USPS's Media Mail considers games to not be "educational"

this is why i hate the post office clerks, and used to hate shipping crap, now, we have one of those shipping center machines, and i can ship my stuff from there
 
I have to say I don't see why DVD's and CD's should be allowed to ship Media Mail and not video games. As I see it most of them are one thing and one thing only: entertainment. This goes for all of them though I'm sure SOME of all of these are educational.
I bet you some asshole senator or someone else had this passed.

Anyway one day I went to the PO to have something shipped and I was shipping a video game on a computer and the guy at the counter actually SUGGESTED to me to send it Media Mail.
 
[quote name='javeryh']Just tell them it is a DVD you are shipping - it's not even a lie. If they ask to unwrap it tell them it's none of their business. I've never had a problem doing this but the one time I said it was a video game they wouldn't allow it. It's total bullshit. "Media" implies all media no matter the form - if you send a CD with computer files that's no problem but a CD with a computer game is - WTF?[/QUOTE]

The problem is that sometimes they inspect media mail after you have send it and if they find that it shouldn't have been sent that way they won't ship it. To be fair to USPS they've been doing this with bookrate for a long time now.

Personally I just ship everything Priority since they give me boxes, it's quicker and my items don't get damaged that way.
 
I never ship anything Media Mail. It's just too slow and not worth it to me to save a few cents. I think it's messed up that the post office is cracking down on this though. Games are media just as much as CD's and DVD's are.
 
The post office themselves define what is considered media mail. Any regulations are made up by them, and they can change it whenever they want. As far as I understand it, the official postal definition of media does not include games. But if it really bothers you that much just ask to speak to a supervisor when they deny you. If other offices are like mine you will get your way nearly 100% of the time. I had my supervisor overturn me once on not accepting an unsigned credit card that the guy refused to sign, or provide ID instead of signing. It was doubly amazing since a few days earlier I'd been given a memo reminding all window clerks of the prodedure for unsigned cards.

Last week one of the other clerks told me he was out there and a woman came in with postage that had been used to mail something in June. She had cut it off that package and taped it on a new one and expected to not have to pay to mail the thing. Btw, doing this is a federal offense. But anyway he refused to take it and she became irate and abusive. The clerk then called a supervisor, who promptly escorted her.....to the other clerk to help her.
 
[quote name='swetooth9']they won't believe you and they want you to open it to check[/QUOTE]

So slip a white piece of paper into the case over the insert and tell them it's a home DVD.

Let's see those fuckers try to tell me to open the case too.
 
I ship media mail if it's a difference of more than a $1 or so...sometimes the case with multiple games. If I've dragged my feet on getting it out in the mail (quite likely, I work nights til 7am - and it's hard to get to the post office many days) I send it priority mail to make up the difference.

Now the post office here has an automated shipping thingie that makes postage and you can drop off packages any time. YAY!! I just discovered this a few weeks ago. I will be doing a lot more ebaying now.

PS I refuse to spend money on auctions with exorbitant shipping out of principle. I don't even put them on my watch list - normally someone bids and doesn't notice the high shipping, so a high shipping auction = high cost IMO. So I don't even watch them anymore.

PS this clerk saying video games don't count has to be just uninformed.
 
This is the response I received from the customer service rep: (this is off their FAQ)

What can be mailed at the Media Mail rate?

Media Mail can not contain advertising, except eligible books may contain incidental announcements of books.
Books
16-millimeter or narrower width films (must be positive prints in final form for viewing, and catalogs of such films of 24 pages or more, at least 22 of which are printed).
Note: Films and film catalogs sent to or from commercial theaters do not qualify for the Media Mail rate.
Printed music, whether in bound or sheet form
Printed objective test materials and their accessories used by or on behalf of educational institutions.
Video recordings, player piano rolls, and sound recordings (records, tape cassettes, CDs, DVDs, etc). Including incidental announcements of recordings and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such recordings.
Playscripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music.
Printed educational reference charts designed to instruct or train individuals for improving or developing their capabilities. Examples: maps, tables of mathematical or scientific equations, periodic table of elements, etc.
Loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information for distribution to doctors, hospitals, medical schools, and medical students.
Computer-readable media containing prerecorded information and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such media.


Notice that it doesn't say anything about anything needing to be educational, but I guess they can restrict video games since they aren't simple recordings or something. Still the whole situation seems like bull crap to me. I also received a similar explanation in my PO Box today from the PO clerk, and according to that if people want to know a book needs to be at least 8 pages to be considered a book.
 
[quote name='swetooth9']same thing happened to me at my Post office...the woman was like, "you wanna ship media mail? what do you have in there?", i was like, "just a dvd", she said "unpackage it and let me see"

she said, "that looks like a game, it has to be educational"

that's BS, media = books, dvd, cds, etc...last time i checked games were on dvds or cds...and they almost wouldnt let me send out my game guide media mail either...[/QUOTE]

So is porn 'educational'? It shows you what holes to put your business in, I guess.

