OT - When can you use Media Mail to ship

[Buythatcard]

This is one Postal rate that I never get right.

According to the USPS, you may ship magazines w/o advertisements via Media mail.

My question is does that mean a magazine from any time period? Suppose I am shipping a Baseball Year Book from the 1960's or 70's. It does have advertisements in the back but many of those companies may not even exist anymore. Do the media rates apply to any time period?

Anyone have a clear picture on how exactly do Media rates work?

[philliesfan]

I always understood that any magazine, newspaper, ANY form of media, etc. can be mailed via media rates. This also includes CD's and DVD's.

[philliesfan]

I always understood that any magazine, newspaper, ANY form of media, etc. can be mailed via media rates. This also includes CD's and DVD's.

[autograf]

I use media mail for any type of media as stated above......primarily books, magazines, etc. The HEAVY stuff. It's always subject to be opened and have had that happen a couple times. Not sure why. Also remember that it doesn't typically travel as fast as first class, so be sure your buyer knows that. Sometimes slow boat but mostly a couple days behind FCM. I've also had it get there quickly before. So basically.....any time in transit seems to work. I don't do a lot of DVD's and CD's so don't know about that.

[steve B]

Yes, no ads.

From any time period. With a couple very narrow exceptions.

A friend of mine got an old magazine from the 1890's return to sender for extra postage because of ads.

In addition to stuff like books and magazines without ads. (Magazines without ads?! Don't think I've ever seen one) 8, 9.5 and 16 mm film is also ok to ship media mail 35mm movie film is not. Probably because it's mostly a commercial product.

Beta, VHS, reel to reel tapes, 8 tracks, cassettes, records, computer disks.....all ok as long as there's no advertising.

http://about.usps.com/notices/not121/not121.htm

The wording used to be different, allowing unbound printed matter, and I used to ship bulk lots of cheap card that way until they decided it wouldn't be allowed.
The actual regs here.
http://pe.usps.gov/Archive/PDF/DMMArchive20050106/173.pdf

Steve B

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Books have one ad exception. books that have order forms/ads for other books like a lot of genre paperback do are actually OK. I've never heard of a magazine that was actually OK and I have sent magazines all the way back to 1920's issues of Baseball Magazine.

[t206blogcom]

I use it when mailing books.

[tschock]

The interesting thing about regulations is that not as many people know them who think they do. To wit...

I just happened to be mailing a technical book today at the USPS using media mail. I was watching a postal employee tape closed a flat rate priority box for a customer that obviously would not close (meaning fit) in the standard flat rate box without the extra tape, since what was being put into the box protruded beyond the end of the box. So the flaps didn't lay over flat.

Now I was told previously by another postal employee that in order to be able to use a flat rate box, it had to fit within the flat rate box with no need to be taped in order to close the box. (you could put tape on to 'secure' the package better, but it should not be needed to enclose what is being mailed)

Moral of the story? Know the regulations and be able to show them to the postal employee should they give you grief otherwise. Or go to a different PO. :) And being willing to 'pay the price' based on someone down the line deciding differently. :(

[tschock]

Books have one ad exception. books that have order forms/ads for other books like a lot of genre paperback do are actually OK. I've never heard of a magazine that was actually OK and I have sent magazines all the way back to 1920's issues of Baseball Magazine.

I've 'heard' that technical journals are fine for media mail as well (medical, computer, etc). Journal of the American Medical Association, OK. Men's Health, Not OK.

I believe again, it gets down to the advertising aspect. But it is somewhat of a byzantine set of regulations.

[Pat R]

I recently received two cards that were shipped media mail. The seller
charged $10 shipping and it was two weeks before I got them. I'm not
sure if it was because they were shipped media mail, because he put the wrong 4 digit add on code, or a combination of both.

[Buythatcard]

It just makes no sense why you can't ship magazines with ads via media mail. A magazine is a magazine.

Someone did make a point in one of the earlier posts about what magazine does not have ads.

[ibuysportsephemera]

It just makes no sense why you can't ship magazines with ads via media mail. A magazine is a magazine.

Someone did make a point in one of the earlier posts about what magazine does not have ads.

It's all about the money. The PO can charge more for magazines and other literature that has advertisements. Most magazines have advertisements.

Jeff

[buymycards]

Baseball cards never qualify. Newspapers never qualify. Very old magazines do qualify because the advertising content, for the most part, no longer exists. Stacks of paper do not qualify, unless they are bound. DVD's and CD's do qualify, as well as 45's and 33's. (records, not guns). Books qualify. Comic books, for the most part, do not qualify because they contain advertising.

In some cases the rules are vague and they can be interpreted differently by different people.

All media mail parcels are supposed to be inspected because so many people are cheating. We have found cosmetics, food, clothing, car parts, and just about every item that you can think of that was included in media mail packages.

Keep in mind that everything in the box has to qualify. If you have a box with 10 books, but the box contains a pair of socks, then the parcel does not qualify for media rates.

[coolshemp]

My local post office told me that the CD I was mailing did not qualify for media mail because it was not educational in nature. The difference in price was minuscule so it didnt really matter, but I had never heard that rule before.