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!  

[1786davycrockett]

Congressional Review is published by the United States Government, and is subject to the special mailing privileges assigned by the Federal government.  As a resale item, however, it is considered to be a periodical, and thus is not a media item, according to USPS regulations on periodicals.

[1786davycrockett]

Sorry -- that information should be for the periodical entitled Congressional Record, which is published by the U. S. Government.

I find no information on a publication entitled Congressional Review.

[1tuna]

I used to talk to the clerks  at the window all the time an they told me about Franking privleges

folks in the government or Congress can mail letters  for free

I wonder if its ever been abused .how many Congressman sell on ebay

I wonder if the Congressman`s family  can abuse this privlege, seems like a petty thing to try but you just never know

[house*of*paws]

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@markbark12 wrote:

OH PLEASE!!!!!  The post office hasn't opened " media mail in years ... .

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@markbark12 

'The' post office ... whichever one you're talking about ... may not have been opening Media Mail in years ... but many of the other  30,000+ post offices certainly have been opening it.  

I'm basing that on the number of Board posts I've read about buyers receiving 'postage due' packages that were shipped to them by Media Mail.  [Sellers also have posted about being charged extra because their MM packages were upgraded in transit.]  Somebody must be checking packages for that to happen.  Just sayin'.    😉

[1786davycrockett]

Unless there is specific evidence about abuse of the Franking privileges by the families of members of Congress,  there doesn't seem to be any purpose in speculating that it happens.

Several members of Congress HAVE been punished in the past for abuse of the Franking privilege on their own part, however.

As for members of Congress selling on eBay -- under Managed Payments, the buyer still pays for shipping charges, so the Franking privilege would not apply.

[markbark12]

95% of people who sell magazines on the net ship media mail and I wind up having to ask them to please list another form of shipment. Often times that message is ignored or I'm told that " If I raise shipping prices ( say to First Class costs ) they won't buy from me!

[markbark12]

Bull!

[destrucity_shop]

The issue here is not "are magazines eligible for media mail" (a tired subject) but the speed of Media Mail nowadays. Lately, my packages are arriving quickly except a book I sent MM cross country two weeks. The book  made it from LA to New Jersey quickly, but has stuck in Jersey for the past week. Media Mail was always slow, but I imagine it's even slower than before. 

[shado-x]

...the fact that media mail is taking up to a month to go five hundred miles or more.

I sold a complete set of Lost in Space DVDs, and the US Postal Service put it on a barge to one of the Hawaiian Islands.  Took 8 weeks to get there----happened in July 2021.  It was totally going to Brandon.

[1786davycrockett]

"It was totally going to Brandon."

The Postmaster General in July 2021 was appointed by Donald Trump -- Joe Biden had nothing to do with it.

So "go Brandon" somebody else.

[7606dennis]

Magazines, even old ones, are not eligible to be sent via Media Mail because they are periodicals.

[7606dennis]

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@markbark12 wrote:

OH PLEASE!!!!!  The post office hasn't opened " media mail in years, for at least two reasons .  1st, if they make a mistake, remember this is done randomly, they have to repack it and by law inform the sender that the package has been opened and if they make a mistake it's now opened to a law suit.   Second, the post office has cut back on almost all inspectors and they barely have time to look for contraband much less advertisements.

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I wouldn't count to heavily on USPS employees not doing their jobs to save one from fraudulently using Media Mail to ship ineligible periodicals.  

[7606dennis]

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@markbark12 wrote:

Where did you get the impression that any postal worker could just open any piece of mail?  Having worked as a postal inspector out of Springfield Ma for 13 years the person that opened the package was either an inspector or the local Postmaster.  also who is to decide what magazine contains  advertisements and which do not.  does 'Consumer Reports'" contain ads?  Does the Congressional Review?

Besides  we are really picking nits here.  The fact remains that the Postal Service is having real problems delivering any type of mail in a timely manor especially media mail".

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If I'm not mistaken, the fact that media mail is subject to be opened for inspection is clearly stated in the particulars of that method of mailing.  

Magazines, whether or not they contain advertising, are periodicals and as such are prohibited from being sent via Media Mail.

[vintagerestoredcds]

I am on course to ship 1800 media mail this year. I have had 2 problems. Media mail has been great for me.

The problem is not media mail. It is printing a label to get your shipping within the chosen parameters and then waiting another 2 days to give it to the post office.

The media mail issue is anecdotal. Christmas time is another story  

[mattiemaes]

I too ship magazines and brochures. I thought they were media mail, but I got my last ones OPENED and returned to me stating they did not meet the specifications. 

BTW separate matter, but have you noted that the post office does FRACKING for the government mailing s. that means they get FREE postage and ours keeps going up:-)