Why doesn't the Postmaster General change the name to 'Educational Media Mail" then?
 
[quote name='chunk']What difference does it make? Just wrap the game up. Looks the same as a DVD. What are they going to do? Unwrap it?[/QUOTE]
f.y.i.

USPS has the right to inspect any package shipped media mail EVEN WITHOUT consent or presence of the sender.
 
I got rejected sending $0.01 guides via media mail before. The guy flipped through them and said they were "catalogs" and did not qualify... so I just went to a different post office (a mile down), sealed the envelope this time around, and when the clerk asked me what the contents were, I said, "books."

No problems and the other CAG I did a trade with got the guides within a couple days.
 
the usps website states the guidelines for media mail as:

Media Mail®
Small and large packages, thick envelopes, and tubes can be sent using Media Mail. Contents are limited to books, film, manuscripts, sound recordings, video tapes, and computer media (such as CDs, DVDs, and diskettes). Sometimes called "Book Rate," Media Mail cannot contain advertising.

nothing about education there, nothing about any restrictions other than cannot contain advertisements, computer media is a very loose term, as a game console is a form of a computer, as is a dvd player, and countless other electronic devices.
 


BAM! Entertainment takes the magic of learning to the PlayStation gaming console. Learning is made fun with engaging content surrounding the alphabet, simple arithmetic, problem solving and much more. The art and voices are reminiscent of Disney's classic animation series "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh".
 
They are allowed too open and inspect all packages mailed media mail. I much rather pay the little bit more for first class and not have them tearing up my package and possibly damaging it.
 
Games are CD or DVD media.

Video Game consoles are just computers. if they are not computers then what the fuck are they?!?!

Linux runs on computers. Linux runs on Playstation 2. Therefore the Playstation 2 is a computer :)

I don't really give a fuck anymore. My post office sucks so hard that I have started using FedEx whenever possible. I have found them to be cheaper for many things, provide much better tracking, and have never lost any packages (USPS has lost many of my packages).

As an example, I just just shipped a package that weighed over 6lbs. The post office wanted over $11 for priority and just under $11 for parcel post. FedEx was all of $6 insured. And I was never asked what was in the package nor was I told I can only ship a certain way.

fuck the post office.

Oh, and I did file complaints about my missing packages. They said they would get back to me the next day. Never heard a fucking thing! I went in a few days later and talked to the lady in the office, she said the post master will contact me the next day. Never heard a fucking thing!

I want my ZoE2 damnit!

My post office is screwed up.
 
[quote name='b3b0p'] I don't really give a fuck anymore. My post office sucks so hard that I have started using FedEx whenever possible. I have found them to be cheaper for many things, provide much better tracking, and have never lost any packages (USPS has lost many of my packages).

As an example, I just just shipped a package that weighed over 6lbs. The post office wanted over $11 for priority and just under $11 for parcel post. FedEx was all of $6 insured. And I was never asked what was in the package nor was I told I can only ship a certain way.[/QUOTE]

What happened to the rates at USPS?

Not that long ago, I remember Priority was like $3 for up to 3 lbs.... Now it's $4 for up to 1 lbs and the price only goes up from there... I had a package that was 1 lbs and 10 oz and it ended up costing nearly $6... I was trying to ship 5 strategy guides and it would have cost $13! If it's only $6 for 6lbs at Fed Ex, I think I may take my business there from now on.

Why the sudden price hike?
 
I just thought I would add a few comments:

First, all the comments regarding "Just tell them XYZ" or "Just slip a piece of paper in and XYZ". People, mail fraud is no joke. The Postal Service is one enemy you do not want to have, even though the odds of them actually cracking down on you are slim.

Second, I have had similar experiences with different PO's. One lady did tell me the reason they're cracking down is that they did a study and found that when you add up gas, salaries, materials, etc and put it against the cost of different services (First Class, Priority, Media) they found that overall the Post Office actually takes a loss on Media shipments. That at least helps you to understand the why behind it all. As with all businesses, some places don't really care about the giant grand scheme of things, and others have Managers who are die-hard after every penny.

I'm also unsure about how EB and Gamestop still get away with Media. I called the USPS help line and posed that question to the poor guy on the other end of the line. The reality is he didn't know the answer, but he said "if they're doing that, they are doing so against our policy".

Finally, I agree that strategy guides should be "books". They say they have advertising because there is usually one "ad" on the inside of the back cover. My response to that would be to bring in a Tom Clancy book and ask if it qualifies as "media". If they say yes, I would direct them to the inside of the cover where it "advertises" his other books.
 
[quote name='sabin23']What happened to the rates at USPS?

