Just a quick update here. I received my ET Cherry OG + freebies from Attitude without a hitch...roughly same delivery time as when I've used the "guaranteed shipping option."
Placed another order on Apr 17th for the DNA CannaSutra + free Mekong Haze promo....same delivery option, no guaranteed shipping. Received my beans today, so even slightly quicker than usual. Arrived in breeders packs with no visible signs of damage.
So far, then, my last two orders were without the shipping guarantee and worked just fine. In the future, I will likely not choose the guaranteed shipping (and thus save myself $10+ in extra shipping charges) if I'm ordering less than $100 worth of beans. Anything over, and I'd probly be tempted to pay for the guarantee just so I don't risk losing too much for the gamble. So far, though, I've had no problems ordering this way...and already saved myself more than twenty bucks.