Media mail

[sandiegolinda]

Media mail cannot have advertising per the post office regulations.  I was told by my post office they were going to start cracking down on this.  Do others not know of the regulation, because they are mailing magazines w/ads via media mail.  I can't compete with them, as I don't want the Feds down on me or ebay......heck, they might send the Internal Rev after me next!!!! Joking of course, I do pay my taxes.

[soh.maryl]

Just to clarify:  This is not eBay's rule, it's a rule of the USPS.  

[stonevintage]

I get  the Campbell's soup recipe booklets etc not being allowed.  I have about a hundred oldies, that have some advertising by various companies but they've been out of business or product has been gone for decades.

Also those spiral bound church and local community "typed" cookbooks (fund raisers) - many have old local advertising on the backs, businesses which are long gone.... what about them?

Same with the old Hollywood rag magazines from the 50's... There seems to be no type of date cutoff line for allowance on these?

[sg51]

Do others not know of the regulation, because they are mailing magazines w/ads via media mail. 

In such matters, the standing prediction: tomorrow will work pretty much like today.

It's up to you to figure out how to make a profit in that context. You're not likely to be able to change anything.

[buyselljack2016]

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@sandiegolinda wrote:
HEY, may not be ebay's JOB, but they are charging us for shipping so they could at least help us with the rules and regs. I AM FOLLOWING THE REG. , just can't figure out why they don't disclose it! Or do they, maybe I'm missing it.

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@sandiegolinda

Just to touch back on this for a moment.  eBay is not charging us for shipping. They are providing a connection to the "shipper" that is being paid by us via our PayPal account.

[sandiegolinda]

I guess I'm not getting your reply....I pay ebay 10% of the sale price and 10% of the shipping and I pay paypal the total of the sale and shipping  x 2.9%   + 30 cents .  Am I paying somebody I don't have to?  And with that, I think we've drug this topic thru the mud as far as we can....Hey, how about those New York Yankees 🙂 or maybe the Minnesota Twins?  Have a great evening everyone and to all a Good Night.

[partial*eclipse]

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@stonevintage wrote:

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 ... companies but they've been out of business ...spiral bound church and local community "typed" cookbooks (fund raisers) - many have old local advertising on the backs,... magazines from the 50's... There seems to be no type of date cutoff line for allowance on these?

There are absolutely no exeptions to the "no advertising" rule.  The oft-linked chart for staff further clarifies it: old doesn't matter.

[mam98031]

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@muttlymob wrote:

Every periodical I've seen has advertising in it.  That is just my personal experience.  Just because it is a book or booklet made with the same materials you may typically see a magazine made with does not make it a magazine.

Periodical is determined by the postage rate and frequency of issue - this information can usually be found on the first few pages of the magazine, with the publishers imprint.  While not common there are periodicals that do not have any advertising.

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Periodical

a magazine or newspaper published at regular intervals.

Magazine

a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations, typically covering a particular subject or area of interest.

USPS doesn't determine the definition of a periodical, they determine the rate in which a periodical can ship for and in what class.  

[stonevintage]

Thanks.  I'll just list them in 1 or 2 large lots and ship FRPM. That'll get rid of them:)

[mam98031]

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@partial*eclipse wrote:

Highlights for Children is a periodical with no ads.  IIRC, also Arizona Highways.  Having been "entered as periodicals" (as the USPS jargon would say) they are not eligible for MM.

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USPS list does NOT exclude ALL periodicals.  It excludes magazines with advertisement.  While Highlights for Children is a periodical, it is also an educational book.  IMHO it would be considered OK to ship via MM.  But just my opinion and interpretation of the rules.

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

[mam98031]

@sandiegolinda

I guess I'm not getting your reply....I pay ebay 10% of the sale price and 10% of the shipping

We all do or something close to that.  But this has nothing to do with the USPS rules for the various classes of shipment they have available.

and I pay paypal the total of the sale and shipping  x 2.9%   + 30 cents .  

As we all do as well.  But again that has nothing to do with USPS rules, this is a cost of doing business on this site.

Am I paying somebody I don't have to?  

I'm unsure as to what you mean?  Is it your feeling that Ebay should not be paid for your ability to use the site?  Or is is your opinion that PP should not be paid for the service of processing your incoming funds?  I'm not trying to be flip with you at all.  I'm trying to understand what you are driving at.