Not that long ago, I remember Priority was like $3 for up to 3 lbs.... Now it's $4 for up to 1 lbs and the price only goes up from there... I had a package that was 1 lbs and 10 oz and it ended up costing nearly $6... I was trying to ship 5 strategy guides and it would have cost $13! If it's only $6 for 6lbs at Fed Ex, I think I may take my business there from now on.

Why the sudden price hike?[/QUOTE]

My item would not fit in a flat rate box.

And my mistake, it was 7.2 lbs and $6.30 with $100 insurance (I think the first $125 is part of the initial cost).
 
[quote name='mtxbass1']If you knew how the post office treats media mail packages you would probably never ship that way again. Many people who have worked at post offices have posted here on CAG about how the USPS mistreats media mail parcels. First class is a better choice 99% of the time for shipping small amounts.[/QUOTE]

They Mistreat all their packages, i sent a sega saturn game in a large bubble envolope, double padded, with extra padding around the case, and had the thing marked fragile by their hands, and it was received all smashed up by the buyer.
 
Actually he said Sega Saturn game, not system. Ironically I've just ran across this thread today, and early during lunch I shipped out a package via media mail. The lady just said media mail is subject to inspection, which I didn't think too much of considering I've heard the "limits" shipping via media.

But now I'm a bit anxious after reading through this thread. I'll be pissed if that package doesn't reach its destination.

I've only been rejected once for media mail when I tried to ship out a stack of comics. The worker told me it contained advertising so it doesnt' qualify for media mail. Prior to that, I've shipped out tons of comics the same way. Guess it's YMMV.

Anyone know how serious Post Offices are about opening media packages for inspection?
 
[quote name='grendel19']Actually he said Sega Saturn game, not system. Ironically I've just ran across this thread today, and early during lunch I shipped out a package via media mail. The lady just said media mail is subject to inspection, which I didn't think too much of considering I've heard the "limits" shipping via media.

But now I'm a bit anxious after reading through this thread. I'll be pissed if that package doesn't reach its destination.

I've only been rejected once for media mail when I tried to ship out a stack of comics. The worker told me it contained advertising so it doesnt' qualify for media mail. Prior to that, I've shipped out tons of comics the same way. Guess it's YMMV.

Anyone know how serious Post Offices are about opening media packages for inspection?[/QUOTE]

Part of that 9/11 freedom act that stripped all of our unalienable freedoms in this country- the post office is now allowed to open any package they see as suspecious for any reasons.
 
Also for books and such (i.e. Strat guides) a small amount of advertising is allowed, such as an ad in the back of a book advertising other of the author's titles, so the ads in strat guides should be ok.
 
Pretty sure the post office can open any package no matter if it is priority or media mail.

Example: I shipped out a DVD box set in a brown cardboard box. About 2 weeks later I get a call from a guy in CA. He received an empty box, addressed to him, from me. We were both like, WTF?! I get his info and look up what I sold him. He told me he got that DVD over a week ago and left me positive feedback. I asked what box he received the DVD in and he said a priority mail box (which I did not send it in).

My guess was it was an inspection. Another reason I ship FedEx. The lady at FedEx is really nice too!

I guess that Jetson's DVD season raised red flags in their system.
 
Media and devices are not the same thing.

[quote name='b3b0p']
Linux runs on computers. Linux runs on Playstation 2. Therefore the Playstation 2 is a computer :)[/QUOTE]

"Sony PlayStation 2 Computer Entertainment System". So. Duh.

Besides, what are consoles but restricted "computers"?
 
[quote name='chosen1s']I just thought I would add a few comments:
I'm also unsure about how EB and Gamestop still get away with Media. I called the USPS help line and posed that question to the poor guy on the other end of the line. The reality is he didn't know the answer, but he said "if they're doing that, they are doing so against our policy".[/QUOTE]

That's one thing I'm waiting to come back and bite them in the ass.

Might also be why they've occasionally sent stuff to me (and I know this has happened for other CAGs as well) via FedEx or UPS, when I selected the cheap shipping.

They're big enough, why not just have them work out a deal with one of the carriers and stick to it, like UPS or FedEx?
 
If the whole inspection thing is only a "local" thing, then I'll be ok sending games with media mail. (The guys at my post office know me so well that I could get away with sending a living, breathing cow via media mail.)

I send a lot of my textbooks via "printed matter" because it is auctualy cheaper than media mail in some instances. As for games, in my experience, it is usually cheaper to ship first class, as well as a hell of a lot faster.

Does anyone know if adding the last 4 digits of a zip code really helps the deliverey time??? I've heard in some instances, it can decrease the time by 2-3 days...
 
That's weird. I told the worker today that I'm shipping media mail. She asked what it was... I said a video game. And she said ok.
 
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