Media Mail

[coffeecreekdepot]

Has anyone used poly bags to ship soft cover books.  

[krazzykats]

Sandwiched between cardboard...Yes, I have.

[simba6]

It does not offer much protection.  Damaged books, unhappy buyers, refunds and bad feedback could happen. Media mail is not handled as fast or will as other mail either.  I have received books shipped that way with no problems. So, most of the time it's ok.

[a_c_green]

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@coffeecreekdepot wrote:

Has anyone used poly bags to ship soft cover books.  

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Sure, although I might add a sheet of cardboard as a little resistance to bending. The buyer may not be happy to receive a softcover book with a bend down the middle. (Obviously the risk of this depends on how thick the book itself is.)

Another point to consider is Media Mail vs. First Class Package. MM travels on a space-available basis with up to 3 days allowed at each waypoint before it has to go out on the next truck regardless. The buyer may be stuck wondering if it's ever going to arrive. If First Class Package is not too much more expensive to the same destination, I'd go with FCP any day.

[fab_finds4u]

I package books in mailers I make out of b-flute. 

[luckythewinner]

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@coffeecreekdepot wrote:

Has anyone used poly bags to ship soft cover books.  

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I wrap in a plastic sleeve and ship between stiff cardboard in a manila envelope. Haven't had an issue in thousands of packages over the years.

(I would use poly bags or bubble mailers, but I bought a box of 2,500 Life Magazine-sized poly bags for $5 at a flea market, so they are essentially free).

[louies1948]

I also put in plastic sleeve. tape to stiff cardboard and cut one end of the cardboard long and fold over and tape the edge, never had damage sending media

[no_zero369]

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@coffeecreekdepot wrote:

Has anyone used poly bags to ship soft cover books.  

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YES!!!!  This is what the MEGA Book Sellers do on eBay.  Toss any book into a poly bag and slap on a highly discounted label.  Inevitably the book arrives with a creased cover, mashed or bent corners or bends and wrinkles in it which make it no longer "new" and as such Not As Described (SNAD).   It is a great way to give away books for free, so yeah, go ahead and do that! 😁😂😱

You want to package anything to withstand the potential damages in transit.  IF the item can not survive being kicked off the top of a flight of stairs to a hard floor below, it may not survive a high speed fling off of a conveyor at a sorting center or tumbling off the stack of packages out of the back of a delivery truck.  Seller is responsible to deliver item in the condition stated in the listing.  Any deviation means buyer can file a SNAD case and seller either refunds or issues a return label and then refunds.

[evry1nositswindy]

EVERY book I sell gets put in a plastic bag, wrapped in cardboard, and then placed in a mailer.  Sometimes a paper mailer, sometimes poly, sometimes a box.  You must place every book in a plastic book just in case the  package is left on a porch in the rain.   

[b86fiero]

I have received a few book orders where the poly bag was ripped open and there was dirt and debris inside the bag including within the book pages.  Nasty.  

I ship mine inside a bubble mailer with a cardboard stiffener to prevent a mail carrier from rolling and cramming in a mailbox.

[nuclearomen]

ship in a box, your customers will thank you. 

as for media mail, I ship 90% via media mail and it is not as slow etc... as everyone says, common shipment media mail delivers in 4 days, highest is 7-9 days...right now media is just as fast or faster then priority / first class in many cases (depending on destination) as well because priority especially is quite backed up. If it's weight is under 1 lbs then first class maybe a good option but 24th the rates increased and you'll spend at least $2 more for first class then media which starts at around $2.80 - about what I pay for a 6" x 5" x 1/2" CD box at about 5oz weight for media. Other wise the cost for 14" x 14" x 2" box media mail between 1 and 2 lbs is (was before 24th) $3.33 - $3.86 - it's now like $4 and change if over 2 lbs I shipped one other day was 2 lbs 6 oz and cost $4.28 with the new rates.