No More Media Mail on Ebay


Just received this email.

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Hooray - not we can maybe get things shipped properly.

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Media mail was just a level of service, has nothing to do with how things were packaged. Just gonna cost everyone more now to ship. Plus with first class capping out at 16 oz you gotta be careful about offering combined shipping now and what rate to set.

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Comics were never supposed to be media mail because they have ads - but at least now people will have to ship 1st class which hopefully will get handled better by USPS and maybe a little faster.

I ship everything Priority in Geminis but get incredibly frustrated by receiving things from ebay that don’t get the same care.

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The idea that postal workers handle media mail packages differently that first class or priority is silly. The only argument you can make is that it gets their quicker so it isn’t in their possession as long so maybe less chance for damage.

I was perfectly fine getting a comic slower for a cheaper shipping price as long as it was packaged properly.

Even if it wasn’t allowed by post office standards, it had become a normal practice and now it’s going to cost more to buy comics one eBay. Shipping just went from fixed $3.10 for a single comic to $5+ depending on your distance from the seller.

I also only ship in Gemini mailers.

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I’ve found that when people have shipped media mail they take advantage of the cheaper cost up to 1 lbs and package it better.

And More often than not My experience has been People shipping first class will skimp on the packaging to squeeze it under 8 oz. to save a buck. And 50% of those have arrived damaged where I’ve forced a return at their expense (more out of principle to not be cheap).

I now always make a point to ask how someone ships (what type of container) before bidding/buying and if the answer is anything but a comic mailer I avoid.

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Also an omnibus has no advertising and should be allowed to ship via media mail under the proper rules but now I’m gonna have to use priority mail.

Media mail is subject to inspection, and inspection usually means increased risk of damage as well. It’s not like they are “ooooh, a comic book!!! Better be gentle with this one!”

It won’t, USPS just announced slower shipping even for First Class mail to cut costs as they’re just climbing further and further into debt.

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You are correct and I actually had 1 package inspected and it got marked up, but that’s 1 out of 690 comic sales this year so I just gave the guy a discount and moved on. I ship expensive comics priority mail or first class anyway.

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I would totally agree with you there. And I send those media mail…

One could argue advertisements from 20+ years ago should not qualify either…but then you’re asking UsPS to do more…which means more prone to errors while costing more…and this shipping rates would also go up to compensate.

Which is why I only will send “reader copies” media mail that someone probably paid me $10 shipped for 10 comics I’m just trying to get out of my basement and make room for other books…

The big issue with shipping media mail is that certain post offices (like mine) heavily enforce the rule. I would say 2/3 of all media mail packages I receive are held at my post office and I am forced to go in and pay the difference. If you offer media mail as an option that is different, but it is a real inconvenience when people force you to use media mail and your post office is super strict about it.

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I’m sure the rule about advertising exists so magazine companies and spam companies can’t use the cheaper rates for marketing purposes, so it also shouldn’t apply to comics either. But that will never get changed.

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One time (in band camp) I was in line behind some guy who had like 10 open boxes of books that he thought the PO was going to just give him a media rate that includes all 10 boxes and ship them for him…like really thought he could just drop them off not packaged and walk away after paying shipping!

Rookie.

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That does suck and I’ve always known this was a rule so it’s been a risk vs reward thing. Offering cheaper shipping with hardly any issues means I sell more comics on eBay. If there is an issue I was ready to deal with it.

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I think this is the important part here. A lot of the people who I have had issues with media mail on refuse to refund you the difference. These are also the same people who do not tell you they are shipping media mail and charge you $5 +for shipping and pocket the difference.

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I used ship media mail with a comic book mailer. I never had a problem. I would give the customer options for media or 1st class. I switched to just using 1st class after joining the forum. I still have 8 old auctions that I have to update now.

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Oh eBay, you just keep annoying people more and more…

And all they’re doing is making it harder for sellers to break laws and policies enforced by other organizations. They’re trying to help you!