posted on April 3, 2001 06:27:02 PM
A bit of background on this one: about a week ago I sold a set of 9 books on eBay. They weighed ten pounds, so I quoted shipping and handling at $5.00. Media mail for ten pounds is $4.90, so it's not like I'm making a whopping profit off the handling.
A few days after the auction the bidder emailed me to say she lived nearby, could she pick up the books at my house. I said okay, here's my phone number, call me and I'll give you directions. I've done that in the past, and it doesn't bother me.
Today I get an email from her saying sorry, it's too far away, could you send them by bound printed matter instead, it's only $2.50 or $3.00 instead of $5.00.
I checked the USPS website, and couldn't make sense of the mumbo-jumbo about what's eligible for that shipping method. So I called the post office, and they weren't able to answer me either.
What's making me nervous about this is that the bider already has one neg for trying to re-negotiate shipping after the auction was over.
I don't mind sending the books by another shipping method, but it irks me that they're trying to change the deal after the auction is over. If sending books via bound printed matter isn't against USPS regulations, I'll do it, but I'm not going to put my butt on the line to save this person two bucks.
posted on April 3, 2001 06:36:09 PM
Yes you can send the books bound printed matter. When you go to the PO and tell them they are books it will automatically change media mail to bound printed if it is cheaper .
posted on April 3, 2001 06:40:35 PM
There's confusion about this at my post office too, though I've sent books both ways successfully. I think there was a thread about this a week or so ago, and in the end no consensus was reached on what was or wasn't permissable--or legal. If it was me, I'd make at least some attempt to accomodate your buyer. Chances are your post office will shoot it through either way. These things have a way of escalating when you lose sight of your initial objective.
posted on April 3, 2001 07:05:39 PM
If I understand the USPS website correctly, book would not qualify for Bound, Printed Matter.
http://new.usps.com/cgi-bin/uspsbv/scripts/content.jsp?D=9743&B=Mail_or_Ship&A=B&U=X&U1=B&U2=H#bpm
a. Consist of advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial material (or any combination of such material).
b. Be securely bound by permanent fastenings such as staples, spiral binding, glue, or stitching. Looseleaf binders and similar fastenings are not considered permanent.
c. Consist of sheets of which at least 90% are imprinted by any process other than handwriting or typewriting with words, letters, characters, figures, or images (or any combination of them).
d. Not have the nature of personal correspondence.
e. Not be stationery, such as pads of blank printed forms.
Generally used for books (at least eight pages), film (16 mm or narrower), printed music, printed test materials, sound recordings, play scripts, printed educational charts, loose-leaf pages and binders consisting of medical information, and computer-readable media. Advertising restrictions apply.
Packages must measure 108 inches or less in combined length and girth.
Mark each package "Media Mail" in the postage area.
posted on April 3, 2001 07:13:25 PM
According to my post office,(their interpretation I guess), anything with a bound spine qualifies; books or magazines, catalogues etc. However, I haven't figured out how to quote it as it only becomes cheaper after some mysterious weight and distance. I was also told that it gets to it's destination about the same as parcel post. As someone said above mine automatically changes it when it's cheaper if I tell them it's a book.
posted on April 3, 2001 07:14:31 PM
I ended this confusion some time ago, by emailing the folks at usps.gov. They promptly told me that yes, books may be sent via Bound Printed Matter. In fact, if you have a book that has advertising in it, it *must* go BPM, as opposed to Media Mail. Books without advertising (which covers most books I sell) can go the cheaper of Media or BPM. If your buyer lives that close to you, BPM will be much cheaper than Media Mail. 10 pounds to zones 1&2 will only cost $2.51 to ship.
posted on April 3, 2001 07:21:23 PM
A few weeks ago, I wrote to the USPS about the confusion on this, and this is the reply I got:
"A book as you described below without advertising other then a
reference to other of the author's books would be eligible for both
Media Mail or Bound Printed Matter (or parcel post, Priority Mail
or Express Mail).
Bound Printed Matter restrictions say the items MAY (not must)
contain editorial, directory, material such as in a magazine or
catalog.
It is not permissible to mail a magazine, containing advertising
matter, editorial matter, etc., by the MEDIA MAIL.
The official USPS standards are in the Domestic Mail Manual. The
relevant section are at:
Media Mail
http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm/e713.htm#X7132455 (see section 2).
If you have any questions after reading the above, please contact
your local Business Mail Entry Unit. These people are you local
experts, not the window clerk. A lookup tool for your local
Business Mail Entry Unit is available in the upper left frame of
Postal Explorer under "Postal Links".
