I'm sorry to hear of your problems as well.
As at least one other person has said here, such things as "fragile" labels and the like are meaningless to barcode readers. However, I think the seller should have packed that set a lot better than he did, using styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, anything to keep the TV from moving in the box during shipment (and to protect it from bumps, jars, etc). Seems to me as if he was in a hurry to ship it; that or he didn't know much (or anything) about correct packing methods when shipping fragile items.
The seller is also guilty, IMO, of failing to put the proper warnings and shipping instructions on the box. Any time anything fragile like that is shipped, the shipper should put several "fragile" and "this end up" warnings on the box in large letters so the item isn't banged around, thrown carelessly (I've heard of that happening with carriers such as UPS and others) or otherwise mishandled in transit.
If I were you, I'd file a damage claim with FedEx immediately. They should reimburse you at least for the cost of the CRT (and of course for the value of the chassis if it was damaged as well, as it probably was if the CRT imploded), as was also mentioned in another post to this thread.
I have received two antique radios (won in ebay auctions) via UPS in excellent condition, but then again the sellers of both units packed the sets exceedingly well, using bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts. (It took me perhaps 15 minutes to get the packing material off one of those sets when it arrived here, but it was worth it: the radio played the minute I plugged it in [no broken tubes, etc.] and there was no damage to the walnut cabinet.)
Again, I am very sorry to hear of your loss.
Hope you settle things with FedEx quickly and are able to get your "new" old RCA working again.
Good luck and very kind regards,