Thank you very much for the plethora of tips Simon, I will apply them once the trees begin to bear fruit.
Thank you for the warning Pineislander, I imagine that was quite the loss, probably not covered under insurance either due to being perishable. Even when precautions are taken, there are no guarantees, my luck can be that way often.
As for the mango variety selection, I'm focusing on varieties with firm(er) flesh, and decent to long shelf lives in order to have ones I can count on being edible, even if there is some form of delay. I am taking this precaution not only for reasons of the loss of packages along the way, but where much of my family is (Upstate New York, and Boston). Mail delays due to blizzard conditions are something I should anticipate when many of the Mangoes and Cherimoyas are ripening in SoCal. That's why I want to pick varieties known to be good shippers, if I can remove variables, I would like to. Varieties which can be picked mature green without loss of quality, or which can tolerate rough handling are the ideal. Long shelf life (Edible at various stages) is a bonus.
That said, I'm trying to exclude varieties who have too firm a flesh to be a "sucking" mango, yet too much fiber to be fiberless (looking at you Pickering).
So far I'm looking at:
Classic: Edgar, Carla, Aloha.
Resin: Sunrise, possibly White Pirie.
Coconut: M4, So-Cal ORO.
Parsnip: Sweet Tart, Maha.
Citrus: (I'd like to have a few of these) LZ, PPK, Mallika, still considering Dusheri and maybe Orange Essence.
Spice: (Probably the most important category) Kesar, Alphonse, Val-Carrie, Angie, considering Ugly Betty.
Unique: ST Maui, Guava.
Others I would like to add if they ship well, and not exactly sure where they lie flavor-wise: Phoenix, Amy, Yi Xuan, and Seacrest.
It's a big list, but I'd like to have options as there's more than a few people I'd like to ship the fruit to.