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| Minimum Weight: |
none |
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| Maximum Weight: |
15 pounds for Bound Printed Matter |
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70 pounds for Parcel Post, Media Mail, and Library Mail |
Package Services is a collective term used for the four classes of mail described below which are primarily intended for merchandise, catalogs, and other printed material. Package Services does not receive expedited service. There are four subclasses of Package Services (see below). Each subclass is best suited for a certain kind of mail, so be sure to pick the one that best suits your mailing. Package Services does not include free forwarding and return, but mailers can use ancillary service endorsements to tell the Postal Service how to treat undeliverable mail.
Unendorsed Package Services, mail that is refused or is otherwise undeliverable will be returned to the sender marked "postage due", except for Bound Printed Matter. Unendorsed, undeliverable Bound Printed Matter is disposed of at the local Post Office.
You can enhance the service and convenience of Package Services by adding extra services such as insurance and Delivery Confirmation. These services are available for a small fee.
Lower postage prices are available for bulk quantities of Package Services that meet additional standards for volume, presort, and destination entry.
If you are mailing merchandise, compare the costs and service between Priority Mail and Package Services. In many cases, the postage costs are very similar to Priority Mail but Priority Mail travels there faster and includes free forwarding and return.
Package Services—including Parcel Select, Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, and Library Mail—(and other) postage prices: Price List - Notice 123.
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Parcel Post
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Parcel Post is for single-piece mailings which consist of any mailable matter that is not required to be mailed as First-Class Mail. It is commonly used for gifts and merchandise. There are not bulk prices for Parcel Post.
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Bound Printed Matter
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Bound Printed Matter must:
- Be paid by permit imprint.
- Consist of advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial material (or any combination of such material).
- Be securely bound by permanent fastenings such as staples, spiral binding, glue, or stitching. Loose-leaf binders and similar fastenings are not considered permanent.
- 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).
- Not have the nature of personal correspondence.
- Not be stationery, such as pads of blank printed forms.
There are commercial prices, carrier route prices, and destination entry discounts available for bulk quantities of Bound Printed Matter (minimum quantity is 300 pieces). There also is a barcoded discount available for Bound Printed Matter flats.
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Media Mail
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Generally used for books (at least eight pages), film, 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. There are presorted prices available for bulk quantities of Media Mail (minimum quantity is 300 pieces).
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Library Mail
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Used by qualifying institutions like libraries, universities, zoos, and research institutions to mail educational and research material. There are presorted prices available for bulk quantities of Library Mail (minimum quantity is 300 pieces).
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Package Services 
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