sunflowr
MomentoMori said:
I recieved decks through media mail as well. lots of times. I also once bought a ouija board-type game on Ebay, and that was sent Media as well. So I was completely in the dark until this thread. Yikes! Glad it was posted!
US Media Mail Shipping issue for Tarot deck/book sets
I recieved decks through media mail as well. lots of times. I also once bought a ouija board-type game on Ebay, and that was sent Media as well. So I was completely in the dark until this thread. Yikes! Glad it was posted!
MomentoMori
i just wanted add this in the decks i recived via media mail in the past was directly from buy dot com and directly from amazon not from independant sellers that why i am very surprized.
gregory
I'm going to ask Jeannette to come over here....
ETA I have done
ETA I have done
Jeannette
Thanks for the "heads up", gregory.
The whys and wherefores of the media mail definition are strange -- but the official post office position on tarot cards is clear: not media mail.
Should they qualify? The ISBN argument doesn't hold, because: 1) not all tarot decks actually do have an ISBN, and 2) the USPS doesn't use the ISBN as a defining feature of their media mail policy. (Plus, I've tried it myself -- it didn't seem to impress anyone at the post office.)
The upshot is: what the USPS says qualifies, qualifies. What they say doesn't qualify, doesn't qualify.
We send deck/book sets by media mail in some cases (although I still prefer Priority Mail for an almost endless list of reasons). We note the item on any declaring forms as a book, not as cards. This may be splitting hairs, but we've never had the USPS complain to us on this point.
A couple of years ago, I had a customer absolutely insist that I send his order of decks via media mail, despite my repeated advisories that the USPS might not like it. He claimed he had decks sent to him via media mail all the time...
...Two weeks later, I got a politely-worded form letter from the USPS, informing me that the shipment had not qualified for media mail, that the customer had been charged postage due, and that I'd better not consider trying that again.
You can try to ship your decks however you like. The post office may inspect the package and disqualify it at the lower postage rate; they may not. In my experience, with deck-only shipments, you're taking your chances. Amazon and similar sites may get by with it because they're the 900-lb., shipping-revenue gorilla. Furthermore, your typical USPS worker may not even be aware that things like tarots are sold through that venue... so they get an automatic "by", perhaps.
From where I'm at, the USPS provides top-notch service at a price that, even at Priority rates, is lower than I can get from any of the commercial carriers in my area (even with the recent rate increases). Times are tight, and it's in our best interests as a business to keep the shipping costs as low as possible for our customers. But there comes a point where a dollar's (or often even less) difference in cost makes a world of difference in service. As we've never had a domestic package lost through the USPS (nor an international package either, if it was sent using the USPS Priority service), and the delivery time is, nearly without exception, 72 hours or less -- and as our local USPS people are friendly and helpful and have done a LOT to help us with any problems that arise, all without complaint -- I am not going to begrudge them a few extra pennies on the postage. I know USPS service isn't perfect everywhere... but from where I stand, they're worth it.
-- Jeannette
The Tarot Garden
The whys and wherefores of the media mail definition are strange -- but the official post office position on tarot cards is clear: not media mail.
Should they qualify? The ISBN argument doesn't hold, because: 1) not all tarot decks actually do have an ISBN, and 2) the USPS doesn't use the ISBN as a defining feature of their media mail policy. (Plus, I've tried it myself -- it didn't seem to impress anyone at the post office.)
The upshot is: what the USPS says qualifies, qualifies. What they say doesn't qualify, doesn't qualify.
We send deck/book sets by media mail in some cases (although I still prefer Priority Mail for an almost endless list of reasons). We note the item on any declaring forms as a book, not as cards. This may be splitting hairs, but we've never had the USPS complain to us on this point.
A couple of years ago, I had a customer absolutely insist that I send his order of decks via media mail, despite my repeated advisories that the USPS might not like it. He claimed he had decks sent to him via media mail all the time...
...Two weeks later, I got a politely-worded form letter from the USPS, informing me that the shipment had not qualified for media mail, that the customer had been charged postage due, and that I'd better not consider trying that again.
You can try to ship your decks however you like. The post office may inspect the package and disqualify it at the lower postage rate; they may not. In my experience, with deck-only shipments, you're taking your chances. Amazon and similar sites may get by with it because they're the 900-lb., shipping-revenue gorilla. Furthermore, your typical USPS worker may not even be aware that things like tarots are sold through that venue... so they get an automatic "by", perhaps.
From where I'm at, the USPS provides top-notch service at a price that, even at Priority rates, is lower than I can get from any of the commercial carriers in my area (even with the recent rate increases). Times are tight, and it's in our best interests as a business to keep the shipping costs as low as possible for our customers. But there comes a point where a dollar's (or often even less) difference in cost makes a world of difference in service. As we've never had a domestic package lost through the USPS (nor an international package either, if it was sent using the USPS Priority service), and the delivery time is, nearly without exception, 72 hours or less -- and as our local USPS people are friendly and helpful and have done a LOT to help us with any problems that arise, all without complaint -- I am not going to begrudge them a few extra pennies on the postage. I know USPS service isn't perfect everywhere... but from where I stand, they're worth it.
