When to Use Media Mail

USPS Media Mail is a less expensive way to ship bulk bound books, computer diskettes, CD roms, VHS & DVDs & CDs; bound magazines (that do not include advertisements, no matter how old or antique), bound manuscripts & digital video cassettes. Bulk is the essential word.

If sending one other thing besides the packing slip with the media in the same package, the USPS can consider this mail fraud or attempting to circumvent federal shipping fees. Even something like a Birthday card included with the DVD's or bound books is a violation of federal USPS law. The card has to be mailed separate & stamped because it is not Media Mail. Same thing goes for a holiday card with a gift.

USPS routinely inspects packages that are sent via Media Mail because it is less expensive & shippers abuse it or misunderstand what the USPS federal law means by Media Mail. Plain & simple, it means Media materials only. An unbound manuscript, for instance, doesn't count as Media any more than a stack of printed out computer papers stapled together does.

If y/our package is inspected by the USPS, which is quite often done since 9/11 & it isn't ALL Media material, don't count upon it arriving--it will be returned to the sender for postage $ needed. Let's say we try to ship gold, or shoes along with books, we could be looking at charges for violating federal postal laws. Ouch!

Also, Sellers--Whenever a buyer pays you for insurance & you don't buy it, that's federal postal fraud! If the package gets lost, Seller, you are nailed. Buyers, do not risk shipping anything without insuring it; if the item is extremely rare, request that the seller send it so that it must be signed for. All you need is to be a buyer who gets defrauded after buying insurance once when the seller didn't send the antique ring (either at all or insured?) & you'll understand the severity of this fair warning.

Also, some say that Media Mail takes much longer to arrive. Bunk, if you send it insured! All of mine has arrived in the same time as Priority Mail (postal rip offs that are not guaranteed 2-3 days as clerks advertise--it's 2-9 days, just like Parcel Post). First Class insured mail is both the quickest & least costly, unless Media materials only are shipped in bulk.

Example: 1VHS in a bubble envelop costs .04 cents less via Media Mail than 1st class mail. It can take over two weeks to arrive via uninsured Media Mail; but, uninsured 1st class mail will arrive within the week or sooner~

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