If you are sending multiple books, compare your media mail price with that of a flat rate box. Books shipping as media mail may contain incidental book announcements. Sound recordings and video recordings, such as cds and dvds. Save money mailing books through the post office clever. Media mail shipping is a costeffective way to send educational materials. I have actually had mail arrive with postage due because of some seller sending me books via media mail. All the times vary, though, and if you are sending the package somewhere fairly close, then you will usually get it sooner. Postal service for any packages containing books, recordings, printed music and other types of media. Shipping books through media mail may not be the cheapest option if you are mailing the books to a public library. Media mail service has special eligibility requirements for permissible contents. I make sure i list that it will be sent media mail though, so the buyer cant complain about the shipping time.
Media mail is a shipping alternative offered by the u. How nitpicky is the post office with regards to media mail. Print the recipient address and the return address neatly and clearly with a pen. However, in order to obtain media mail rates, the shipper must abide by several packaging rules. Usps do not offer media mail internationally, only for domestic postage. Media mail cant be used to send any media that contains advertisements. And here is a recent change that effects media mailcookbookscook pamphlets can not go media mail. Can i ship a book in a poly mailer and ship it via media mail. What are library mail service and media mail service. The media item can be anything like books, films, dvds, videotapes, recorded media, cds, music tracks, and other sound recording things. Remember that, unlike other usps services, your parcel wont be delivered in one or two days. You can also track the packages you sent thanks to the usps tracking system. Media mail is a cost effective service for shipping books and education material.
Books, including books issued to supplement other books, of at least eight printed pages, consisting wholly of reading matter or scholarly bibliography, or reading matter with incidental blank spaces for notations and containing no advertising matter other than incidental announcements of books. The shipping container must weigh less than 70 lbs 32 kg to qualify for. If its not imperative that your books arrive quickly, the cheapest way to mail books is by sending them media mail through the u. Available for sending small and large packages containing books, film, manuscripts, sound recordings, video tapes, and computer media such as cds, dvds, and diskettes only. Choose a shipping service based on postage rates, included tracking and insurance, delivery times, the records youd like to keep, and whether you would like to use free postal shipping envelopes and boxes. Be sure to ask a postal worker about this option, as it can save you as much as 50% on shipping costs. If a customer wants to send the materials like books, films, dvds, videotapes, recorded media, cds, music tracks, and other sound recording things, they can send it through the media mail. If they are pornographic your recipient could get into a bit of a stew. According to usps, the following media are allowed to be shipped using media mail.
While media mail service is designed to account for the weight of books and other educational material, sometimes its even cheaper to use priority mails flat rate packaging, especially if youre sending several items together, or unusually heavy books. Contents are limited to books, manuscripts, sound recordings, and certain other educational materials. Media mail is for shipping media items containing books, sound recordings, recorded video tapes, printed music, recorded computerreadable. The cheapest postal rate is the media mail rate which may be used only for books, including graphic novels, trade paperbacks and hardbacks. An expensive change at usps for ebay and online sellers. It is a costeffective way for those who sell these items online to ship them to buyers. I had one idiotic seller send me a book via media mail. When using a box to mail books, use an appropriate size and insert packing peanuts, bubble wrap or shipping paper to fill any leftover space. The united states postal service usps has a media mail rate. Either one envelope or one addressed postcard may be bound into the pages of a book. How does the post office confirm that media mail is actually media mail. You can not ship magazines, trading cards, or video games with media mail.
If also serving as an order form, the envelope or card may be in addition to the order form permitted by 4. The po has realized that most of the recipe pamphlets are nothing more than ads for product and so it can not be shipped media. Media mail usps retail rate table shippingeasy support. But, in order to avoid being charged with mail fraud, be sure you understand exactly what media mail is, and when you can and cannot use it. Mar 04, 2010 one of the most important things is to not have any actual correspondence in it. Those books can be sent under a cheaper rate known as the library rate. Media mail is a costeffective option for those who send books, recorded music and other media materials in bulk through the u.
