FYI: You can't ship video games media mail.

[Zthun]

I've seen this pop up many times about sellers shipping their games media mail to save on shipping. Well, rather than continue to post in individual threads all the time, I'm making a new thread just to let you know: you can't ship video games media mail; they are categorized directly in the post office media mail rules:

Media Mail

Media Mail is not sealed against postal inspection. Regardless of physical closure, the mailing of articles at Media Mail prices constitutes consent by the mailer to postal inspection.

Media mail is used for certain types of books, films, manuscripts, printed music, printed test materials, sound recordings, play scripts, printed educational charts, loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information, video recordings, educational reference charts, and computer-readable media. Video games, whether on CD-ROM, diskettes, or similar software, or playable systems including computers, do not meet the standards for Media Mail. Storage devices such as "portable hard drives", "thumb drives", "flash drives", "jump-drives", and "USB drives" for use with computers are not eligible for Media Mail prices. For specific eligibility please see DMM 173.3.

The maximum size of an item in combined length plus girth (distance around the thickest part) is 108 inches.

Mark each package "Media Mail" in the postage area.

http://postcalc.usps.gov/PopUps/pop_up27.htm

This is just an FYI. Personally, I don't care what anyone ships with as long as it gets to me undamaged. But hopefully, this will let all sellers know so they won't receive packages back in case they are the 1 of the unlucky sellers that get the inspection.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Oh not to worry, if a postal inspector opens up a media mail package and realizes the items are not supposed to be sent that way, he'll be nice enough to upgrade the postage to Priority Mail at no additional cost to you.

But the person getting the package will get a nice "Postage Due" notice.

[megasdkirby]

Media Mail is quite terrible. I understand it's cheaper and all, but I much rather use First Class Mail instead.

Really, First Class Mail does not pass over $3.20 or so (under 13 ounces) and it's much faster than Media Crap Mail. An item from east to west can take over a month to arrive (in the worst case scenario, from which is quite often in many cases I've seen) contrary to First Class Mail, which only takes around a week or so on average (sometimes sooner, sometimes a bit longer, like ten days). Still, it's much better than crappy Media Mail.

I do find funny when I venture to the awful Ebay Community Boards and see cry babies complain about negatives and low DSR's when they ship an item via Media Mail. No really? I wonder why they got the negative in the first place?

[Sailorneorune]

I'd imagine Media Mail especially sucks for you being in Puerto Rico. One of my regulars is also in Puerto Rico, and based on his experiences, it takes about a month to receive anything by Media Mail. It's likely to be even more aggravating for people in Alaska and Hawaii. I just plain don't ship Media Mail there. I figure he's cool enough to warrant a free Priority upgrade.

[megasdkirby]

I'd imagine Media Mail especially sucks for you being in Puerto Rico. One of my regulars is also in Puerto Rico, and based on his experiences, it takes about a month to receive anything by Media Mail. It's likely to be even more aggravating for people in Alaska and Hawaii. I just plain don't ship Media Mail there. I figure he's cool enough to warrant a free Priority upgrade.

Yeah, but it's really not PR only. The issue stems more on distance than anything else. If someone is from Florida and ships an item to Nevada, it can take a month to receive because the distance between the two is very big.

Also, the difference in price isn't much for single items like games.

Below is an example I took from an item sent from New York to California, for an item that weighs 13 ounces, the maximum for First Class Mail:



First Class Mail is less than $1 extra, so why not just send it First Class Mail? Now if the item is over 13 ounces, there is indeed a difference on shipping price. One could save option for cheaper shipping at the expense of shipping time and other issues along the way. Honestly, Media Mail is too aggravating to be a valid option (for me at least).

[Sailorneorune]

For someone like me, Media Mail would be good for shipping all (estimated) 25 volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist to someone in Metropolis, IL (a 3 hour drive from here). I use it for big lots of DVDs and/or books. It's good if you're a cheapskate with the patience of a saint, but otherwise... meh.

Something like Amazon Prime isn't worth it to me because I have a PO box (I live on a narrow street, so only 1 side gets the benefit of the mailbox in front of the house). Half the time, Amazon refuses to believe I exist. So, their standard shipping is good enough.

[Cornelius]

The Media Mail guidelines did not used to be so clear about video games. I know I looked through all of it a couple years back and they weren't directly referenced and it wasn't clear at all. I did have a package returned to me, though. On two separate occasions. One of the times I think I just switched boxes (the original had lots of misc. bar codes), reprinted my label and sent it again without problem. I never had the huge delays like some of you have experienced. For me it always matched up with their timetable like what kirby posted (7 days or so for media) and was about the same as the long end of the parcel post timeframe. Anyway, this was a long time ago and OF COURSE it wasn't ever for something that could be sent first-class. That'd be idiotic.

As a side note, USPS must really hate Parcel Post. There doesn't seem to ever be a reason to use it anymore.

