Another black mark for the USPS

[Shane]

The story goes: I purchased 8 adult comic books from Ebay seller. I paid $5.50 for shipping from Chicago to Wisconsin. The seller decided to increase her profits by sending them media mail. Media mail is subject to postal inspection, so, not only did I have a bit of embarrassment with the post office, but I was also charged postage due of $3 for first class mail. It seems that if a publication has any kind of advertising in it, it cannot be considered media mail. I explained to the postmaster that these comic books were 30 years old and the ads for sea monkeys and xray glasses probably weren't relevant. The postmaster shrugged. Ironic that I received media mail service (took a week from Chicago to southern Wisconsin) but I still had to pay for first class service. so $8.50 to ship 8 comics, UPS would have cost $6. I notified the Ebay seller, hoping for reimbursement, but no go. So I posted bad feedback. The seller then responded that I purchased porn and then bitched about postal inspections. I guess this was to embarrass me further. So, apparently Heavy Metal and such are now considered porn. What really bugged me though, Was, these were collectable. If they would have been rated VF (very Fine) I would have lost even more money because the postmaster took them out of the sleeves and thumbed through them. So take my advice. Don't ship USPS if you can help it.

[tordeck]

Don't ship USPS if you can help it.

No, just dont ship Media Mail.

[s_o_r_r_o_w]

1. You can clean up your feedback by contacting eBay customer service.
2. The seller should not have shipped media mail. Was shipping listed as free, or did you have to pay for it? Did you pay for a service other than you received?
3. If shipping was free, contact eBay customer service and put pressure on the seller to refund you the amount that you paid.
4. If the condition on receipt is not what they were described as, you can SNAD them through your credit card.

[kturock]

Bottom line, your shipper/seller lied. You had to pay the penalty.
You've left bad feadback. Contact ebay that he's lieing on the ads. Request a refund and the negative reply removed.

Contact the postal inspectors and tell them the story. If he's lieing/stealing on your postage, he is on more. They'll keep a close eye on his dealings from then on.

It doesn't matter whether the ads are new or old, just that they're in the magazine. Thatw what Heavy Metal was, a magazine. JUst like Cosmo, Newsweek or Time. None of them are books. All of Marvel or DC comics aren't books, they must be shipped 1st class.

Here are the rules for shipping media rate:

Basic Content Standards
Only these items may be mailed at the Media Mail prices:

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 price.

c. Printed music, 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 prices 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.

[MagickalMemories]

To be fair, it's really not a USPS problem, it's a "Crappy seller" problem.
In addition to the excellent advice above re: getting your money back and the feedback reversed, I'd add in that, with any future purchases, you should request that items like this be shipped via First Class.

As an aside, What kind of shipping did the feebay auction say you'd be getting?

Eric

[Imaginos]

Also claim against it with paypal, since I believe that is the only method of payment allowed by ebay now. Keep your receipt and scan it if they need it.

[Ironhide]

If he charged you a certain amount for shipping, then you need to read this ->http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/sel ... tices.html

[Shane]

I was miffed by it, but will keep this in mind for the future.

[kturock]

I was miffed by it, but will keep this in mind for the future.

yeah don't buy from that seller and make sure no one ships media rate unless they know what it is.

there is almost nothing here for trade that can ship media rate except for novel and maybe the rule book. I'm not sure about the codexes.

a quick rule of thumb is, if it has an ISBN number, it can. It it doesn't, it can't.

[rokassan]

Hey brother there's no shame in a little porn. Its good for the sanity. I prefer the internet myself. Media mail is crap and that seller sold you short.

[rokassan]

The post Office is generally cheaper than UPS or Fedex. This was just one bad encounter.

[Ironhide]

They were Heavy Metal magazines, which some of them are a bit racy; however, a lot of them don't have any porn in them at all. I used to collect them for the cover art.

[kturock]

They were Heavy Metal magazines, which some of them are a bit racy; however, a lot of them don't have any porn in them at all. I used to collect them for the cover art.

Depending on the country. They are banned, same with magazines like maxim and cosmo from the middle east. Not allowed to be mailed to US soldiers or other personel.

[rokassan]

They were Heavy Metal magazines, which some of them are a bit racy; however, a lot of them don't have any porn in them at all. I used to collect them for the cover art.

Heavy metal magazines were cool. Nice items to collect.

[rokassan]

They were Heavy Metal magazines, which some of them are a bit racy; however, a lot of them don't have any porn in them at all. I used to collect them for the cover art.

Depending on the country. They are banned, same with magazines like maxim and cosmo from the middle east. Not allowed to be mailed to US soldiers or other personel.

I was deployed to Kuwait in the mid 90's(Army). Yeah we couldnt have anything remotely racy mail to us...we did anyhow. Im there risking my rear Im gonna get me some dirty magazines.