Question
Ok, I "thought" I had it figured out but obviously not! I've got a nice little letter from the local PO stating I incorrectly sent something media mail. It is being sent to the recipient postage due. The kicker is it was Readers Digest Mags and she included a little snip that says "Publications autorized to be mailed as Periodicals are not eliible to be mailed as Media Mail pices. However, members of the general public may mail copies of bound Periodical publications at the Bound Printed Matter rates."
So did she re-rate them at the BPM rates and send my customer change back?!?! I'm sure not but she will be getting an earful from me. This is a small PO in a very small town. It truely would not have been a problem to mention it to me the next time I was in (almost daily) or to give me a call. I will be taking my eBay packages elsewhere from now on.
Rant over, on to the questions. How come you cannot choose BPM when printing labels from Paypal? Now I have to either stand in line at the PO or type all the info in at the USPS site. Also, I sold some Great Ideas of Today books. Are they books or periodicals? Sadly I'm not real sure! I priced them to send media but now I'm nervous.
EDIT - I just went through the USPS site and you can't print BPM labels there either.
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Hi Loragail,
Can you please let us know what city you are in? One of our customer service reps will call our USPS contact in your area and acquire the answers for you.
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Thanks for the offer but I do like getting my mail. Being a VERY small town she would know for certain who the call was about. I'm sure I'm being paranoid about my mail becoming very slow or misplaced but...
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This isn't new. There are lots of threads here at here on the BPM/media mail differences.
The BPM rate is not a lot higher than the media mail rate and it changes with partial pounds, not full pounds. For instance, the last time I checked, a 1.3 lb magazine would be $2.37 BPM while a 1.3 lb book would be $1.84 media mail. And it's still WAY cheaper than parcel post or Priority Mail.
You can use the USPS Shipping Assistant to print labels from BPM or media mail or whatever.
Anything with advertising that's rated as a magazine by the USPS will have to be sent BPM and anything that's mailed media mail these days is subject to being opened and inspected because the media mail rate rules have been so blatantly abused by people sending bowling balls, etc by media mail
I don't understand what you're saying about sending your customer a refund.
Elaine
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Well, I just reread your message and I see that what you are really irritated about is that they didn't tell you and give you a chance to fix it before sending it off postage due to your customer.
And I don't blame you.
However, you might want to keep in mind that the annual counts/inspections of post offices most often take place in the summer months and there is NO wiggle room for the tolerances you are usually used to when there's an inspector watching your (the postal employee's) every move. And they aren't allowed to tell you about the count either...
In the past my carrier has paid for upgrades for mistakes I've made (usually put the wrong number of stamps on) and then given me an envelope to repay her. But she's under no obligation to do so...so I try to keep on her good side at all times.
The postmaster also warned me recently that she's obligated to inspect a certain number of media mail packages that originate from her office. (Which is fine with me, but she seemed uncomfortable with the idea.)
So my guess is that your postal folks got caught between you and the postal authorities and this time you got pinched.
I'm really sorry it happened to you.
Will you send some $$ to the magazine buyer with a warning about the bill due?
Elaine
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If I knew which customer it was. The past couple weeks were good to me and everything was a book or magazine (Readers Digest). I'm going in to talk to her tomorrow and see if I can find out which customers got zapped.
I guess what really upsets me is it's such a trivial thing as far as the PO goes. Media vs BPM is not that different in price or handling. It's possible the box(es?) that were wrong would go cheaper as BPM depending on the zone. If she marked them all first class I'll be really ticked! Her attitude overall contributes to it quite a bit. I have been trying to schedule my mailings so I can do them when I'm in Hastings just so I don't have to talk with her.
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Magazines (anything with advertising in it) must go Bound Printed Matter, they can not be sent Media. Books can be send Media Mail or Bound Printed.
If they 'catch' you sending magazines at a lower rate they can, and usually will, send that item Priority mail, postage due. Not First Class, Priority. Why? Cause they can.
If you want to keep on this PO's good side, I'd take the high road and apologize to them for accidently mislabeling the package and thank them for setting you straight. Eat it. It will pay off in the long run. Once they 'know' that you've seen the light they will lay off checking your packages. If you give them grief about it they will do the same to you.
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Keep in mind that Undeliverable-as-Addressed Bound Printed Matter with no ancillary service en-dorsement is disposed of at the delivery unit.
That is one of the big considerations when using BPM.
You can find out more about that rule HERE
Here is how the USPS determines Bound Printed Matter (BPM) and Media Mail:
Bound Printed Matter
Material that consists of advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial material that is securely and permanently bound (not loose-leaf in binders), consists of sheets of which at least 90 percent are imprinted by a process other than handwriting or typewriting, contains no personal correspondence, and is not stationery (such as pads of blank printed forms) up to 15 pounds can be sent as Bound Printed Matter.
Media Mail
Books of eight or more printed pages with only incidental blank spaces and no advertising except for incidental announcements of books, 16-millimeter or narrower width films in positive print for viewing (excluding films sent to or from commercial theaters), catalogs of such film of 24 pages or more, printed music (bound or in sheet form), printed objective test materials and accessories, sound recordings, video recordings, play scripts and manuscripts, printed educational reference charts, loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information, and computer-readable media containing prerecorded information up to 70 pounds can be sent as Media Mail.
From: http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm200/additional.htm
It might be worthwhile to just stick a Reader's Digest Condensed Book in each package.
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Originally Posted by corrdogg
It might be worthwhile to just stick a Reader's Digest Condensed Book in each package.
Would that work, I mean be legal??
How about for a bowling ball?
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Magazines (anything with advertising in it) must go Bound Printed Matter
Reader's Digest don't have advertising in them so that's where I got confused. Nowhere does it say anything about periodicals in the description corrdogg sent. I talked to the Hastings PO yesterday when I was there and the sheet they gave me doesn't list periodicals either. I did find out I can stamp "Return Service Requested" and it will come back postage due.
likearock - I'll have to check the zips but for most items over 4lbs BPM is CHEAPER than media. That is why I don't see what the big deal is. I wasn't trying to pull the wool over her eyes and for most (if not all) of the items I shipped I could have saved money by going BPM.
flvamp - Maybe if the bowling ball had Reader's Digest painted on it.