Media Mail or Not to Media Mail?
Okay so you are in line for 10 mins at the post office between a 400 lb guy that smells like hot mayonnaise who's wearing an "AFK" t-shirt and old woman that you pray doesn't start talking to you because you know she's only in line because her kids don't call. You are here to mail out 17 games that you got for 25 cents each in a yard sale after that old woman's neighbor cleaned out the attic. Youre mailing them to Crotchscratch, CT to a fellow Nintendo Age collector who is trading you that coveted prototype you've been drooling over.
You get to the counter and the clerk asks you how 'd you like to mail this. You are a broke videogame collector cutting corners to buy necessities, like that copy of Super Mario/ Duck Hunt with 19 screws. So to save a few bucks you say "Media Mail." Then all hell breaks lose. The post office version of Barney Fife on the otherside of the counter suddenly thinks he's 50-cent and starts asking 21 questions. He tells you you can't mail games that way and threatens to open your package. You think about your zipper. His cohort Joe Friday, from two windows down over hears the conversation and promptly joins in. Joe is on the fence and calls for the supervisor. The supervisor Ralph Cramden appears fresh from an episode of the "Honeymooners" with the manual. Which reads:
Media Mail® service is a cost efficient way to mail books, sound recordings, recorded video tapes, printed music, and recorded computer-readable media (such
as CDs, DVDs, and diskettes). Media Mail can not contain advertising
except for incidental announcements of books. The maximum weight for
Media Mail is 70 lbs. "
After much ado about nothing they decided, after passing the half wit around amongst the 3 of them, that you can't mail it media mail. You are pissed off and vow to take this to the supreme court. You start asking for the names of supervisor's manager's spouse's because these must be idiots that voted twice for "W." They start threatening to call 5-0. So you give them the 3rd finger salute and disperse.
You get out to your car and decide to go the post office in the next zip code. You walk in. No line this time. You get to the counter completely ready to hit the replay button with the clerk that looks like Mork form Ork. But he takes your money, gives you a reciept and tells you to have a nice day.... WTF? Have a nice day? You too, Buddy...
You get to the counter and the clerk asks you how 'd you like to mail this. You are a broke videogame collector cutting corners to buy necessities, like that copy of Super Mario/ Duck Hunt with 19 screws. So to save a few bucks you say "Media Mail." Then all hell breaks lose. The post office version of Barney Fife on the otherside of the counter suddenly thinks he's 50-cent and starts asking 21 questions. He tells you you can't mail games that way and threatens to open your package. You think about your zipper. His cohort Joe Friday, from two windows down over hears the conversation and promptly joins in. Joe is on the fence and calls for the supervisor. The supervisor Ralph Cramden appears fresh from an episode of the "Honeymooners" with the manual. Which reads:
Media Mail® service is a cost efficient way to mail books, sound recordings, recorded video tapes, printed music, and recorded computer-readable media (such
as CDs, DVDs, and diskettes). Media Mail can not contain advertising
except for incidental announcements of books. The maximum weight for
Media Mail is 70 lbs. "
After much ado about nothing they decided, after passing the half wit around amongst the 3 of them, that you can't mail it media mail. You are pissed off and vow to take this to the supreme court. You start asking for the names of supervisor's manager's spouse's because these must be idiots that voted twice for "W." They start threatening to call 5-0. So you give them the 3rd finger salute and disperse.
You get out to your car and decide to go the post office in the next zip code. You walk in. No line this time. You get to the counter completely ready to hit the replay button with the clerk that looks like Mork form Ork. But he takes your money, gives you a reciept and tells you to have a nice day.... WTF? Have a nice day? You too, Buddy...
Comments
This is a frequent debate with no answer. Just avoid media mail!
~~NGD
I too am in NNOO media mail camp....
Dude? Your complaining about this? For real?... Hopefully whoever gets your package gives you neg feedback. If I ever got a package media mail it would be going straight back to the seller who would then have wasted X amount thinking he could slime his way out of what like 3-4 bucks? Meanwhile the dude that 'saved' the 3-4 is probably out buying a crappy cup of coffee or a freaking soda out of a vending machine.
