USPS Media Mail

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by The_Shocker, Jul 27, 2020.

  1. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    New Jersey transfer point. You can expect that.
     
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  2. Well, hey! That gives me hope ; I purchased some CDs from a forum member (via Media Mail). Shipped on May 28 according to the tracking ... and no info since. Fortunately the total cost of the parcel is quite low.
     
  3. Heh, heh - Around here, for me, it's usually one of a few points in Atlanta that packages temporarily go off the radar.
     
  4. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    You ought to see the people that work there. They all look like Big ***** from The Sopranos.
     
  5. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    Order from Chicago came so fast I thought the seller upgraded to First Class. Checked package, nope, it just got here fast.
     
  6. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    I get 50% sent priority. When they hit the usual crummy transfer sites they go media.
     
  7. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    A postmaster explained to me that all Media Mail is First Class Mail within its region. When it leaves its region, it becomes lower priority. As a long time buyer, I've never noticed any real lag between Media and First except for large, heavy textbooks.
     
  8. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Media is first class within its region....actually priority since first class in under 16 ounces.
     
  9. Muzyck

    Muzyck Pardon my scruffy hospitality

    Location:
    Long Island
    It popped up back in my USPS dashboard for Informed Delivery and I didn't notice. Just looking at it now and this thing sat in multiple places for way too long. Two months between NC and New Jersey. It sat in Jersey City for another month.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Sopranos card table laughter at the Jersey City terminal. Vin, fugget the media hoppah, get more danish n coffee.
     
  11. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I look at each order I ship out to determin if insurance is needed to halp me sleep well at night. These factors I consider when I am at the cvounter at PO paying for shipping.

    1. Is the item expensive (well over $50)?
    2. Is the item going to an apt. building?
    3. Is apt. building in a big busy major city?
    4. Did the buyer strike me as difficult in any way?
    a. their feedback stated buyer had issues that were corrected and the buyer was still not happy
    b. the buyer asked for additional shipping/packing materials (after buying the item) claiming many damaged items were received.
    c. Buyer made a very low-ball offer that was declined, and now has paid full price to get that item from my listings (potentially disgruntled)

    So two weeks ago I sent a $200 Led Zeppelin super-deluxe box set out and charged only the normal $4.95 shipping cost on it. I added the full $200 coverage in insurance/ So I lost money on the shipping for sure. But I am selling lots of CD with $4.95 shipping that are costing me $3.49 each now to send, plus the bubble envelope is about .35 = $1.10 profit on a CD sent media. So I figure that (over the year) I will make back that shipping loss on the big Zeppelin set. Same with any other for which I have to pick up the insurance myself. I look to break even on it by Dec. 31st.

    I know that if an order gets lost, it's going to be a Mint MFSL or DCC gold CD worth nearly $100.00.
     
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  12. Rmbottojr

    Rmbottojr Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    I’ve been lucky lately with media mail and getting packages from all over the country in a few days, and if it’s not too far even two days
     
    quicksrt and BluesOvertookMe like this.
  13. hvbias

    hvbias Midrange magic

    Location:
    Northeast
    Are the Zeppelin Super Deluxe box sets out of print?

    DHL E-Commerce is the one that I am less a fan of, Decluttr seem to use this a lot. I'm currently waiting on one ~ $150-200 classical CD I paid $13 for take 2.5 weeks to slowly get to me. Media Mail still seems like it is about 10 days days west coast to east coast for me.
     
  14. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    10 days is not totally unusual, but I am seeing media rate sometimes get from West to East coast in 5-7 days. From a California address to another CA city can happen in 4 days. LA to Seattle in 4 days as well just this week I saw.

    I am chalking this (good delivery times) up to this being summertime when postal is the least busy. In a couple more months we should see some of the more disturbing arrival times return.
     
