The Media Mail Question

Hello,

Here's one that's been buggin' me for a long time...

I've won some auctions, and I've noticed that some folks use
Media Mail to ship stamps, and some people don't. I've asked
sometimes to used it, to reduce the shipping cost, and I've had
them tell me "Oh, no... Can't do that, it's against USPS policy,
and I know 'cause I work(ed) for the Post Office." etc.... etc...

Now, here's my observations:

(1) Stamps ARE printed material. (If you really wanna get crazy,
you could say a stamp was a very small, one page BOOK.)

and

(2) Once you pack them, they are BOUND.

So, even if they don't technically qualify for Media Mail rate,
there is also the "Bound Printed Material" Rate.

Any legal students wanna get in on this one?

Just curious.

dsw wrote:
Hello,

Here's one that's been buggin' me for a long time...

I've won some auctions, and I've noticed that some folks use
Media Mail to ship stamps, and some people don't. I've asked
sometimes to used it, to reduce the shipping cost, and I've had
them tell me "Oh, no... Can't do that, it's against USPS policy,
and I know 'cause I work(ed) for the Post Office." etc.... etc...

Now, here's my observations:

(1) Stamps ARE printed material. (If you really wanna get crazy,
you could say a stamp was a very small, one page BOOK.)

and

(2) Once you pack them, they are BOUND.

So, even if they don't technically qualify for Media Mail rate,
there is also the "Bound Printed Material" Rate.

Any legal students wanna get in on this one?

Just curious.

Check the relevant sections of the DMM at
http://pe.usps.gov/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm/E712.pdf and
http://pe.usps.gov/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm/E713.pdf

= Eric

In article , "dsw"
writes:

Subject: The Media Mail Question
From: "dsw"
Date: Fri, 04 Jul 2003 08:07:51 GMT


Hello,

Here's one that's been buggin' me for a long time...

I've won some auctions, and I've noticed that some folks use
Media Mail to ship stamps, and some people don't. I've asked
sometimes to used it, to reduce the shipping cost, and I've had
them tell me "Oh, no... Can't do that, it's against USPS policy,
and I know 'cause I work(ed) for the Post Office." etc.... etc...

Now, here's my observations:

(1) Stamps ARE printed material. (If you really wanna get crazy,
you could say a stamp was a very small, one page BOOK.)

and

(2) Once you pack them, they are BOUND.

So, even if they don't technically qualify for Media Mail rate,
there is also the "Bound Printed Material" Rate.

Any legal students wanna get in on this one?

Just curious

Stamps themseleves are not elligible for printed matter rate.
Albums, catalogs etc are.
David Snyder
David J. Snyder
127 Joseph Avenue
Staten Island, New York 10314-5054
USA
Web Site : http://members.aol.com/djs127

OK, thanks for the information.

But, how do some people still get away with sending them that way?
Even right now, I see a couple of current auctions going where the seller
has a bulk stamp lot, no stockbook, no album, and is sending
via Media Mail.

Thanks.

dsw wrote:
OK, thanks for the information.

But, how do some people still get away with sending them that way?
Even right now, I see a couple of current auctions going where the seller
has a bulk stamp lot, no stockbook, no album, and is sending
via Media Mail.

They just don't tell the postal clerk what is really in the package. Do
you think that the Post Office checks every package to make sure that
the contents are OK?

= Eric

One drawback to sending by media mail...the postal service does not return
them if undeliverable. They go to the trash can in the back of the post
office.

In article ,
wrote:
One drawback to sending by media mail...the postal service does not return
them if undeliverable. They go to the trash can in the back of the post
office.

Not if you have purchased any extra service for the package. Such as,
say, 13 cents for electronic delivery confirmation.

= Eric
--
= Eric K. Bustad Voice: +1 732 949 6257
CAD Systems Engineering Fax: +1 732 949 7512
Lucent Technologies
Holmdel, NJ, USA