The things you bring up in this posting has nothing to do with the postal rates and classes that USPS has.  USPS is not part of Ebay or PP.  Ebay is a for profit service related site that allows us to get our products seen worldwide.  PP is a for profit company that provides the service of money processing.

[mam98031]

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@partial*eclipse wrote:

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@stonevintage wrote:

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 ... companies but they've been out of business ...spiral bound church and local community "typed" cookbooks (fund raisers) - many have old local advertising on the backs,... magazines from the 50's... There seems to be no type of date cutoff line for allowance on these?

There are absolutely no exeptions to the "no advertising" rule.  The oft-linked chart for staff further clarifies it: old doesn't matter.

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There use to be, a long time ago.  I suspect that was changes in about 2013, but I'm not sure.  There use to be a time that you could ship OLD magazines with advertisement via MM.  But you needed to be sure that all the ads were out of date or invalid anymore.  Mags from the 50's was an easy period to assume they were all inactive ads.  As we know, now there are no exceptions.

[partial*eclipse]

The list that is being referenced above in this thead is from section 4 of the Media Mail section in the DMM.  But Section 3, above it, has already excluded all periodicals.  That's why magazines/periodicals aren't referenced in the list from section 4.  Periodicals get a different, discounted rate from USPS, and once an item is categorized as such it is permanently categorized as a periodical. Your link doesn't go to the "rules," it goes to a summary of them.

3.0 General Content Standards

Mailable matter meeting one of the specific eligibility standards in 4.0 for Media Mail and 5.0 for Library Mail, and that is neither mailed or required to be mailed as First-Class Mail nor entered as Periodicals, may be mailed as Media Mail or Library Mail, respectively.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#ep1113507

[partial*eclipse]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@partial*eclipse wrote:

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 ... There are absolutely no exeptions to the "no advertising" rule.  The oft-linked chart for staff further clarifies it: old doesn't matter.

There use to be, a long time ago.  I suspect that was changes in about 2013, but I'm not sure.  There use to be a time that you could ship OLD magazines with advertisement via MM.....

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I've been selling on eBay since 1999 and I'm sure there was never such a policy.  As the link above from the 2005 archive shows, the qualifications for Media Mail haven't changed in a long time.  That's one reason why there was such a brouhaha when USPS's policies for Bound Printed Matter  were revised around 2007: It left no legitimate bargain rate for old magazines.

The USPS chart with a specific exclusion for "Old magazines" clearly says January 2013 at the top.

[mam98031]

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@partial*eclipse wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@partial*eclipse wrote:

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 ... There are absolutely no exeptions to the "no advertising" rule.  The oft-linked chart for staff further clarifies it: old doesn't matter.

There use to be, a long time ago.  I suspect that was changes in about 2013, but I'm not sure.  There use to be a time that you could ship OLD magazines with advertisement via MM.....

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I've been selling on eBay since 1999 and I'm sure there was never such a policy.  As the link above from the 2005 archive shows, the qualifications for Media Mail haven't changed in a long time.  That's one reason why there was such a brouhaha when USPS's policies for Bound Printed Matter  were revised around 2007: It left no legitimate bargain rate for old magazines.

The USPS chart with a specific exclusion for "Old magazines" clearly says January 2013 at the top.

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I'm not sure why you felt the need to state how long you have been on Ebay, other than to possibly have it seem as if you have more experience than I do, but OK.  For me, I never Assume that someone posting here is not an experienced member as many do as you do, post with a posting ID.  I however do not do that and if you have concern about my experience level or how long I've been on Ebay, feel free to take a peek.  There is nothing wrong with using a posting ID, it is a personal choice for each of us to make.

We may have a difference of opinion on this matter, I have no problem with that, besides it has no bearing on the current issues at hand.

[variety_nook]

Media Mail is quite simple:

.......The material sent must be educational media! 

I highlighted and underlined the portion that is pertinent for those of you who constantly rip off everybody else (via: ever rising shipping costs for other services) because you are trying to ship at a very liberally discounted rate for which you are not allowed. Those of you who take advantage of this discount for EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL, in essence, when doing so, are no different than a common thief!!!