What is Media Mail?
Whether you want to ship your media business’s items to customers or want to send your personal media collection to loved ones, you can turn to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Media Mail to fulfill your needs.
Simply put, this method of USPS mail allows you to ship popular types of electronic and print media at a significant discount compared to Priority Mail. In fact, what sets this mail solution apart from other services is its cost-effectiveness.
At ShipLeap, we offer holistic solutions to help you benefit from USPS Media Mail for your business or personal requirements. Through our offerings, you can easily print customized postage and labels to easily send your media items through this specialized mail service.
But before you can use this offering by USPS, it is essential to understand what it entails for you or your business. To help you learn more, here’s a detailed overview of this media-centric mail solution:
What Does the Service Entail?
Since this section of USPS deals with a certain segment of mail and offers discounted prices, it covers a variety of media formats while restricting any other type of items.
However, since this USPS mail solution has to ensure compliance with its rules, any media that you ship through it is subject to be examined by USPS. This is done to make sure that customers are adhering to the set guidelines.
But this doesn’t put extensive restrictions on you. From videos to music, and from literature to charts, the service allows you to ship some of the most popular forms of electronic and print media. As long as you follow the policies outlined for the mail, you can benefit from its low shipping costs.
As an individual, this gives you an affordable way to share your personal media with family or friends. While as a business, it gives you plenty of ways to use this service, including book sales and media subscription boxes.
This is why the service is recommended by several carrier shipping software solutions on a regular basis. At our company, we also offer customized labels to let you make use of the service in a convenient way.
What Kind of Items Can You Send Through the Solution?
This USPS media-centric service allows you to ship an array of media formats.
The accepted media types include:
Books. Nonfiction and fiction books are a part of this segment.
Manuscripts. These handwritten documents can cover many materials for several sectors.
Sound Recordings and Video Recordings. Music and video content on discs are present in this category.
Computer-readable Media. Machine readable information can relate to walkthroughs and bits of information.
Films. This pertains to a wide range of materials within this sector.
Test materials. This relates to materials within the testing domain as well as augmenting components.
Educational Reference Charts. This includes physical representations of this respective media.
Loose-leaf Pages and Binders. It is essential to note that this pertains to the medical industry, general schools, and other related materials.
To enhance the flexibility of sending various media formats, our shipping apps allow you to use the solution through your mobile device. This provides you with a seamless shipping experience that takes the worries off your shoulders.
What Media Items Are Not Accepted?
The USPS solution has a few restrictions present in regard to the materials one can send with the platform.
Any type of item that does not qualify as media, such as clothing or stationery are not accepted. Promotional or advertising media (incidental mentions of other media are accepted) as well as comic books of any kind are also not allowed.
USPS reserves the right to send back any package that does not meet its guidelines. In this case, you will also need to pay for additional postage.
How Cost-Effective is the Solution?
Whether you are using a carrier shipping software solution for added ease or opting to go through lengthy manual processes, this segment of USPS mail provides you with affordable prices.
It is also prudent to note that the prices in this segment of USPS are not covered by distance but calculated by shipping weight. This means that you can send your media across the country only to pay a flat fee against it.
To give you an idea, sending media weighing about 1 lb may usually cost you upwards of $7 through Priority Mail. Whereas, sending the same package through Media Mail allows you to benefit from rates lower than $3. This means that you can benefit from a price cut of more than 50% on typical shipping.
If you keep using this USPS service to consistently send your business items, you can easily benefit from paying only half the amount in shipping costs than what you would usually spend. This gives you significant support to be able to scale your business.
This is why our shipping apps are designed to provide you with an intuitive solution, which makes it easier for you to use the service on a frequent basis.
How Fast Do the Items Ship?
Since USPS takes the time to examine the package for compliance, it can take anywhere from 2-10 days for it to arrive at the recipient’s address.
While this may seem like a disadvantage to some entities and individuals, others see it as a justifiable approach against the price point of this USPS service.
Printing your postage and labels through our carrier shipping software also adds to this peace of mind. Through these services, you can be rest assured that your package won’t get lost on the way.
What Additional Services Can You Avail?
On top of cost-effective shipping and free tracking, ShipLeap helps keep you connected to all your platforms.
With our company shipping apps, you can start shipping your USPS media through just a few taps or clicks. With our easy to use solution, you can ship your media at affordable prices without compromising on the quality of your experience.