Mail Boxes Etc

**DO NOT USE MAILBOXES ETC TO SHIP YOUR FRAGILE ITEMS**
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If there was a «0 stars» I would select that. I am a German-​American who was on vacation in Berlin this past American. I have used MBE before (in the States) but have never asked them to package and ship glassware. We bought a vintage chandelier in Berlin which had 11 separate glass bulbs, about 4 – 5 inches round each. We couldn’t travel with this lamp for the rest of our trip so we turned to this MBE location to pack and ship it home. They charged us over 300 Euros, which was a lot but still worth it to us. (The lamp itself cost about 300 Euros too).
We trusted them to properly wrap and package these 11 bulbs plus the fixture itself (metal) but when it arrived via UPS to us in Boston, 6 of the bulbs were broken. When the package arrived the UPS guy who delivered it could hear the rattling pieces of glass and strongly urged us to reject it, but we hoped maybe it was just one bulb that broke. As we took the package inside we could tell it was bad, so I video-​recorded our opening the box to be able to show MBE later what happened.
You can see the video (1^st of 3) here on my YouTube channel:

While they wrapped each bulb in bubble wrap, they failed to TIGHTLY pack the entire box. The loose brown paper they used as filler was not nearly enough to prevent the items from ratting around, especially during such a long transit.
When I emailed MBE (including links to the 3 video-​evidence) their reply included «the fault is not mine. The package was packed tight. Everything was filled with paper to absorb any impacts and it was packed safely according to our own as well as to guidelines of UPS.»
That is just false as the video clearly shows. It was so NOT packed tight and therefore clearly why the bulbs broke — they had a lot of room to move around and so no matter how gingerly UPS handled it, there was going to be breakage. (And yes, I realize UPS-​shipping can be rough, like any shipper).
I pushed back and they asked for my phone # in order to have UPS make an appointment with me to «view the parcel» — as if we kept it all over a month later. That was on Nov. 27^th. As of January 28 (today) I have not heard from UPS nor do I expect to. After more emails, on ¹²⁄₁₆ I heard from Michael Sostmann, the owner of this MBE, and he claimed to be «very astonished» at the results and «assume there was a hard fall» of the box, and that they «are doing their best to solve the issue within the next days.»
That was 6 weeks ago and so after holding off leaving this review on Unilocal,I am forced to warn anyone else who may be in a similar situation. I am a reasonable person and long-​time Unilocaler who usually leaves reviews only when I’ve had a really good or really terrible experience with a business.
**DO NOT USE MAILBOXES ETC TO SHIP YOUR FRAGILE ITEMS**
Find my YouTube videos for proof — if the link above isn’t working just search «Broken glass MBE» on YouTube.