Could you use a little advice on recently delivered speakers..

The OP said the packing was lousy, but never stated whether or not the package had been visibly damaged. Either way, it's not unreasonable to think the issue was caused by normal (or shoddy) handling of a box that was not packed well. Could the speakers have left the factory that way? Possibly. But that's not where I'd put my money.

@gdaddy1 The shabby packing and loose terminals were obviously a concern of the OP or else he/she wouldn’t have posted in the first place.  Also, I have my own standards for selling and receiving new or pre-owned on-line items from whomever, and I made them perfectly clear in my post, which is my prerogative.  If you or the OP have different standards, then that’s your prerogative.  Happy listening.      

Only visible damage is a slight chip on veneer on back top corner of same speaker with plugs facing down in box, barely visible, and a smaller one on top front of speaker which had the front facing down. I cannot prove that wasn't there before or if it had anything to do with the way it was shipped (although I suspect it does, but is not my main concern TBH). My main concern was the slight looseness or 'wiggle-ability' on the binding post. Overall the speaker finish is quit3 good, not hearing any issues, when I first received them and moved the post a tad I heard a brief static that evaporated when I let go. I've bought and sold possibly dozens of speakers (it's a sickness, I know) but I rarely post here. Just wanted some input, on one hand i didn't want to overreact if fixable or sonically irrelevant, OTOH I didn't want to settle for less than what it should be if there was an issue.

@sifter - you received good advice from @porchlight1 about carefully removing the driver.  I would add that it should be safest to remove the screws with the speaker on its back, so the screws are removed vertically, instead of horizontally from the speaker in its upright position..  When you replace the driver, snug all the screws before applying the final torque, and then sequentially torque screws across from each other rather than successively tightening the adjacent screw. Since you have successfully touched base with the manufacturer, they may have a torque rating recommendation you could follow.  This should not be hard, or that big of a deal.  Just get it fixed and then you no longer need to worry about it.

I would not like a wiggly binding post. How much to make about the packaging and transport to me also has to do with the quality of the product we are talking about. I am not trying to diminish importance of the issue. But Acoustic Energy stand mounted speakers vary in price new from around $500 to around $1600. So used, they are unlikely to be more than $250 - $800. My reluctance to shrug off a little problem, or fix it by pulling a woofer is strongly related to the cost of a speaker. If the speaker was $10K, or $20K or more new... I would  be really reluctant. Wanting a professional solution. But in this price range, I’d pull to woofer and tighten it. 

If it was a much more pricy speaker, I would buy from a dealer. I would say given the cost of the units. giving it to UPS was a reasonable choice. I am sure the vast majority of the time they arrive in perfect shape.