media mail, can i use media mail with current magazines that have advertising included

[1786davycrockett]

NO!!!!  Media mail can NEVER be used for magazines, no matter HOW old!!!

[rynenyne]

Mad magazine from #24-402 have no ads and can be sent through media mail!!

[1786davycrockett]

Wrong -- USPS considers these to be periodicals, which can NOT be shipped as USPS Media.

Check with your postmaster -- it's been the law for years!

[rynenyne]

I did consult the post office at the time I was selling them and was told I could send them Media.

I brought in physical copies and showed them.

[1786davycrockett]

"Media Mail is for shipping media items containing books, sound recordings, recorded video tapes, printed music, recorded computer-readable media (such as CDs and DVDs)."

That's direct from USPS.  Magazines are NOT included.

[1786davycrockett]

The individuals with whom you spoke are misinformed.  MAD magazine is a MAGAZINE, and is NOT allowed to be sent by USPS Media mail, according to USPS regulations.

And MAD magazine DOES include advertising for books, mugs, pins, records, posters, subscriptions, etc.  I've been reading MAD since 1959, and I've seen PLENTY of advertising inside those pages.

[wastingtime101]

No, you cannot ship any magazine with Media Mail. If a counter clerk said otherwise then they were wrong and their bad advice can cause a lot of trouble for you.

USPS Link: Media Mail - Is It Eligible?

[lja440]

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@rynenyne wrote:

Mad magazine from #24-402 have no ads and can be sent through media mail!!

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It isn't only the ads. Mad is a PERIODICAL and therefore EXCLUDED from qualifying for Media Mail.

[wastingtime101]

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@lja440 wrote:

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@rynenyne wrote:

Mad magazine from #24-402 have no ads and can be sent through media mail!!

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It isn't only the ads. Mad is a PERIODICAL and therefore EXCLUDED from qualifying for Media Mail.

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^^^^ That poster works for USPS. @rynenyne 

[rynenyne]

I still have a few dozen copies from the 70's.

Gonna go to the P.O. on Monday and discuss this with them.

I will report back here afterwards and let youse know what I was told.

[fern*wood]

Not all employees know the rules at the counter.  How many actually keep up with the rules or even learn  them in the first place?    It's similar to the ebay phone reps.  They can be very clueless and give bad advice all the time.  

[nobody*s_perfect]

Indeed, this basic reference chart for staff from USPS is a few years old, so perhaps some employees have forgotten it or have never seen it. But I love this chart because it's SO clear about magazines. It has separate entries for "old magazines" and "new magazines," so apparently this had been an issue.

https://liteblue.usps.gov/news/link/2013/04apr/Media-Mail-Guidelines.htm

[pargran3]

It doesn't matter if someone at your post office does not know what they are doing. It is clear as day in the regulations for media mail. NO PERIODICALS..

[soh.maryl]

So you prefer not to take the advice of lja440, who is an actual USPS employee and over the years has proved the reliability of her information? OK then.