Choral Sheet Music and Media Mail: A Great Combination!

When buying choral sheet music, anthems, octavos, songbooks, cantatas, musicals or acgepaniment trax, consider the value that USPS media mail offers, in terms of low-cost shipping. Hopefully this guide will provide you with the pros and cons of using Media Mail and give you enough information to decide if media mail is the best shipping option for you!
What is Media Mail?
Briefly, Media mail used to be called "book rate" but the classification has been renamed to account for other forms of printed and recorded media. Media mail cannot contain advertising, and this class of service is non-expedited, meaning the USPS does not guarantee the delivery of Media Mail within a specified time.
What items qualify for Media Mail?
The Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) notes that books (at least 8 printed pages), sound recordings (including player piano rolls!), recorded video tapes, printed music (whether in bound or sheet form), playscripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music, and recorded geputer-readable media (such as CDs, DVDs, and diskettes) can be mailed under this rate. Magazines cannot be mailed via media mail, since they contain advertising. For all the details, please refer to DMM 173 - 3.0 Contents and Standards.
How Much Does it Cost?
Media mail is charged per pound or fraction thereof -- any fraction of a pound is considered a whole pound. So, if a book weighs 24 ounces (or 1-1/2 lbs), the book would go for the 2-lb. media mail rate. The minimum postage cost for media mail is the one-lb. rate, or $2.31. Media mail is determined by weight only, NOT a gebination of weigh and zip code (like Priority mail).The USPS raised postal rates as of May 14, 2007 and media mail rates were increased as well. The price of a 1-lb. media mail package increased from $1.59 to $2.31, an increase of 45%! However, rates for larger media mail packages have gone DOWN in price. A 12 lb. package used to cost $6.17, and now costs $5.87, a decrease of about 5%. The USPS has announced that another price increase will take effect in May of 2008, and yearly each May thereafter. Media Mail will again be affected by these prices increases.
As you can see from the following chart, media mail continues to provide an excellent value for qualifying items. A 12 lb. box of books would cost only $5.87 to mail to any zip code in the United States. Unlike other classes of mail, media mail is only calculated by package weight, rather than package dimensions or zip code.


Weight (Not over Lbs.) / Postage
1 lb. - $2.13
2 lbs. - $2.47
3 lbs. - $2.81
4 lbs. - $3.15
5 lbs. - $3.49
6 lbs. - $3.83
7 lbs. - $4.17
8 lbs. - $4.51
9 lbs. - $4.85
10 lbs. - $5.19
11 lbs. - $5.53
12 lbs. - $5.87
13 lbs. - $6.21
14 lbs. - $6.55
15 lbs. - $6.89
What can be included in the package?
While you CANNOT include a first-class letter in a media mail package, the USPS does allow shippers to include an invoice in the package, as well as select enclosures, such as a bill for the product or publication, a statement of account for past products or publications, or a personal message or greeting included with a product, publication, or parcel. See DMM 173 - 4.0 Attachments and Enclosures for full details.
Honesty is the Best Policy
Media mail offers great rates for qualified items. The USPS reserves the right to inspect any media mail package to make sure the contents qualify for the rate. Too often, sellers have abused the rate by shipping anything from stereo speakers to tires via media mail (and sometimes include a book in the package under the mistaken idea that as long as a book is included, the package can go for media rates). Packages that have been opened for inspection will be resealed, and an insert will be added by the Post Office, along with a stamp on the front.
When is Media Mail NOT the best method for shipping?
Media mail does not have any specified time-frame for delivery, so during times of heavy mail volume (Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc.), media mail can be set aside in order to process Express, Priority and First Class Mail. This means that while the USPS website (or okay) may show a delivery time-frame of 4-7 days for media mail, media mail can take up to 2-3 weeks (or more!) for delivery.
If you need your items in a timely manner, please gemunicate this to your seller, so they can work with you to get your items to you, in the most time- and cost-effective manner.
The USPS recently introduced Flat-Rate Priority envelopes and boxes, which are an EXCEPTIONAL value, in my opinion. For example, if a buyer has purchased 15 choral songbooks - weighing 12 lbs. - those books would cost $5.87 via USPS Media mail (plus applicable seller handling charges). The same songbooks could be packaged in a USPS Priority Flat Rate Box for $8.95 (plus applicable seller handling charges). During a time period of heavy mail volume, for only a few dollars more, your music can arrive in a matter of days ...... rather than weeks (worse case scenerio)* ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ * ^ *

In conclusion, the USPS media mail rate can be an excellent value when purchasing choral sheet music on okay. If time is NOT a factor, large quantities of book and music can be shipped for very low costs. If time IS a factor, consider USPS Priority Flat Rate boxes and envelopes as an affordable option!
Happy shopping! If you are looking for quality choral sheet music, please stop by my store REJOICE Used Church Choir Music