I too am in NNOO media mail camp....
wait, so you would send it back? both portland post offices i go to say that its perfectly OK and even went so far to say that the "book" as she called it, was now fine to send too.
Dude? Your complaining about this? For real?... Hopefully whoever gets your package gives you neg feedback. If I ever got a package media mail it would be going straight back to the seller who would then have wasted X amount thinking he could slime his way out of what like 3-4 bucks? Meanwhile the dude that 'saved' the 3-4 is probably out buying a crappy cup of coffee or a freaking soda out of a vending machine.
I too am in NNOO media mail camp....
2nd
I would refuse it (the seller would pay the difference) and neg ya. Especially since the seller probably charged $10 for shipping. One time I had to pay about $15 for the package to be delivered and the douch that sent it to me refused to pay the difference (It was a CIB system) and he charged me $20, shipping on the package was $6 I was not amused.
NO TO MEDIA MAIL!!!!!!!
Frankly, I'm surprised this "grey area" hasn't been researched. If there are say 1/3 of the post offices in the USA that allow ALL media mail for NES games (like Portland) then the "couple of bucks" you save in shipping can really add up over a quarter or two. The question is then; "Which post offices are cool with it?" Sounds like a few hours of phone calls and a spread sheet would solve that for a lot of people. If we had a list of all the individual POs that allowed it, that could be the beginning of erasing the "grey area" that we fear.
Also, the people that would drop the N bombs.... I'm not sure you have to look at it that way. It's not like the media mail goes in a disgusting, dripping, broken van right? It travels along side the other, more expensive mail correct? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but is your item any less safe? Or slower?
On other threads about shipping costs, I thought the consensus was that your shipping costs were just combined in your head with the sale price....in other words just considered part of the total. I don't think twice about the guy who charges 5 bucks for a PS2 game and the sticker is 2.29 when it gets here, because I just factored in the 5 bucks when I bid. Isn't making you shipping cost higher one of the ways we avoid greedy Ebay from charging us to death?
In my opinion we should be helping eachother to lessen the costs of selling and shipping, not negging because someone was trying to make more profit.... not to mention the fact that for a lot of sellers, that savings would eventually hit your wallet .
I'm new to all this, so please break it down for me if I'm missing something here.
And on the topic of PS2, would anyone think that those disc games would have a better chance of making it through because they are "CD" games? Any thoughts?
i have never had a problem but most of my nes stuff i send is priority mail
~~NGD
Frankly, I'm surprised this "grey area" hasn't been researched. If there are say 1/3 of the post offices in the USA that allow ALL media mail for NES games (like Portland) then the "couple of bucks" you save in shipping can really add up over a quarter or two. The question is then; "Which post offices are cool with it?" Sounds like a few hours of phone calls and a spread sheet would solve that for a lot of people. If we had a list of all the individual POs that allowed it, that could be the beginning of erasing the "grey area" that we fear.
Also, the people that would drop the N bombs.... I'm not sure you have to look at it that way. It's not like the media mail goes in a disgusting, dripping, broken van right? It travels along side the other, more expensive mail correct? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but is your item any less safe? Or slower?
On other threads about shipping costs, I thought the consensus was that your shipping costs were just combined in your head with the sale price....in other words just considered part of the total. I don't think twice about the guy who charges 5 bucks for a PS2 game and the sticker is 2.29 when it gets here, because I just factored in the 5 bucks when I bid. Isn't making you shipping cost higher one of the ways we avoid greedy Ebay from charging us to death?
In my opinion we should be helping eachother to lessen the costs of selling and shipping, not negging because someone was trying to make more profit.... not to mention the fact that for a lot of sellers, that savings would eventually hit your wallet .
I'm new to all this, so please break it down for me if I'm missing something here.
And on the topic of PS2, would anyone think that those disc games would have a better chance of making it through because they are "CD" games? Any thoughts?
Well I certainly agree shipping is part of the "whole package" the problem is like this
You charge me $20 for shipping (the agreed upon price) and it shows up $15 postage due cause it was sent media mail for $6 a neg is what you deserve. I agreed to pay 20 for s/h not 35. I just don't have time to go running to the post office to pay for a package that I already paid for.