Thank you for using the United States Postal Service. We look
forward to serving you in the future.
Postal Explorer"
As others have posted, the new computers which many post offices have will automatically give you the BPM rate if it is cheaper.
posted on April 3, 2001 07:24:28 PM
How much time (so far) have you spent trying to save your bidder (who wants to change your shipping terms after the auction) a couple of bucks?
posted on April 3, 2001 07:54:30 PM
mrpotatohead: So far, about half an hour -- but that includes grumbling to my husband about it for about five minutes. After that I checked the USPS website, called the post office, posted my question, and I've been working on other stuff ever since.
I'll probably give in and send the books via Bound Printed Matter -- but only if the local office okays it when I take the package in. I'm not going to lie about it to save her a few bucks.
Aside from the legality of sending the books that way -- what do y'all think of her asking to change the shipping method after the auction? I don't mind using another method if it's cheaper and I can do it without a hassle, but I do object to being run around multiple times. I'm curious if any of you would have put up with it -- am I being a doormat here?
posted on April 3, 2001 08:05:16 PM
Here's what I do if I think my Post Office may not know the correct procedure/rate for a package I'm sending (and this happens a lot): I go to the USPS Rate Calculator and put in the info, then print out the page to take with me. It has saved me a lot of grief and $$$. If your local PO tells you that you can't send books as BPM, they are wrong, and they need to know that for you in the future as well as others who are being overcharged.
As to changing the terms - I would not even have agreed for her to come to my house, but of course if you are comfortable with that, it's your decision. But I think once you had agreed to that, she felt okay about asking for the cheaper rate. I don't really see anything wrong with her ASKING if you'd send them as BPM, and I can't imagine refusing her that very simple request. But your terms are your terms, and if you don't want to change them to save her a couple bucks, then you should not feel you have to.
posted on April 4, 2001 04:12:05 AM
This thread makes me think that different post offices are reading off different pages of The Book.
At mine, the clerks all know me [I'm a great customer!] and they give me the cheaper rate whichever it happens to be. Usually it's BPM for the heavier parcels. The rate can be amazingly inexpensive.
However, since the rates changed, I've had more customers complain about slow or non-delivery, so I now warn of this in my email and recommend Priority for buyers who live far from me [West Coast] and suggest if they use media mail/bound printed, that they buy Delivery Confirmation. I know that doesn't do a thing if it isn't delivered, but it proves I mailed it in good faith.
posted on April 4, 2001 04:40:15 AM
We will only send priority mail since the new rates went into effect. And we too have had problems with late delivery....priority packages taking 2 or more weeks to reach their destination. We now require delivery confirmation too because of this. We put our shipping charges in our description and if someone complains after the auction we tell them to read descript and if they don't want the item...fine...but I will leave Neg. feedback...I don't deal well with whiners. LOL..
posted on April 4, 2001 05:44:30 AM
I'd tell her that the shipping is $5.00 and that they wioll come media mail. Period!
The problem with BPM is that if they are undeliverable, and if you have not marked them "Return Postage Guaranteed", they will NOT be returned to you. they will be trashed or end up in the USPS auctions on eBay.
posted on April 4, 2001 08:17:44 AM
According to my Post Office, only things like catalogs or something like that can go BPM. However, a certain clerk there automatically is changing it to BPM whenever the computer tries to "force" it, even though he knows I sell books.
Anyway, the more disturbing thing here is the buyer trying to change shipping terms after the sale.
posted on April 4, 2001 08:33:21 AM
There should be no confusion at the post office if the postal employee have the computer type terminals. This is the one where the customer can see a small screen and it is black in color.
When they weight the package, they can advise you whenever BPM is a lower rate than book rate as both rates are display on the postal employee (not the customer's) screen. They will ask you if you want BPM. On their screen is also a definition of what can be ship via BPM. Books will be on the list.
There is one major difference between BPM and Media mail. Undeliverable BPM will not be send back to you and goes into the Postal graveyard. If item is of value, send it media, not BPM.
Also, Media mail is solely by weight and BPM is by weight/distance. As such, if one is sending a lot of packages and one applies the postage before arriving at the post office, you will spend a lot less time at the counter if using media mail versus BPM. Even if they decide to weight each package, they do not have to enter the zipcode. Also, if you miss the weight by a pound and need to add more postage, it is 45 cents since that is the incremental rate for media mail.
