shape and size? What if when the package is delivered, it is left in a window well outside someone's house?

8 Jan 96 [TSL]