I don’t think beads should EVER be used when shipping “normal shape” trees. The strongest part of a tree is the base/roots, holding the tree “by the pot” (wrapped in film/tape to hold the soil and retain moisture) is the best bet, combined with a box that won’t crush.
If the box gets wet it loses all strength and collapses.
If the root mass/pot are heavy and the tree is loose in with beads, it it’s dropped upside down the beads will snap all the branches off. (If it’s a conifer whip in a light plastic pot then mayyybe beads are ok)
I normally clingfilm the pot/roots, then tape to a padded layer to protect the underside of the pot and help hold it central in the box, then cut holes in the bottom of the sides of the box and apply strong packing tape “seatbelts” to the pot. Then tape all joints of the (double wall) box to maximise stiffness.
Alfter that I treat it like any other parkel, upside down, even a short drop (not by me!) are all fine, the “tree” weights nothing compared to the pot/roots!
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