If you ship Media Mail.....Don't!

[markbark12]

I collect and buy old magazines and have been frustrated over the fact that media mail is taking up to a month to go five hundred miles or more. Even first class is taking six days to cross the country. Many orders have been handled so much that envelopes and boxes arrive destroyed, bent, or ripped open.    I REALIZE FULLY that this is not YOUR fault but it's hard to leave good feedback when you don't receive an item for a month or it arrives in poor condition.  you might think about using Fed X or UPS for heavier loads. at the rate things are going it will cost more to ship then the cost of the magazine, or whatever.  

 Has anyone else had bad experiences with the post office and perhaps you have a suggestion.   Anyway stay well!  

[mattiemaes]

well you are misinformed. Mine got opened!  and returned to me. Then I had one opened and I was billed an additional fee. It was a BOOK, but I was told since it was not educational it did not qualify. 
They are opening packages

1

[deserdog]

Here is what I found in the DMM(Domestic Mail Manual) in reference to books:

4.0 Content Standards for Media Mail
4.1 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.

[deserdog]

Doing a little research, I found this little historical tidbit:

In the 1930s, President Roosevelt created a preferred rate for all books that is now known as Media Mail. 

[pjcdn2005]

I'm sure that books do not have to be educational to go Media Mail.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I'm sure that books do not have to be educational to go Media Mail.

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That's true.

In the list quoted above where section 4.1.a is about books, there are an additional 8 subsections; only 2 of them specifically mention "educational" (the sections about testing materials and reference charts).  Therefore "educational" doesn't apply to the other categories such as books and recorded sound.  If ALL of the 9 types of items had to be educational, then the word would have appeared at the top, in the sentence beginning with  "Only these items ...."

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

[2013grotz]

Interesting in a way since this post is over a year old and was necroposted from a little more than 11 months ago.

That said, I'd have problems with buyers if I didn't ship media mail.  Just followed the rules (yes all kinds of books, all kinds of CDs, all kinds of movies) and never had problems with them opening up my stuff and kicking it back.

[packrat2k]

Media mail regulations say nothing about periodicals.  What they say is that the item may not include advertisements.  Unless I've missed something in another regulation somewhere else, it's OK to send magazines that don't include ads, like Road Test. 

[readabouthorses]

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

So even magazines that have no paid advertisements may still have some form of advertising from the publisher.

[simba6]

Magazines are not allowed to go media mail.  But yes, it's a very slow way to ship.

[ebooksdiva]

Old Zombie Post from 2021 

[chrispass918]

Not for me, no matter the delivery method it usually always take 3-5 days for me. 

[readabouthorses]

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@ebooksdiva wrote:

Old Zombie Post from 2021 

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And it is still a problem!

[kh-cathy]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.