I have only had one bad experience with the shippping of an antique hand crank machine from ebay ~ I received it in 5 pieces! the box had been dropped on both ends even though it was marked "Fragile" and the hand crank was the part that was destroyed. The seller gave me a full refund and told me to keep the machine as he didn't have an extra crank at the time but would watch for one for it and let me know when he found one. All the other machines that I have received from ebay have been delivered in good condition but I now try to pick them up when ever possible. Good luck!