  15. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    So I read in one of these threads how the USPS is not only delivering for Amazon, but also helping UPS and Fed Ex ?
    No wonder it's 5:30 pm and the mail still hasn't arrived. I laughed when my Out For Delivery alert said 9 pm. Guess the carrier just wanted to cover himself, can't blame him.
    I've been blessed with great carriers here, always set my records on the chair outside.
    Making second trips if a package arrives at the PO after they've left. My 2 previous POs just waited until the next day, so I appreciate this bunch.
    Saw today on FB they're having a job fair next week. Hope they get some help.
     
  16. zenith2134

    zenith2134 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Rockaway, NY
    My "out for delivery today" times have also gotten later and later.

    It's interesting how Media Mail can arrive either in 2 days from far away, or 9 days more locally...
     
  17. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    When things were working properly, and maybe now, the primary difference between media and first class mail is that media mail is a second class citizen when the trucks/planes are full. So, for example, around Xmas, media mail may wait for many days before it gets loaded on the truck/train/plane because those conveyors are overfilled with higher class mail.

    So if you ship media mail during a broadly slow time, it shouldn't take much longer than first class.
     
    SJP likes this.
  18. alex1976delarge

    alex1976delarge Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    I live 50 minutes from this record store. Been having difficulties staying awake because of a change of meds so didn’t want to risk a drive so I ordered an album from the store. Figure it’ll be to me at the beginning of this week.

    still not arrived today so I check the tracking-Broad Ripple IN to Kentucky to Pennsylvania to Cincinnati to Indianapolis. Supposed to get it tomorrow. What a trek!
     
  19. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    I’ve bought and sold thousands of CDs over the years. I’ve never had a problem with media mail. It strikes me as annoying and paranoid when sellers refuse to ship media mail.
     
  20. Ken Dryden

    Ken Dryden Forum Resident

    I guess you have been fortunate that your shipments haven’t been subject to: theft in transit, water damage and ridiculous delays (42 days for a box to go from Chattanooga, TN to Myrtle Beach, SC), all of which I have experienced. It’s no wonder that I no longer use media mail without insurance and a plastic bag sealing any purchases when I sell something. Depending on the city of the vendor and the size of a purchase, I often pay for upgraded shipping to avoid USPS incompetence.
     
    sharedon likes this.
  21. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I'm seeing some of my media mail take 2 days from coast to other coast. No kidding.

    Sent out Weds at 3:45pm in Los Angeles, arrived at 2:35pm on Friday in Tampa, Florida.

    That is less than 48 hours.

    I shipped out 4 packages, 2 were delivered in two days, tracking says the other two are scheduled for Weds.

    Stellar service I must admit. And the postal clerks were not to difficult to deal with either (this time).
     
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  22. Ken Dryden

    Ken Dryden Forum Resident

    I’ve got a strange issue right now. A package was shipped from California around the beginning of the month by priority mail with $100 of insurance. It tracked as out for delivery on Dec. 7, didn’t arrive and was listed at 12:10 am the next day as waiting for delivery scan. I hope this is not a newly released boxed set that I ordered.
     
  23. Ken Dryden

    Ken Dryden Forum Resident

    It isn't the Zappa Waka Jawaka / Wazoo set I'm expecting, but I still have no idea what this package is or where it is. Shipped priority mail on Dec. 2, listed as out for delivery on Dec.7, listed as awaiting delivery scan on Dec. 8. What a joke...
     
  24. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    WOW!

    I went to the PO on 2/22 at about 4:35pm, stood in line nearly 45 min. Awfully slow at the two open windows.

    Anyway, I got 9 packages sent off on Tues 2/21. Today 7 of them were delivered! That is a two day delivery, and includes LA to NY, MO, OH, MN, and other distant US cites.

    I'm shocked in a good way. Media mail is really cranking from my pov.
     
    DarkSideOfTheMoo, yesstiles and SJP like this.
  25. Quakerism

    Quakerism Lean into what frightens you.

    Location:
    Rural Pennsylvania
    I shipped a media mail package to Seattle on January 26th. It still hasn’t gotten there. So there’s that.
     

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