-- Jeannette
The Tarot Garden
lunakasha
Thank you, Jeannette~ and I couldn't agree more.
I have never been comfortable sending anything other than books through Media Mail, although I did send deck/book sets on a couple of occasions, because the recipient insisted on it. Fortunately, those packages were not inspected, but it sounds like the USPS is taking a closer look right now as they try to reduce costs.
I agree that Priority mail IS worth the cost, for fast and reliable delivery. I have noticed that the price difference between Parcel Post and Priority is usually less than a dollar....but Parcel Post is MUCH slower and not as reliable as Priority with delivery confirmation, at least in my experience. I would rather pay more for better service.
Also~ I have found that First Class is almost as quick as Priority, for much less, but of course it may only be used for packages that are 13 ounces or less (a single deck, for example).
Luna
I have never been comfortable sending anything other than books through Media Mail, although I did send deck/book sets on a couple of occasions, because the recipient insisted on it. Fortunately, those packages were not inspected, but it sounds like the USPS is taking a closer look right now as they try to reduce costs.
I agree that Priority mail IS worth the cost, for fast and reliable delivery. I have noticed that the price difference between Parcel Post and Priority is usually less than a dollar....but Parcel Post is MUCH slower and not as reliable as Priority with delivery confirmation, at least in my experience. I would rather pay more for better service.
Also~ I have found that First Class is almost as quick as Priority, for much less, but of course it may only be used for packages that are 13 ounces or less (a single deck, for example).
LunaAJ
I agree with Jeannette, the US has a wonderful post office system and is to be commended.
I used to sell books on-line, have shipped 1000's marked media and have had packages opened both here and at the receiving post office.
It only costs us in the end when a shipper doesn't play by the rules, the rates go up.
re: Amazon...they may indeed have a marketing agreement with the post office, I know PayPal does, as does Ebay. But that said, I just checked my most recent boxes from Amazon and they don't SAY Media, they don't indicate the shipping method at all. So my guess is they are coming via First Class or Parcel when we say we prefer the lower cost or qualify for free shipping.
Have any of you Amazon Marketplace sellers contacted Amazon for clarification?
In anyone in the US has Amazon boxes that indicate method please let us know, thanks
I used to sell books on-line, have shipped 1000's marked media and have had packages opened both here and at the receiving post office.
It only costs us in the end when a shipper doesn't play by the rules, the rates go up.
re: Amazon...they may indeed have a marketing agreement with the post office, I know PayPal does, as does Ebay. But that said, I just checked my most recent boxes from Amazon and they don't SAY Media, they don't indicate the shipping method at all. So my guess is they are coming via First Class or Parcel when we say we prefer the lower cost or qualify for free shipping.
Have any of you Amazon Marketplace sellers contacted Amazon for clarification?
In anyone in the US has Amazon boxes that indicate method please let us know, thanks
MomentoMori
A.J were your items shipped super saver the free shipping from amazon when you spend 25$ or more? also i want to add i purchsed my inititory golden dawn tarot direct from another online company you guys may be aware of tower.com and i still have the box from that and it says media prst and was a tarot deck only though it been a while since i got anything from amazon last time i got from amazon was before i was a part of this forum i believe i ordered my druidcraft and and animal devine from them together and it was media mail, but i have no boxes left around from them to see for absolute certainty if it says media or a private rate since your saying it does not say media from amazon,but maybe what was suggested by jeanette that a giant like amazon may have a special deal with the postal service to ship something similar to a media do to there sheer volume of mail they ship.
p.s i did try to complete a trade on the forum first before buying from tower
p.s i did try to complete a trade on the forum first before buying from tower
firecatpickles
I think that the bigger companies choose the more expensive Meida Mail rate over the bulk rate, and that the USPS shows their appreciation for this by looking the other way.
cSpaceDiva
I do have 2 boxes from Amazon that I received within the last 2 months, both say Media Mail (it's in a square in the upper right corner of the mailing label), and both contained tarot decks.
Trump Lloyd
A while back I tried to get clarification by calling the 800 USPS number and also by email. They refused to answer the question, both by voice call and email. Said it was up to each post office to decide what does and what does not qualify. So I asked my local post office and they "doubted" that it would qualify and warned me that it could be confiscated but they couldn't say one way or another for sure. It was up to their in-house media mail specialist and he never spoke with the public. They really enjoyed telling me this and loved how capricious it all was. They didn't care that Amazon.com or that Buy.com sent this stuff media mail.
The second closest post office to me is quite notorious and has been written up several times over the past 10 years. One of their employees steals packages. Over and over. Everyone knows who does it. She can not be fired.
The second closest post office to me is quite notorious and has been written up several times over the past 10 years. One of their employees steals packages. Over and over. Everyone knows who does it. She can not be fired.