Shipping is charged to the buyer charge the correct amount and you won't need to save anything
If the seller states Priority Mail and sends it media that is just wrong. Stuff happens if the seller severely underestimates shipping and is up front about it I may be willing to pay a little more if they contacted us and worked something out.
Would you like it if you went to the grocery store and got $15 per lb angus steaks and they tossed in usda choice that cost $4 a pound you would be PISSED
The problem is the Media Package can get inspected at any point in the process. So even if were you live allows it to be sent media mail, the receiving post office may inspect it and postage due it.
With the advances in FLAT RATE boxes this should be a NON Issue
Well I certainly agree shipping is part of the "whole package" the problem is like this
You charge me $20 for shipping (the agreed upon price) and it shows up $15 postage due cause it was sent media mail for $6 a neg is what you deserve. I agreed to pay 20 for s/h not 35. I just don't have time to go running to the post office to pay for a package that I already paid for.
Shipping is charged to the buyer charge the correct amount and you won't need to save anything
If the seller states Priority Mail and sends it media that is just wrong. Stuff happens if the seller severely underestimates shipping and is up front about it I may be willing to pay a little more if they contacted us and worked something out.
Would you like it if you went to the grocery store and got $15 per lb angus steaks and they tossed in usda choice that cost $4 a pound you would be PISSED
The problem is the Media Package can get inspected at any point in the process. So even if were you live allows it to be sent media mail, the receiving post office may inspect it and postage due it.
With the advances in FLAT RATE boxes this should be a NON Issue
OK i thought you were saying if the shipping was like 6 bucks and they sent media and you saw that it cost them 3 bucks, but it still got to you in the same amount of time, that you would neg them for not paying the 6 dollars..... i get it now.
Also, promising priority mail but sending media would be N bomb worthy as well, i agree.
Im not sure that your beef analogy is correct though. Your product hasnt changed, only the way it was delivered. And if it gets there with no problems in the same amount of time, would you care? Instead it would be like ordering a steak from the butcher down stairs who says he'll run it up to your apt., and instead he has his son run it up to you.
Also, what I was saying about checking with the PO 1st is : Say you buy a Zelda from me and youre from New Hampshire, I can check with my PO and check with your PO and if they are both fine with it, then I'd see it as risk free.
^^NGD says that it can be checked at any step of they way though, so I guess that wouldnt work.
it is the same as if I pay for Angus and get USDA choice
meat is murder either way
okay I will play
You charge me $7 for organic grapes and you give me $1 worth of pesticide filled ones
wait, were the organic ones mint?
no it was grapes
Mint leaves is a whole different ball game
lol
Dude? Your complaining about this? For real?... Hopefully whoever gets your package gives you neg feedback. If I ever got a package media mail it would be going straight back to the seller who would then have wasted X amount thinking he could slime his way out of what like 3-4 bucks? Meanwhile the dude that 'saved' the 3-4 is probably out buying a crappy cup of coffee or a freaking soda out of a vending machine.
I too am in NNOO media mail camp....
wait, so you would send it back? both portland post offices i go to say that its perfectly OK and even went so far to say that the "book" as she called it, was now fine to send too.
I probably wouldn't get it to begin with as my post office would have doubts...
i would hope if a seller used media mail, they would be willing to cover any extra charges (unless the buyer specifically paid for media mail). I would contact the seller before leaving negative feedback.. they might not have even known it wasn't going to be cool, or the post office guy could have let it go and then it gets stopped by the media mail police down the line..
I used it recently, but i bought postage via the paypal tool so there was no mailman investigator on my case. one of the packages made it, hopefully the other will too. they weren't easy to open and reseal though lol
~~NGD
"it is a lot of risk for just saving a few bucks"
i'm not quite clear what the risk is, besides having to pay the extra charge and perhaps an annoyed buyer?
well.. u got the package right? lol
"it is a lot of risk for just saving a few bucks"
i'm not quite clear what the risk is, besides having to pay the extra charge and perhaps an annoyed buyer?
If there is a pattern of you doing it I am sure it could be considered fraud especially after they warn you multiple times.
if the post office says NES games aren't media, then you shouldn't send
it media mail. Just like you should always drive the speed limit and
come to a complete stop at every stop sign.