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Mailing books

Does ebay offer book rate shipping. I can not find that option

Message 1 of 6
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Mailing books

Media mail is what is used to mail books. There is no discount for it, unfortunately. Cost starts at 4.63 just as if purchasing at the post office. 

Message 2 of 6
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Mailing books

It has to be listed in the right category (books) otherwise MM (book rate) is not an option.

Message 3 of 6
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Mailing books

@oillamp 

 

It is called "Media rate," and there is NO discount for eBay sellers -- currently the charge is $4.63, which is the same as the USPS counter charge.

 

If the weight of your book item is relatively light, you may discover that USPS Ground Advantage is less expensive -- and, as a shipping upgrade, will often arrive at the shipping address faster than Media shipping.

 

Make sure that you familiarize yourself with what USPS defines as "Media" -- it does NOT include magazines (no matter how old); comic books; blank diaries or datebooks, etc.  Here's the USPS definition of "Media" items -- 

4.0 Content Standards for Media Mail

4.1 Qualified Items

Only these items may be mailed at the Media Mail prices:

  1. 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.
  2. 16-millimeter or narrower width films, which must be positive prints in final form for viewing, and catalogs of such films of 24 pages or more (at least 22 of which are printed). Films and film catalogs sent to or from commercial theaters do not qualify for the Media Mail price.
  3. Printed music, whether in bound or sheet form.
  4. Printed objective test materials and their accessories used by or on behalf of educational institutions to test ability, aptitude, achievement, interests, and other mental and personal qualities with or without answers, test scores, or identifying information recorded thereon in writing or by mark.
  5. Sound recordings, including incidental announcements of recordings and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such recordings. Video recordings and player piano rolls are classified as sound recordings.
  6. Playscripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music.
  7. Printed educational reference charts designed to instruct or train individuals for improving or developing their capabilities. Each chart must be a single printed sheet of information designed for educational reference. The information on the chart, which may be printed on one or both sides of the sheet, must be conveyed primarily by graphs, diagrams, tables, or other nonnarrative matter. An educational reference chart is normally but not necessarily devoted to one subject. A chart on which the information is conveyed primarily by textual matter in a narrative form does not qualify as a printed educational reference chart for mailing at the Media Mail prices even if it includes graphs, diagrams, or tables. Examples of qualifying charts include maps produced primarily for educational reference, tables of mathematical or scientific equations, noun declensions or verb conjugations used in the study of languages, periodic table of elements, botanical or zoological tables, and other tables used in the study of science.
  8. Loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information for distribution to doctors, hospitals, medical schools, and medical students.
  9. Computer-readable media containing prerecorded information and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such media.

 

Message 4 of 6
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Mailing books

Keep in mind there is no free insurance on Media Mail.

 

eBay management hasn't figured out in nearly 30 years that it may be beneficial to list books in category related to the book instead of books. They may not let you print a Media Mail label if you list in a category other than books so you may need to import you order on PirateShip.

 

A school yearbook with obvious ads can't be shipped via Media Mail. A simply text list of sponsors in the back is not a ad since it also includes private individuals.

Message 5 of 6
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Mailing books

You can put books in appropriate categories outside "books", but you have to use Pirate Ship or other similar service to buy the Media Mail postage. (A significant example of this is the role playing games category, many role playing books fully qualify for media mail according to the DMM, but because they are not in the "books" category, eBay won't let you print a Media Mail label.) In the past category didn't matter, you could always print a Media Mail label, now it is category limited; I don't know if this was an eBay choice or if the USPS required them to do it.

 

This is a perfectly legal workaround (according to USPS and eBay rules), but having to do this can be an unnecessary headache and extra step.

Message 6 of 6
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