I came home on Tuesday afternoon to find my poor Xbox 360's coffin waiting for me on the front step. As you can see above, there's really nothing to it. It's a simply a plain ol' white box with no mentioning of the words 'Microsoft' or 'Xbox' anywhere on it.


But, as shown above in greater detail, because the box was essentially empty, it took a bit of a beating in transit. One corner of it was bashed in pretty good. On the plus side, however, the structural integrity of it remained intact.

Alright then, time to open it up...


The contents of the box include (from left to right): Instructions on how to package the 360 properly, tape (if you can believe it) to reseal the box, a prepaid return shipping label for UPS 3-day select, and 2 foam covers to place at each end of the 360. Also pictured is a static bag to wrap the console in.

I was pretty impressed at just how carefully everything was planned out. They thought of everything I would need, even down to some tape (though I chose to use some more of my own to ensure safe delivery).

All that was left was to secure the 360 and place it in the box.


Despite the damage the box received while getting here, the console fit quite securely with the included foam. Once the box was resealed, I felt pretty confident that it would indeed reach Texas in no worse shape than it was already in.

According to the UPS tracking number, she made it to the McAllen, TX repair facility around Noon on Friday. They claim no more than 2 days turnaround time while there, so time shall see.

Check back for more updates.