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E700 Package Services
E710 Basic Standards
E713 Media Mail
Summary
E713 describes the eligibility standards for single-piece and presorted Media Mail.
1.0 Qualification
1.1Qualified Items
[10-2-03] Only these items may be mailed at the Media Mail rates:
a. Books, including books issued to supplement other books, of at least eight printed pages, consisting wholly of reading matter or scholarly bibliography, or reading matter with incidental blank spaces for notations and containing no advertising matter other than incidental announcements of books. Advertising includes paid advertising and the publishers’ own advertising in display, classified, or editorial style.
b. 16-millimeter or narrower width films, which must be positive prints in final form for viewing, and catalogs of such films of 24 pages or more (at least 22 of which are printed). Films and film catalogs sent to or from commercial theaters do not qualify for the Media Mail rate.
c. Printed music, whether in bound or sheet form.
d. Printed objective test materials and their accessories used by or on behalf of educational institutions to test ability, aptitude, achievement, interests, and other mental and personal qualities with or without answers, test scores, or identifying information recorded thereon in writing or by mark.
e. Sound recordings, including incidental announcements of recordings and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such recordings. Video recordings and player piano rolls are classified as sound recordings.
f. Playscripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music.
g. Printed educational reference charts designed to instruct or train individuals for improving or developing their capabilities. Each chart must be a single printed sheet of information designed for educational reference. The information on the chart, which may be printed on one or both sides of the sheet, must be conveyed primarily by graphs, diagrams, tables, or other nonnarrative matter. An educational reference chart is normally but not necessarily devoted to one subject. A chart on which the information is conveyed primarily by textual matter in a narrative form does not qualify as a printed educational reference chart for mailing at the Media Mail rates even if it includes graphs, diagrams, or tables. Examples of qualifying charts include maps produced primarily for educational reference, tables of mathematical or scientific equations, noun declensions or verb conjugations used in the study of languages, periodic table of elements, botanical or zoological tables, and other tables used in the study of science.
h. Loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information for distribution to doctors, hospitals, medical schools, and medical students.
i. Computer-readable media containing prerecorded information and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such media.
1.2Loose Enclosures
In addition to the enclosures and additions listed in E610, any printed matter that is mailable as Standard Mail may be included loose with any qualifying material mailed at the Media Mail rates.
1.3Enclosures in Books
Enclosures in books mailed at Media Mail rates are subject to these additional standards:
a. Either one envelope or one addressed postcard may be bound into the pages of a book. If also serving as an order form, the envelope or card may be in addition to the order form permitted by 1.3b.
b. One order form may be bound into the pages of a book. If also serving as an envelope or postcard, the order form may be in addition to the envelope or card permitted by 1.3a.
c. Announcements of books may appear as book pages. These announcements must be incidental and exclusively devoted to books, without extraneous advertising of book-related or other materials or services. Announcements may fully describe the conditions and methods of ordering books and may contain ordering instructions for use with a separate order form. Up to three of these announcements may contain as part of their format a single order form, which may also serve as a postcard. The order forms permitted with these announcements are in addition to, and not in place of, order forms that may be enclosed under 1.3a or 1.3b.
2.0 Rates
Media Mail rates are based on the weight of the piece without regard to zone. The rate categories and discounts are as follows:
a. Single-Piece Rate. The single-piece rate applies to pieces not mailed at a 5-digit or basic rate.
b. 5-Digit Presort Rate. The 5-digit rate applies to pieces that meet the additional requirements in 3.0 and are prepared and presorted to 5-digit scheme (machinable parcels only) or 5-digit destinations as specified in M730 or M041 and M045.
c. Basic Presort Rate. The basic rate applies to pieces that meet the additional requirements in 3.0 and are prepared and presorted as specified in M730 or M041 and M045.
d. Barcoded Discount. The barcoded discount applies to Media Mail machinable parcels (see C050.4.1) that are included in a mailing of at least 50 pieces of Media Mail. The pieces must be entered either at single-piece rates or basic rates and bear a correct, readable barcode for the ZIP Code shown in the delivery address as required by C850. The barcoded discount is not available for pieces mailed at 5-digit rates.
3.0 Additional Standards for Presorted Rates
3.1Basic Information
A Presorted Media Mail mailing must contain a minimum of 300 pieces claimed at any combination of 5-digit and basic rates. Those pieces in the mailing that meet the 5-digit presort requirements are eligible for the 5-digit presort rate and those pieces that meet the basic presort requirements are eligible for the basic rates, subject to the preparation standards in M730 or M045. Pieces in a mailing do not need to be identical in size and content. Such nonidentical pieces may be merged, sorted together, and presented as a single mailing either with the correct postage affixed to each piece in the mailing or with postage paid with a permit imprint if authorized by Business Mailer Support (BMS), USPS headquarters.
3.2Mailing Fee
A mailing fee must be paid once each 12-month period at each post office of mailing by or for any person who mails at the Presorted Media Mail rates. The fee may be paid in advance only for the next 12-month period and only during the last 60 days of the current service period. The fee charged is that in effect on the date of payment.
3.35-Digit Rate
To qualify for the 5-digit rate, a piece must be prepared and sorted to either 5-digit scheme (machinable parcels only) and 5-digit sacks under M730 or to 5-digit scheme (machinable parcels only) and 5-digit pallets under M045. All logical 5-digit bundles on pallets must contain at least 10 pieces. Nonmachinable parcels may qualify for the 5-digit rate if prepared to preserve sortation by 5-digit ZIP Code as prescribed by the postmaster of the mailing office.
3.4Basic Rate
All pieces prepared and sorted under M730 or M045 that are not eligible for the 5-digit rate qualify for the basic rate. Nonmachinable parcels may qualify for the basic rate if prepared to preserve sortation by BMC as prescribed by the postmaster of the mailing office.
DMM Issue 58 Updated 12-9-04