The plain brown box clearly had easy-to-read instructions for the fine folks at the United States Postal Service. i.e.
This End Up
Fragile
Handle With Care
which apparently were too much trouble to be abided by.
Large crease down the outside of the outside box, which made me nervous. But I remained hopeful that the outside box took all the damage.
On further exploration, the mountainous Skyrim box itself, with the incredible illustration especially on the front panel, was all dented in, bent and torn in several places.
Fortunately the contents inside were all intact. Though it took me a moment to confirm whether the markings on the art book were intentional or damage (intentional).
Not Bethesda's fault at all. And I don't really know what I plan to do with the box itself. Just unfortunate that given the expense of the CE, I at least wanted to fully enjoy the experience of this game's arrival.
On the plus side, my long awaited adventure now begins.....