Books, including books issued to supplement other books, of at least eight printed pages, consisting wholly of reading matter or scholarly bibliography. The prohibition against advertising was to prevent all new periodicals not just comics, but time, us, newsweek, etc, which are distributed via second class special commercial rates, from using the media mail service. Media mail is a costeffective way to ship heavier books. Media mail is a lowcost method of sending various types of printed and recorded media such as pamphlets, tapes, dvds and books through the mail.
It probably would have gone through fine if not for the duffel bag, it was quite obvious it wasnt books in there. You can send books, videotapes, dvds, cds, printed music and other sound recordings through media mail as long as they weigh less than 70 pounds. Usps media mail regulations comics general cgc comic. Using media mail is easy, but there are a few tricks and precautions that you should be aware of. Many other postal services also offer a discounted price for shipping books. I would suggest that you instead place the books in a decorated gift box. Is it possible to ship books via media mail from home. Mar 19, 2020 media mail is addressed just as any other mail shipped with usps is. Now that im here, ive decided which books to keep and which to sell, but ive discovered the rather annoying fact that canada does not have an equivalent to the united states media mail postal rate. Playscripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music.
If i buy poly mailers and i have a book that i sold on ebay and i put it in a poly mailer. Media mail is a moneylosing proposition for the usps. I know that media mail is not a moneymaker for the post office, so they try hard to hide the. The shipping container must weigh less than 70 lbs 32 kg to qualify for media mail. Usps medi mail is one such costeffective service which is used to send educational materials. What is difference between book rate and media mail. Can you use usps media mail to mail books from us to. People who need to send media items can make use of this service. The pros and cons of using media mail vervante blog. Shipping a coffee table book is a different proposition than sending a pocketsized manual. Yes, you can ship comic books via media mail without anyone ever opening the package and confiscating them.
The cost of sending media mail is determined by your packages weight. Media mail usps retail rate table shippingeasy support center. Items that contain advertising do not qualify for media mail. But you can ship marijuana, lsd, hollow point ammunition, live scorpions, and child pornography via media mail as well. You might want to use media mail if you sell books online or swap cds or dvds. Media mail is a costeffective way to send non time sensitive media materials through the u. Even though books are heavy and bulky, sending them long distance to friends as a gift, or to yourself when moving, does not have to be expensive. Only these items may be mailed at the media mail prices. How do you use the usps media mail shipping service.
The united states postal service offers several options for sending packages through the mail. May 28, 2008 media mail is not just books its any form of media. The mail class is also known as book rate among book sellers. In april of 2016 the usps actually lowered some prices shock. Media mail rates are limited to the items listed below. Whats the best way to ship a vinyl record through the mail. May 22, 2007 now that im here, ive decided which books to keep and which to sell, but ive discovered the rather annoying fact that canada does not have an equivalent to the united states media mail postal rate. This is a lot cheaper than media mail and provided exclusively for libraries. What is the cheapest way to ship books from us to india. A postal worker may reject the mail and return it to sender or ask for additional postage if the worker discovers that it is not really media.
Alternatively, you might want to check if such books are being sold by a different company in europe, etc. To keep everything from getting jumbled up, ive included either a bunchedup towel or canvas bags as filler material. Although you wont pay as much to send these items via media mail, they can take longer to get to their destination. You can then insert any packing slip and seal the package for mailing. The book rate was mainly for books when it was first created, but if your intention is to send books to or from a library, then you should use the cheaper alternative known as library rate. If youre sending only one book, that is not a good idea because the minimum charge for m bag is for 11 pounds. Media mail is provided by the united states postal service. First class mail international can weigh up to 4 pounds.
Media mail only allows you to ship books, computerreadable. The benefit of using this service is costeffectiveness. Media mail is shipped at the same time rate as a parcel post. When i emailed usps, they said i cannot use click n ship to ship books via media mail. Media mail is a lowcost mailing service offered by the united states postal service, or usps. Generally, media mail will be the cheapest option to ship books, but there might be a few instances where other options cost less. Parcel post and media mail are two of the least expensive ways to send items. This service has restrictions on the type of media that can be shipped. This rule is a little fuzzy, however, because incidental mentions of other media within a piece of media are considered okay, as long as it isnt a part of overt advertising for the purpose of selling the media mentioned. And shipping all 20 volumes of the oxford english dictionary will require yet another approach. The instagram book exchange sounds scammy, but users are. Oct 14, 2017 media mail is the perfect affordable option for sending books, cds, and dvds through the united states postal service. Understanding the media mail classification newsletter. I was promoting a great book and great author who had potential for national tv.