[MarioMania]

When I send a game like SNES or the Genesis, I use the cheap way & I have No Problem

[megasdkirby]

Ironically, I think Parcel Post and Media Mail are pretty much the same, specially when a shipping label is printed. It is referred to "Package Services" in both instances, leaving me to believe it's one in the same, just for different items.

When I send a game like SNES or the Genesis, I use the cheap way & I have No Problem

Which I am sure it's First Class Mail for the most part. Like Cornelius states, it's kind of idiotic to send something Media Mail if it can easily be sent First Class Mail for around the same price (just a tad more, as I mentioned above).

[JerseyDevil65]

As a side note, USPS must really hate Parcel Post. There doesn't seem to ever be a reason to use it anymore.

Parcel Post is a joke. I just shipped a big box to the west coast and the price difference between PP and Priority was 10 cents and Priority was 3 days faster.

I didn't know they had updated the media mail guidelines to exclude videogames. When I sell, I always give people the option to use media mail so they can save a little money, but I guess I won't do that anymore.

[gum_drops]

From my experiences you can still get away with shipping games media mail if you use smaller packages, ie under 2 lbs. The bigger the box gets the greater your chances of getting inspected. They never upgrade shipping for me, its always returned to me.

It was always vague whether games counted or not, I guess its pretty clear now, no more media mail.

[Zthun]

From my experiences you can still get away with shipping games media mail if you use smaller packages, ie under 2 lbs. The bigger the box gets the greater your chances of getting inspected. They never upgrade shipping for me, its always returned to me.

It was always vague whether games counted or not, I guess its pretty clear now, no more media mail.

Same here. The one time they did the inspection, I had a chat with a PO worker and he told me that games don't classify under media mail, so I wasted 5 bucks in shipping. No biggie, live and learn.

I only really use first class and priority to ship my eBay packages (and gametz packages). Unless I have a huge box, then I'd do parcel, but it isn't much cheaper and I rarely have a box that big.

[ooXxXoo]

It seems like our local USPS post offices have discontinued the Parcel Post altogether....Depending the size of the package, its either first class (very small box), or they directly bump it to priority mail.....Also, I once got a package from Alaska, it took a month and a half to reach Virginia and yes, that was by supposedly priority mail ...


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[The 1 2 P]

I actually had this chat with a postal worker at my local Post Office about 2 months ago. He showed me the media mail guidance card that him and his co-workers use for reference and it says right there on the card "cd-rom video games are eligible for media mail while dvd-rom video games are not". They could have updated their policy since then but thats what he told and showed me and he works there as a cashier.

But like Kirby said, the majority of all my games get sent first class anyway since it's around the same price. I usually only send media mail for video game strategy guides and those are perfect for media because their weight can become an issue when they are premium sized guides or if someone buys multiples. However, when I have sent media it usually only takes the stated 5-9 business days and half the time it arrives even faster, usually the same time first class would take. I've only had one or two times where it took longer than two weeks and considering how many packages I send out a month thats really not that bad.

[Kitsune Sniper]

It seems like our local USPS post offices have discontinued the Parcel Post altogether....Depending the size of the package, its either first class (very small box), or they directly bump it to priority mail.....Also, I once got a package from Alaska, it took a month and a half to reach Virginia and yes, that was by supposedly priority mail ...


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They can't do that. They HAVE to ask you if you want Parcel or Priority, unless the box is a free Priority Mail box or it already has Priority stickers on it.

The main difference between Media Mail and Parcel Post, according to my local PO, is the order the packages go out. Media is given the least priority and space in their trucks, so if it doesn't fit, it won't go out until the next day. And so on.

[Porksta]

I remember some guy, on NA I think, bought a couple of sealed Genny games on ebay. Cost him something like $700 for the pair. Well, the seller sent them Media Mail and it got inspected. Both games were opened. I think he and the seller agreed to a half refund.

[mobiusclimber]

I know fairly recently the clerks at my PO stated that video games WERE classified as Media Mail so I have to wonder if this is a new thing or what? I'm going to ask them next time I go in. I really wish the USPS would find a definition and stick to it.

[RASK1904]

I talk with all the postal workers at my branch. I'm nice to them, I need them. I talk to the postmaster in charge alot. And she checked and told me they where media. I usually do not go this way unlees the buyer sayed to.

[kupomogli]

You know what I hate about media mail. Those Ebay sellers that say it's $4 shipping so you buy from them instead of someone else who has the same item for $5 shipping and then it happens that you have to choose what shipping costs you want. The $4 happens to be media mail possibly 30 - 90 days to get the item and then they always have an overpriced first class shipping of $10+. Bunch of scamming douchebags. I feel cheated because you don't see that until after you purchase the item so I'll give them negative feedback regardless how quickly I receive the item.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Not that I care about media mail rates or what qualifies, but just how video games are not "computer readable media", I'll never know.