Are posters regarded as Media Mail?

[kauvil-us]

I just sold a large poster and was wondering if posters can be shipped as Media Mail? It's printed, has no writing and it's for an exhibit that closed a while ago.

[simba6]

Good question      Is is educational ?  If so it looks like it is.

Media mail does not include materials that are not educational. It can include posters, images, and film as long as they’re educational in nature. That means educational books, images, music, etc., are all considered media material as long as they’re for educational purposes.

[nobody*s_perfect]

No, that doesn't qualify. 

[kauvil-us]

Boy, I sure love the answers you get here. One says it does include posters, the other one says it doesn't include them. I think you guys should get together and coordinate your replies to posts here.  I tilll don't have an answer to my question.

[kauvil-us]

It includes any kind of books, not just educational, as long as it does not contain ads.

[klhmdg]

@kauvil-us  - I would also say it is not educational material and doesnt qualify

As for "getting together" on answers, some people may have more information or experience.

It might be best for you to look up the USPS Media Mail requirements and maybe ask at the PO.

This way IF you send it Media Mail and get a big bill for extra shipping fees maybe you could get the PO to back up the way you shipped.

[nobody*s_perfect]

---

@kauvil-us wrote: ... I think you guys should get together and coordinate your replies to posts here....

---

Some of the replies are better-informed than others.

 The USPS sometimes mentions the "educational" aspect of Media Mail, but if you read the actual rules in the Domestic Mail Manual, there are only two categories (out of 9) which specifically mention "educational." So apparently the educational criterion doesn't apply to the other categories such as books and movies, which are eligible for MM no matter how junky they are. Hence, you can disregard any general advice which assumes that there is an "educational" requirement.

Here's a link to the relevant section of the DMM:

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#ep1113509

As you can see, there is no comment about eligibility for posters. The closest thing is section (g) which happens to be one of the 2 sections that mention "educational." It says, "Printed educational reference charts designed to instruct or train individuals for improving or developing their capabilities."  So that wouldn't include your exhibit poster.

[nobody*s_perfect]

---

@klhmdg wrote: ...  look up the USPS Media Mail requirements and maybe ask at the PO.

This way IF you send it Media Mail and get a big bill for extra shipping fees maybe you could get the PO to back up the way you shipped.

---

When mailing an item in-person at the PO, you can request inspection and approval of your Media Mail package.  USPS has a stamp that they put on MM packages when inspecting them, so that staff farther along the way will know that they don't have to bother re-inspecting that package.  Bring your own tape for that final taping-up of the box, since some PO's are stingy.

[1786davycrockett]

@kauvil-us 

"Media mail does not include materials that are not educational. It can include posters, images, and film as long as they’re educational in nature. That means educational books, images, music, etc., are all considered media material as long as they’re for educational purposes."

The above is directly from USPS.  Note that it reads that the poster is "considered media material as long as they're for educational purposes."  This means posters used in educational settings, such as day schools, nursery schools,  kindergarten, grade schools, middle schools, high schools, vocational schools, universities, colleges, and business schools, plus other posters intentionally designed for educational purposes (the key word being 'intentionally").

You have described the poster which you have sold as "for an exhibit that closed a while ago."

Was the poster which you have sold formerly used in an educational setting, or was it a poster used to advertise something in a non-educational setting (such as a movie theater, or a dramatic theater, or a museum,  or a musical venue)? 

Please provide more information regarding the poster itself.

[nobody*s_perfect]

---

@1786davycrockett wrote:

@kauvil-us 

"Media mail does not include materials that are not educational. It can include posters, images, and film as long as they’re educational in nature. That means educational books, images, music, etc., are all considered media material as long as they’re for educational purposes."

The above is directly from USPS....

---

Link, please? The only place that Google finds that quote is an article on "Poster Grind."

[1786davycrockett]

@nobody*s_perfect 

You're absolutely right, and I humbly stand corrected:  I was under the impression that I was quoting USPS; but it was, indeed, "Poster Grind."

The nearest that USPS regulations come to the term "posters," is "Printed educational reference charts."

I apologize for clouding up this issue any further than it already has become.

Thank you for assisting in this clarification.

[fab_finds4u]

Some answers on Reddit from posters that claim to be employed by USPS says no.  

Here's the list from USPS.

https://liteblue.usps.gov/news/link/2013/04apr/Media-Mail-Guidelines.htm

[robbie31415]

Curious about media mail, but is there any reference on the tracking if a package gets inspected?

I've sent out a lot, never had issue, but I'm unsure if any of my packages underwent inspection.

So just wondering if there is anyway to know.

[12345jamesstamps]

Laugh out loud...My post office is very stingy...need to bring or buy their tape.

[kauvil-us]

The poster is from a museum about a historic exhibition (Napoleon's invasion pf Russia, to be exact).