Shipping CDs in cardboard mailers

[audiobookhaven]

I've read through a handful of threads about this but I'm still a bit confused. If I use a mailer like the one pictured to mail out a CD, what is the cheapest shipping option? I've gathered that it might be First Class Parcel for $2.66? Are there any other cheaper options? Thanks in advance!

[muttlymob]

If the only thing in that mailer is the CD, and maybe a paper or wrapper, then it would be a Nonmachinable First Class Letter.  Not a parcel.  It would not have tracking and would cost in the range of $0.90-$1.20, depending on the weight.

If the CD is in a jewel case then it might be too thick (over 1/4 inch) for a letter so then it would be a First Class Parcel at probably 2 or 3 ounces.

So there is may be a cheaper option but it would not come with tracking.

[missjen831]

You can’t send anything but documents via first class letter. So first class parcel is the cheapest option. 

[muttlymob]

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@missjen831wrote:

You can’t send anything but documents via first class letter.

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????

Do you have a link to the DMM that states this?

[missjen831]

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@muttlymobwrote:

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@missjen831wrote:

You can’t send anything but documents via first class letter.

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????

Do you have a link to the DMM that states this?

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https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2017/pb22482/html/updt_006.htm 

went into effect in January. First class flat=documents only. My bad this is for international first class.

[audiobookhaven]

So, just to be clear (for my slow brain please), the cheapest option is that First Class Parcel, $2.66?

[missjen831]

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@audiobookhavenwrote:

So, just to be clear (for my slow brain please), the cheapest option is that First Class Parcel, $2.66?

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If you want seller protection, yes. If you want to meet the on-time shipping metrics, yes.

[partial*eclipse · Accepted solution]

If your envelope falls within the dimensions and weight allowed for a letter, then that's the postage you should pay.  If you put a package label on a piece that's actually a letter according to USPS definition, then some USPS employee could decide to upgrade it to Priority Mail status, and stick you or your buyer with significant Postage Due.

Your piece is a letter, not a package, if the weight is not over 3.5 ounces and the dimensions are "Not more than 11-1/2 inches long, or more than 6-1/8 inches high, or more than 1/4-inch thick." 

See sectoin 1.1.b:  https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/101.htm#ep1047495

The envelope in your image looks like it's probably a "nonmachinable letter," which would require the 21-cent nonmachinable surcharge as well as the regular First Class postage based on its weight.  For a 2-ounce piece, the total postage would be 92 cents.

[partial*eclipse]

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@missjen831wrote:

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 ... First class flat=documents only. My bad this is for international first class.

Yes, in January USPS implemented strict new policies for international First Class letters and flats.  But the Domestic Mail Manual  section on the nonmachinable surcharge for domestic letters still refers to envelopes that contain  "items such as pens, pencils, keys, or coins."

[blueberryjellyfish]

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@partial*eclipsewrote:

If your envelope falls within the dimensions and weight allowed for a letter, then that's the postage you should pay.  If you put a package label on a piece that's actually a letter according to USPS definition, then some USPS employee could decide to upgrade it to Priority Mail status, and stick you or your buyer with significant Postage Due.

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A package label costs more than letter postage. Why would it potentially be upgraded to Priority if the sender is already paying a higher price at the FC package rate? Is it solely because the wrong shipping method was used so they want to teach the sender a lesson?

[partial*eclipse]

It's because the package label has tracking.  So they upgrade to a service with tracking that you CAN put on a letter-type envelope.

[audiobookhaven]

I went to the post office yesterday and asked for the cheapest option but was told that that would be First Class Parcel specifically because the envelope was rigid. Any thoughts on that?

[partial*eclipse]

A rigid envelope would be a letter, not a package, if it fell within the weight and dimension limits for a letter.  Rigidity doesn't make it ineligible to be mailed as a letter; that just means you'd have to pay the "nonmachinable surcharge."

Did they decide it was over 1/4 inch thick, after measuring it or perhaps just eyeballing it? PO's have a gadget with a slot in it, to test the thickness; if the envelope can't pass through the 1/4 inch slot then it's too thick to be a letter.

[audiobookhaven]

Thanks very much for your help! You were quite correct and it turns out the postal worker I spoke to was just mistaken. I bought myself some 92 cent stamps and have used them to mail a couple CDs with no problem.

Thanks again!

[thallidguy]

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@audiobookhavenwrote:

Thanks very much for your help! You were quite correct and it turns out the postal worker I spoke to was just mistaken. I bought myself some 92 cent stamps and have used them to mail a couple CDs with no problem.

Thanks again!

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You can also buy old, uncancelled postage stamps here on eBay and use them for postage. There are dealers who sell them at 75-80% of face value.