I couldn't believe the battery came in one of those plastic mailers. But it and the box and the battery inside were in great shape even before charging it the battery was showing 12.7 volts. It was about a half inch longer than my last battery but I remade the shield and got her installed. I got it just a little quicker than I expected, and we'll see how well it performs this winter. If it keeps working as well as it does now I'll probably end up ordering another one for my UTV. BTW, even with shipping I think I got a better deal than buying from car parts place.