A post office employee told me today that media mail will end next year.  The book that cost me a bit over $2 to mail today, will cost me $6 to mail next year, she said.  I would like to know if anyone else has heard about this catastrophic plan. 

If it is true, I feel a letter to my congressman coming. The postal clerk also said that the original book rate was to encourage literacy.  The internet, apparently, is the only legitimate vehicle for literacy and has replaced the printed word. 

$6 postage would mean the end to my participation in this wonderful sharing that we enjoy through PBS, and that would break my heart.

Wow.  If that's true, it's bad news.   

I work at the PO, but have not heard anything about this.  I hope it isn't true - my book addiction will really suffer!!!!  Don't know if I will be able to make it through withdrawals!!  LOL ( but mostly serious!!)

The PO is phasing out Bound Printed Matter rates now.  Maybe the clerk was confused???

I think the clerk is just trying to scare you.  Media mail is kind of like diplomatic immunity.  The politicos won't get rid of it.

Why don't you ask this over in the Postal forum.  Surely they would know...

I can't imagine this happening...

I've heard this rumor several times...

I have never heard about it and I am good friends with 3 postal workers. Unless they don't know about it.

I"m kind of wondering why it's in this forum too but I just posted a thread in teh wrong forum myself.  If they do away with media mail, I will probably mail out a lot less books.  I'd rather donate them and take the write off. I'd only mail out thin books that could go 1st class for a reasonable amount. 

Ah, Mary, we are all guilty of posting in the wrong thread.  I just mentioned it because she might get better responses.  I'm with you on the donating.  If the prices keep going up...

But then, I do enjoy the sending and receiving so much...

I hope Media Mail doesn't go away :( If it's nearly as expensive to send out a book as it is to buy a new book, there will be a lot less incentive to swap books... And what would I do with all the books that I don't want? There's no used bookstore nearby where I can bring them.

Honestly, the rumor that media mail is going to end soon comes up all the time, yet media mail still manages to survive all the postal rate increases.  I'm not going to worry about it until USPS announces new rates that discontinue media mail altogether, but if it happens it probably won't be soon.