Bound Printed Matter

Minimum Weight: none

Maximum Weight: 15 pounds (for Bound Printed Matter); 70 pounds (for Parcel Post, Media Mail, and Library Mail)

Package Services is a class of mail 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 rated postage due, except for Bound Printed Matter. Unendorsed, undeliverable Bound Printed Matter is disposed of at the local 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.

Postage discounts 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 gets there faster and includes free forwarding and return.

Parcel Post
Used for mailing merchandise, books, circulars, catalogs, and other printed matter. There are bulk rates and destination entry rates available for mailers who are sending large quantities of Parcel Post. There also is a barcoded discount available for Parcel Post pieces.

Bound Printed Matter
Bound Printed Matter must:
a. Consist of advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial material (or any combination of such material).
b. Be securely bound by permanent fastenings such as staples, spiral binding, glue, or stitching. Loose-leaf binders and similar fastenings are not considered permanent.
c. 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).
d. Not have the nature of personal correspondence.
e. Not be stationery, such as pads of blank printed forms.
There are presorted rates, carrier route rates, and destination entry discounts available for bulk quantities of Bound Printed Matter. The minimum quantity is 300 pieces. There also is a barcoded discount available for Bound Printed Matter pieces.

Media Mail
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 rates available for bulk quantities of Media Mail (minimum quantity is 300 pieces). There is also a barcoded discount available for Media Mail.

Library Mail
Used by qualifying institutions like libraries, universities, zoos, and research institutions to mail educational and research material. There are presorted rates available for bulk quantities of Library Mail (minimum quantity is 300 pieces). There is also a barcoded discount available for Library Mail.