BEWARE - MEDIA MAIL Inspections on the rise!

This guide warns members that MEDIA MAIL is not seal against postal inspection, lists items eligible for MEDIA MAIL, and warns members that postage due fees apply to ineligle items using MEDIA MAIL.

Postal Inspection (Domestic Mail Manual 173.2.2)

Media Mail is not sealed against postal inspection. Regardless of physical closure, the mailing of articles at Media Mail prices constitutes consent by the mailer to postal inspection of the contents.

Items Eligible For MEDIA MAIL:

Content Standards (Domestic Mail Manual 173.3.0)
3.1 General
Mailable matter meeting one of the specific eligibility standards in 3.2, and that is neither mailed or required to be mailed as First-Class Mail nor entered as Periodicals, may be mailed as Media Mail.

3.2 Qualified Items
Only these items may be mailed at the Media Mail prices:

a. 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. Advertising includes paid advertising and the publishers' own advertising in display, classified, or editorial style.

b. 16-millimeter or narrower width films, which must be positive prints in final form for viewing, and catalogs of such films of 24 pages or more (at least 22 of which are printed). Films and film catalogs sent to or from commercial theaters do not qualify for the Media Mail price.

c. Printed music, whether in bound or sheet form.

d. Printed objective test materials and their accessories used by or on behalf of educational institutions to test ability, aptitude, achievement, interests, and other mental and personal qualities with or without answers, test scores, or identifying information recorded thereon in writing or by mark.

e. Sound recordings, including incidental announcements of recordings and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such recordings. Video recordings and player piano rolls are classified as sound recordings.

f. Playscripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music.

g. Printed educational reference charts designed to instruct or train individuals for improving or developing their capabilities. Each chart must be a single printed sheet of information designed for educational reference. The information on the chart, which may be printed on one or both sides of the sheet, must be conveyed primarily by graphs, diagrams, tables, or other nonnarrative matter. An educational reference chart is normally but not necessarily devoted to one subject. A chart on which the information is conveyed primarily by textual matter in a narrative form does not qualify as a printed educational reference chart for mailing at the Media Mail prices even if it includes graphs, diagrams, or tables. Examples of qualifying charts include maps produced primarily for educational reference, tables of mathematical or scientific equations, noun declensions or verb conjugations used in the study of languages, periodic table of elements, botanical or zoological tables, and other tables used in the study of science.

h. Loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information for distribution to doctors, hospitals, medical schools, and medical students.

i. Computer-readable media containing prerecorded information.

MEDIA MAIL FAQs:

Are coin books eligible to be mailed as Media Mail?

NO

Are stasmp albums eligible to be mailed as Media Mail?

NO

Are comic books eligle to be mailed as Media Mail?

NO ("containing no advertising matter").

Can I mix ineligible material with eligible material and send it all together as Media Mail?

NO, any ineligible materal (even a personal letter or money) makes the package ineligible.

Are products such as computers, stereos, CD players, etc. eligible to be mailed as Media Mail?

NO

Are sports and hobby trading cards (e.g., baseball cards) eligible to be mailed as Media Mail?

NO

Are pictures and photos eligible to be mailed as Media Mail

NO

Are magazines and newspapers among the eligible items for the Media Mail price?

NO

Are empty three-ring binders eligible to be mailed as Media Mail?

NO

Are empty three-ring binders eligible to be mailed as Media Mail?

NO

Does "computer-readable media containing prerecorded information" include blank computer disks?

NO

Can an invoice for merchandise be contained in the package?

YES, An invoice relating to the contents is acceptable .

Can an invoice for merchandise be contained in the package?

POSTAGE DUE:

Inspected items which have been mailed MEDIA MAIL, but are ineligible for the MEDIA RATE, will be delivered to the addressee POSTAGE DUE - the addressee can either pay the deficient postage or refuse the mail.