eBay

stonevintage · ‎08-11-2017

Lol, I've seen sellers acknowledge this rule thru the decades, but always manage to justify that their "particular books" are exempt from this rule. As said, some ruin it for many.

pingpong517 · ‎08-12-2017

Media Mail Service Media Mail® service has special eligibility requirements for permissible contents. Media Mail rates are limited to the items listed below:

Books (at least 8 pages).

Sound recordings and video recordings, such as CDs and DVDs.

Playscripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music.

Printed music.

Computer-readable media containing prerecorded information and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such media.

Sixteen millimeter or narrower width films.

Printed objective test materials and their accessories.

Printed educational reference charts.

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

Media Mail Packages may not contain advertising except that books may contain incidental announcements of other books and sound recordings may contain incidental announcements of other sound recordings. In accordance...

seems if you have to fit your item in a grey area, then it probably isn't media mail... and if those use it ...and hope,...then if caught then no one to blame but themself...

and the speed of it--what a pain ....give me 1st class or flate rate envelope or box anytime.

wolf*song · ‎08-12-2017

You'd be better off shipping those Priority Mail.

wolf*song · ‎08-12-2017

There are tons of comic book sellers on Ebay who ship MM. I'm not one of them. If for some reason the package is damaged and a postal employee sees it, or is randomly inspected (they DO inspect them, it's happened to me), the buyer has to pay the extra postage to get their item. Not good.

The USPS is getting ready to raise it's rates again, and I think it's the perfect time for them to reevaluate their MM policies. Any magazines, comics, books, whatever, that are over two years old should qualify for MM, IMO.

pikabo-icu · ‎08-12-2017

And then there are the violators that use a technicality to game the system..

I bought a box- (yeah ok it was designer box, a BIG one, don't shame me).

It was reboxed (as it should be) and seller put a homemade mix tape inside the inner box-

They shipped the whole lot media mail...

Technically, they were within the rules but it was still shady to me.

I can't compete with that. They paid appx 4.00+change. For me to ship that box would cost $14.+

~Pika~
People in life that are the happiest don't have the most,, they make the most of what they have...

wolf*song · ‎08-12-2017

Wow... Kinda funny, kinda NOT funny. 🙂

lex-talon · ‎08-12-2017

@stonevintage wrote:
Lol, I've seen sellers acknowledge this rule thru the decades, but always manage to justify that their "particular books" are exempt from this rule. As said, some ruin it for many.

All the books I've sold never had any ads in them. Although there are books that have certain "ads" in them. Some publishers have other books for sale and will list their website or mail order address.

Some sellers simply ignore them and ship MM anyway.

annadryl · ‎08-12-2017

I think what constitutes an "ad" is at the discretion of whoever is inspecting the item. Some postal people are picky and some are lenient. There are published guidelines but real life is more fluid...

My local postal guys are pretty casual but you never know if some inspector along the way has had a bad day

Good luck~

lookng2015 · ‎08-12-2017

@pikabo-icu wrote:
And then there are the violators that use a technicality to game the system..

I bought a box- (yeah ok it was designer box, a BIG one, don't shame me).
It was reboxed (as it should be) and seller put a homemade mix tape inside the inner box-
They shipped the whole lot media mail...

Technically, they were within the rules but it was still shady to me.
I can't compete with that. They paid appx 4.00+change. For me to ship that box would cost $14.+

A lot like the seller who shipped 2 large rolls of bubble with a book sandwiched between them as MM. The postal carrier who inspected it commented it must have been a VERY expensive book.

"If a product doesn't sell, raise the price" - Reese Palley
"If it sold FAST, it was priced too low" - also Reese Palley

7606dennis · ‎08-12-2017

Frankly, I don't offer MM as a shipping option even if the item does qualify for it, owing to the unpredictability of the transit time. I suppose if I were a regular book seller I might think differently about it, but I don't think the savings is worth grief received from impatient buyers.

"It is an intelligent man that is aware of his own ignorance."

1786davycrockett · ‎08-12-2017

Many, many mass market paperback books in the 1960s/1970s had cards glued or sewn at the center of the books, that advertised cigarettes, book clubs, and other items. These ads had absolutely NOTHING to do with the subject matter of the book in which they were included, and could NOT easily be removed, as they were glued or sewn at the spine, along with the rest of the text, at the time of the production process. This was possibly done as a "dodge," back at a time when USPS periodical rates were cheaper than USPS book rates; but the rates have obviously reversed now.

So -- does ONE advertisement inside a 40 year old mass market paperback change it from a book, into a periodical? I don't think so.

kitschy*loot · ‎08-12-2017

I have been collecting vintage yearbooks since 2001 and the sellers always ship them media mail. One seller said vintage advertisements do not count so you can ship yearbooks that way. It appears that isn't true.

partial*eclipse · ‎08-12-2017

1786davycrockett wrote: ... does ONE advertisement inside a 40 year old mass market paperback change it from a book, into a periodical? I don't think so.

Advertising doesn't change anything into a periodical. Being published periodically, and shipped at the USPS Periodical rate, does.

poppyswag · ‎08-12-2017

@partial*eclipse wrote:
The listing for poppy's catalog says, "Measures 13.25" to 9.25". 600 pages." So it's too big for a FRE.

Yep. The only one it would fit in was the med flat rectangle size. I always offer parcel select and priority. And I use A &B boxes whenever possible. Most people selling catalogs offer Media Mail on their listings but I'm not going to do it.

That's the whole thing . My west coast customers (who are left) get penalized for shipping as do I. That price spread is totally ridiculous.

sharingtheland · ‎08-12-2017

@poppyswag wrote:
Love this topic, Stone. Just had a dilemma of a 1928 catalog. Buyer from CA begged for shippng mercy. 17.00+ parcel select/priority - 4.00 media mail. What would you do?

I think we can use common sense in some situations. What advertising or even items for sale are still viable in that catalog, now, 89 years later ?

Although I think the book squeezed in the bubble wrap order was rather ingenious. Why don't I ever think to think creatively like that?

Signed,

Goody Two Shoes

Sherry

=^.^= =^.^=
( ) ( )
" " =^.^= " "

partial*eclipse · ‎08-12-2017

Common sense has nothing to do with it. USPS has chosen to not allow advertising or periodicals of any age. Perhaps there's nothing relevant from a catalog from 1928, but where do you draw the line? 1958? 1988? 2008? The chart that they produced for their own staff addressed this clearly by having separate entries for "New magazines" and "old magazines":

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