The United States Postal Service offers substantial shipping discounts for materials sent at Media Mail rates. The predictable result, especially during an economic downturn, is that retailers and the general public often try to send non-media items in packages at Media Mail rates. In the current issue of American Philatelist, Wayne Youngblood, a Director-at-Large of the American Philatelic Society, reports that the USPS is cracking down on these abuses:
When non-qualifying material is found inside the package, the recipient is charged postage due for the difference from standard Parcel Post delivery (at this point, no additional penalties are being applied). That difference may easily double or triple the cost of shipping.
The biggest problem for users of Media Mail is that the definition of qualifying items is somewhat vague. "Advertising" is prohibited in material shipped at Media Mail rates, but advertisements are often incidental components of items that would otherwise be considered media.
The article notes that during these inspections, the USPS is also looking for evidence of inappropriate use or reuse of Priority Mail and Express Mail shipping boxes.
Link (pdf).
Media Mail as a class is not closed against inspection. Thus, our local post office and (in theory) a few others have been opening virtually all incoming and outgoing Media Mail for the past year (since July 1, 2009). Larger post offices are supposed to do spot checks. The explanation is that this enforcement program may eventually go national.
When non-qualifying material is found inside the package, the recipient is charged postage due for the difference from standard Parcel Post delivery (at this point, no additional penalties are being applied). That difference may easily double or triple the cost of shipping.
The biggest problem for users of Media Mail is that the definition of qualifying items is somewhat vague. "Advertising" is prohibited in material shipped at Media Mail rates, but advertisements are often incidental components of items that would otherwise be considered media.
The article notes that during these inspections, the USPS is also looking for evidence of inappropriate use or reuse of Priority Mail and Express Mail shipping boxes.
Link (pdf).
There is nothing vague about it.
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#wp1060522
I'm all for complaining about stupid government monopolies, but this isn't the best place to start.
Plus, I don't like that the one who RECEIVES the mail gets charged the extra postage. It should be the one who SENT the mail who gets billed if anyone. Especially in situations like online auctions, you didn't have any control over how the shipper shipped the package. You just saw their shipping rate listed, saw that as acceptable, bid accordingly with that rate in mind, and paid them for your purchase. You didn't ask them to ship fraudulently. You didn't plan to pay extra. Sure, on some things you could just refuse it and let it be shipped back, but some times, it's something you really wanted/needed and can't send back now. Plus, that would be MORE drain on the postal service, to ship things, and then have them refused and have to ship them back to the sender. It would have been cheaper and easier to just deliver the package.
And I like that when I tell someone that book rate is good enough, they are queried when they post it so that they don't inadvertently include non-qualifying stuff.
And I like that they, you know, actually police and enforce their own clear rules rather than just eliminate the category.
The other huge post office bargain is the M-bag. Not for everything, but if what & where fall within the rules, it would be hard to find a less expensive way of getting the stuff from here to there.
Due to being unionized, the Post Office has tons of workers just sitting around - so no, it's plenty cost effective having those workers find rate cheaters.
Yes, it prevents professional sellers from abusing the system and ordering pallet loads of free priority mail boxes, but way to encourage responsible recycling by forbidding the other 99% of us from reusing perfectly serviceable boxes, even if we recut them or turn them inside out.
it's a stupid distinction that should not be made. the contents are irrelevant. if whatever you're mailing meets the size and weight requirements then what, exactly, is the problem? it's an arbitrary, useless rule
Why don't they just inspect it as it goes in? Only make the Media rate available over the counter.
USPS is a service to which most devote little thought. The USPS, until the past few years, was the conduit for spreading information around this massive country. Now that the Internet has usurped it, people are all too willing to point at it as being wasteful or as being crippled by unions (do you really think they just sit around all day? My USPS parents might beg to differ...) Go ahead and privatize it, or just abolish it and let FedEx fill the void - then you'd really gripe about prices and customer service.
Let me assure you, the postal service has been the butt of jokes long before the Internet came along. If you desire proof, I need only point you to the TV show Cheers.
Here's the thing, though -- the sender had the post office she sent the package from inspect the content before sealing the package, because it wasn't clear to her what the rules allowed. They said it was fine. A different post office seemed to disagree.
So, at least based on this example, the rules are far from clear. If they're going to crack down on this, they need to be crystal clear about what's allowed.
Not everything shipped through the USPS is taken to an office and shipped at the counter. Lots of postage is printed in businesses and homes, and then picked up by the USPS or dropped off (at the PO or in a dropbox).
LOL. The internet usurped the USPS? Really? How the hell could you come to that conclusion? It took it's business without legal right?
Were you around in the 1800's filing lawsuits on behalf of horses when they were being replaced by the car?
Also...a single paperback book and lighter items are actually cheaper 1st class than media rate.
Your neighbor who fraudently claims they are mailing books on his internet site, so he can pay the lesser of all costs with media rate, is stealing. When is it wrong to hold people accountable?
Anyone that thinks that short paid postage is not a problem needs to realize that its not the one .52 cent short paid package, its the accumulation of all. In one office that can be in the thousands. Last month alone we found over $400 short paid envelopes and packages in one small office. Multiply that by the thousand of offices throughout the nation.
Its stealing and those that steal should be held accountable.
I think its a shame the USPS doesn't charge more for repeaters.
Re: Book Rate states No Advertising. What is advertising?
I am a high school teacher and yearbook advisor. I often sell and ship
old yearbooks to alum. I took a 1941 yearbook to the post office the
other day to ship (at my own expense) to the 1941 graduate who
never got her yearbook. The postal worker only wanted to make my
life miserable, and he succeeded. He kept grilling me-what kind of
book is it? a yearbook? is there advertising in it? can't ship book rate with advertising in it!!, etc.
I told him it was a 70 year old antique yearbook, and probably
had some ads in the back from businesses no longer in existence.
I tried to explain to him that this is no longer advertising, that it is
now memorabilia.
The postal worker was not even listening to me, and was only
determined to ruin my day with his power trip. On and on he ranted
like a broken record.
I finally relented and told him to charge me whatever. At that point
he changed his tune and gave in to me and accepted book rate.
Go figure.