Although you wont pay as much to send these items via media mail, they can take longer to get to their. Make sure your mail piece is classified as media mail. Read this article to know more about this service, like what is media mail shipping and how media mail works. Users are actually sending each other booksand reclaiming the eversketchy genre of chain letters. It allows you to get a discounted postage rate on certain items. Usps has an international delivery service to fit your needs.
We had one professor or college student send multiple very large boxes and a large duffel bag almost like a hockey equipment bag as media mail. Each box contains a hodgepodge of hardback and paperback books. Play scripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music. Yepmagazines, catalogs, books, dvds, computer games, etc. A media contact will often react the same way, and be much more likely to take a look at what youve sent as opposed to regular mail. Media mail was intended to be a cheap, slow shipping method to move educational material, not just books. Shipments that qualify for media mail service include. Books at least 8 pages sound recordings and video recordings, such as cds and dvds. Almost all comics contain advertising and therefore cannot be shipped media mail. Apr 26, 2017 if you send books or cds through the mail as a textbook seller, artist or publisher, you ought to familiarize yourself with media mail, a service from the united states postal service. If you send a book in a media mail envelope, you might put a cardboard insert on both sides of the book.
This service has restrictions on the type of media that can be sent. The only comparable service to media mail for international shipping is an m bag. The return address goes in the upper left corner of the envelope or top of the box. Sep 05, 2019 books shipping as media mail may contain incidental book announcements. It usually costs less than first class mail if you are sending large items. Cds, dvds, records, tapes, or other sound and video recordings. Media mail small and large packages and thick envelopes can be sent domestically using media mail.
This service has certain rules and restrictions, however, including a maximum weight of 70 pounds and can only contain educational media. There are big books, small books, thin books, and thick books. Nov 30, 2017 media mail is a costeffective way to send materials such as books, cards, calendars, journals, dvds, and cds through the u. If you have more than that, then priority mail international is your next option. Software, magazines with ads, games and the like are generally not eligible for media mail although under certain circumstances may be eligible for library mail but that in itself is a category of mail that no one at the usps can fully agree with what is allowed and what isnt. I once actually ended up doing my own test of this. Media mail is a usps mail class restricted to the delivery of books, film, audio and other recorded media. Media mail is a costeffective way to send media materials through the u.
Media mail is a costeffective way to send media and educational materials. Postal service allows you to send books, dvds, cds, printed music, and sound recordings through media mail at a discounted rate. For large books, wrapping in plastic provides excellent protection against water damage. Media printed music, sound recordings, periodicals, cds, dvds, and books. Enclosures in books mailed at media mail prices are subject to these additional standards. However, there are few restrictions on the type of mail items that can be shipped restrictions will be discussed later.
How to package a book through media mail bizfluent. Usps media mail service rules, rates, tracking, calculator. Formerly called book rate, media mail cannot contain advertising, except eligible books may contain incidental announcements of books. Media mail is a costeffective way to send materials such as books, cards, calendars, journals, dvds, and cds through the u. Airmail mbags send large amounts of printed material. Books, cds, dvds, cassettes,vinyl records and the like can be shipped media mail. Thats how i mail stuff like used dvds via ebay every time. This means that the packages are shipped solely by trucks and may take 7 through 9 days to reach their destination.
I wont use media mail unless its an actual hardcoversoftcover book. Your options for media mail packaging include flat cardboard envelopes, padded envelopes and boxes. However, i have twice heard post office clerks tell me that they have seen shipments of books to go via media mail in the back of the post office, that were not sent from the counter. Expected delivery time 721 days usually 3 weeks or more. Generally, media mail is the cheapest usps mail class for shipping heavy items up to 70 lbs. It is an affordable method to send these media materials to the desired destination. As mentioned earlier, materials like books, films, dvds, videotapes, recorded media, cds, music tracks, and other sound recording things are considered as media mail.