usps media mail is the most cost-effective way to ship items like books, vinyl records, videos, and other educational materials with our postal service. media mail takes a little longer to deliver than other usps mail classes (2-8 business days), but it’s a fantastic money-saving advantage when shipping these types of items. however, it does come with some pretty strict guidelines. to be sent media mail, packages may only contain qualifying media products that have been defined by usps. In addition, USPS reserves the right to inspect packages to verify that they contain only items suitable for multimedia mail.
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- what qualifies for usps media mail?
- how much does it cost?
- no piece may contain advertising
- what about with comics or graphic novels?
- can i send a book subscription box usps media mail?
what qualifies for usps media mail?
As listed on the USPS website, the following are items that qualify for USPS Media Mail:
- books containing at least 8 pages
- cds, dvds, records, tapes or other audio and video recordings
- scripts for plays, books, publications periodicals and musicals
- printed sheet music
- computer-readable media containing pre-recorded information and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such media
- sixteen-millimeter film or less in width
- printed objective test materials and their accessories
- printed educational reference charts
- loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information to distribute to doctors, hospitals, schools and medical students.
how much does it cost?
Media Mail pricing is based on weight and the retail rate starts at just $3.19 for a single 1-pound package. after 1 pound, the price increases only $0.63 per pound for single-piece media mail (for example, a 2-pound package costs $3.82). Unfortunately, since media mail is already so affordably priced, there are typically no postage discounts available through shipping software.
Here’s how much it costs to ship USPS Media Mail for packages weighing up to 20 pounds. Please note that if your package falls between any of the listed weights, you will need to round up to the nearest. For example, if your package weighs 2.6 pounds, it will ship at the 3-pound rate.
- 1 lb – $3.19
- 2 lb – $3.82
- 3 lb – $4.45
- 4 lbs – $5.08
- 5 lbs – $5.71
- 6 lb – $6.34
- 7 lb – $6.97
- 8 lb – $7.60
- 9lbs – $8.23
- 10lbs – $8.86
- 11lbs – $9.49
- 12 lbs – $10.12
- 13 lbs – $10.75
- 14 lbs – $11.38
- 15 lbs – $12.01
- 16 lbs – $12.64
- 17 lbs – $13.27
- 18 lbs – $13.90
- 19 lbs – $14.53
- 20lbs – $15.16
For a complete rate sheet up to 70 pounds, visit the USPS website.
warning: no piece may contain advertising
if you want to send your media package by mail, you cannot include advertising inside it. this is an extremely important point. If USPS finds advertising of any kind inside your package, you will be disqualified from media mail and end up paying much more money for “pending postage” with another service like priority mail. that would defeat the whole purpose of trying to save money by shipping your package via usps media mail in the first place.
what about comics or graphic novels?
Unfortunately, comic books and graphic novels do not qualify for USPS Media Mail.
can i send a usps media mail book subscription mailbox?
Book subscription boxes are becoming more and more popular and people often ask if they can send multimedia mail to them. book subscription boxes may qualify for media mail service, but there can only be books in the package. you can’t include anything else inside: no shirts, no markers, no pens…nothing. just books.
If you’re thinking that nothing but books sounds a bit boring for a subscription box, you’re not wrong. subscription boxes are all about your customers getting the most out of their investment; after all, it’s about creating an experience for them. If you have a book subscription business and want to include other items in your box, your best option to save money is to ship your boxes USPS Cubic Priority Mail. your boxes will also arrive faster at their destination, between 1 and 3 days!