posted on February 10, 2005 07:56:30 PM
When I ask my local postal clerks if magazines can be sent as media mail, they say "no," or rather "NO, NO, NO." When I query them further, they say it's because magazines contain advertising. OK, I will accept that.
So now I have some magazines without any advertising. Any opinions about media mail for such items? I don't want to ask at the P.O. because I'm afraid of the answer, and their accuracy on questions like this is somewhat questionable.
posted on February 10, 2005 08:09:14 PM
I could make a case for a magazine like Consumer Reports, which has no advertising--or others like it, too. In fact, I'd argue with a clerk over that one.
___________________________________
Is it true that the only difference between a yard sale and a trash pickup is how close to the road the stuff is placed?
posted on February 10, 2005 08:28:24 PM
A magazine without advertising should qualify for media mail, but the problem is with the clerks who are trained to reject magazines. I would follow mtnzookeeper's advice, BPM is a rate very similar to Media Mail. The dowside to bound printed matter is that if it is undeliverable, it is dumped (as opposed to Media mail being sent back, but on your dime as it comes back postage due!)
"It is better to have none than to have some, but if you must have some, it is better to have few than to have many" - Ronald Reagan
I had a MAJOR discussion with my posties a while back on this very subject - Media vs. Bound Printed Matter. They even got out the big giant postal manual, which didn't truly resolve the issue.
The upshot was that here in San Luis Obispo (they don't call it SLO for nothing...) they don't much care one way or the other. So I/we decided if I was going to send magazines I could send them Media or BPM, whatever suited my mood of the moment!
But, depending on how well you know your posties and what the "attitude" is at your PO, this might vary.
I do wonder what would happen if some postie at the other end decided to open the package marked Media or BPM to check what's inside... Hmmm....
posted on February 11, 2005 03:51:48 PM
Roadsmith -- Have you ever WON an argument with a postal clerk? I haven't. I have never seen one admit being wrong about anything.
Lucy -- You raise an interesting point. We are in danger of being inspected, dissected, and rejected by anyone who picks up the packie while it is in the postal system. What a horrible thought.
I think I am going to interpret the regs in my favor and send the mags out as media.
posted on February 11, 2005 03:55:25 PM
I'm pretty sure that fetish ships EVERYTHING via BOUND Printer Matter...
"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection — an election in Iraq at this point in history?" Prez.Jim Beam, at the White House, Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2005
posted on February 11, 2005 10:02:34 PM
BPM has a limit of 15 lbs per box, but it's considerably cheaper than Media Mail on the heavier boxes.
If you have any hassle with your local PO, go to the PO's Web site. Do the rate calculator for a sample box - just fill in numbers at random. The screen that comes up next with all of the available classes of service has hyperlinks that lead to one-page definitions of MM and BPM.
If you print those out and take them to your local PO, that will usually settle the hash.
If they're still hassling you, there's an 800 number for public information where a real live person will tell them that magazines can and should be sent as BPM.
This half-right/half-wrong thing comes up a lot. Postal clerks tell people that magazines aren't in the media mail category, which is right. Items for MM can't contain advertising - books, videos, CDs, vinyl records.
But BPM is defined as items that do - and must - contain advertising: magazines and catalogs and a few other things.
If you have something that in all other respects looks like a magazine, I'd say send it via BPM. It's cheaper anyway.
I think the problem is that the PO is cracking down on people who use MM as a substitute for parcel post (which is twice as expensive) so sometimes eBay sellers with a lot of boxes on outgoing on a regular basis get questioned more.
