This set is even more beautiful and substantial in person! it has that hand-thrown pinch-pot feeling I wanted. It was packaged very carefully with a lot of foan and carddboard between each piece, and the different types of plate and bowl were packaged in their own boxes within the larger box. I think that whatever way they used to package them that resulted in breakage is no longer an issue, so if that was a worry, I'd say you don't need to be scared anymore!