Before media mail, shipping printed materials was expensive. packages that included books and other printed products were also priced according to their weight.
the weight of a box full of books is obvious. As a result, USPS launched Media Mail as a way to reduce the high shipping costs of such things.
There is a caveat about this service: USPS has the right to randomly check any package sent through its system. If this concerns you, read on to learn more about how USPS handles multimedia mail!
in 2022, will the usps conduct a media mail review?
In 2022, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will inspect media mail from time to time. it’s hard to say exactly how many shipments are inspected each week, although most conservative estimates put the number at about 10,000. To verify the contents of a media mail package, postal service employees may x-ray it or physically open it.
A “postage due” warning is given to packages that do not meet media mail requirements. learn more about multimedia mail and how the us postal service. uu. regulates it in the rest of our publication.
multimedia mail: what is it?
It’s helpful to understand what media mail is before asking whether or not the USPS inspects it. By using the USPS Media Mail service, you can ship small packages affordably and with low priority.
You can use this service to transport multimedia products, such as books and sound recordings, as well as printed music. if you need to deliver something like this, this service is a wonderful offering, but it does have a downside.
Sending a package via media mail gives USPS permission to open and examine it. 2 to 10 days is the delivery time for packages sent through this service. usps multimedia mail items can be monitored in the same way as other usps delivery options
what can be sent using multimedia mail (and what cannot be sent)?
books, printed materials, cd’s and dvd’s, all of which must be at least eight pages long, can be sent via media mail in a padded envelope.
You can also send the following with multimedia mail:
- film 16 millimeters or smaller
- printed music and test materials
- scripts and manuscripts
- printed educational reference charts
- loose leaf medical binders and pages
any cd or tape you use must have content. As long as the cd or dvd is not blank, you can mail it. additionally, advertisements may not be included in media mail articles.
Because of this, magazines cannot be shipped using this method. multimedia mail charges do not apply to video games, computer discs or digital drives.
is usps media mail x-rayed?
Some shipments are x-rayed by the United States Postal Service (USPS), regardless of which mail service is used. For health and safety reasons, packages are x-rayed before they can be delivered.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) uses x-rays to check packages for prohibited items, such as alcohol, narcotics, and weapons. There are no precise rules about what can and cannot be X-rayed, according to the USPS. Mail destined for or passing through a major city is more likely to be subject to x-ray inspection.
Suspicious packages, such as those that have excess tape, rattle, or have the words “do not run” printed on them, are more likely to be x-rayed than those that do not. Although media mail packages can be x-rayed like any other package, the chances of this happening are pretty slim.
how often does the usps check media mail?
For media mail submissions, USPS has a “random check” policy. No one knows precisely how many media mail packages the United States Postal Service inspects daily, although it is estimated that 10,000 shipments are inspected each week.
It is safe to assume that the vast majority of them remain unchecked and unconfirmed. More than laziness or disinterest, this lack of verification is the result of being too busy.
usps processes approximately 173 million pieces of first-class mail every day. this does not include the millions of pieces of mail sent through other services such as multimedia mail or priority mail.
As a result, there aren’t many places for manual package inspections in the USPS automated system. USPS is more interested in being as efficient as possible, as it is in getting every last dollar out of postage by finding people who are misusing the media mail system.
However, there have been anecdotal reports that the USPS conducted a month-long review of each media mail to reduce the likelihood of mail fraud.
This reduced the number of companies using the service to send non-media stuff. In the future, if USPS suspects widespread misuse, it may be more vigilant in checking packages.
who is in charge of multimedia mail?
A post office clerk often checks a package of media mail, either at the sending or receiving post office. media mail shipments, on the other hand, can be opened by any postal worker.
what if you use usps media mail to send non-media articles?
postal workers will reseal your multimedia mail package and enclose a “postage due” form if the contents of the package are found to be prohibited by the terms of service.
When calculating postage, the difference between the cost of shipping priority mail and what the sender paid for media mail postage is taken into account.
Due to non-payment of postage, the shipment will not be released until postage has been collected by usps. the sender must pay the additional postage if the recipient refuses to pay the additional postage and the shipment is diverted to the sender.
You can also check out our pages on How Fast is USPS Media Mail, How Accurate is USPS Tracking, and What Day does USPS Deliver for more information on the service.
end result
It may be tempting to exploit the multimedia mail system, but we don’t support it. if detected, the recipient will be charged the postage fee due or worse, you will have to pay the fee and return postage yourself.