PaperBackSwap :: Help Item - How much does it cost to mail a book?

postage is determined by package weight. MediaMail and First Class postal rates do not depend on distance--it will cost the same to send a package to any address served by USPS (including AK, HI, PR, GU, US Virgin Islands and APO/FPO addresses) using either First Class or Media mail.

First Class postal rate is less expensive if your package weighs 7 ounces or less; Media Mail is less expensive if your package weighs over 7 ounces. When you print the PaperBackSwap wrapper, the system will calculate the least expensive postal rate for the estimated weight of your package.

See the table of Current Postal Rates for Media Mail and First Class Parcel rates.
- Summary from that table: First Class Parcel rate is the best rate for packages not weighing over 7 ounces; Media Mail is recommended for packages weighing over 7 ounces.
See USPS table of all current postal rates.
See more details about postal rates here.

If you choose to print your postage (by choosing the printable postage option on the Wrapper Settings page), the best postal rate will be figured out for you:

First Class or Media Mail postal rate will show on the Wrapper Settings page before you print; the wrapper will print out with the appropriate postal class marked on it.
Everything (USPS DC fee, PBS printing/DC fee, and postage) will be deducted from your PBS Money.
- An itemized list of costs will appear on the Wrapper Settings page before you print.
- A confirming box will show after you select Print Wrapper Now, to confirm package weight and postage

If you use PBS Delivery Confirmation Only to send a package, you will need to add 19 cents to the postage.

This is the USPS fee for DC
This fee is not deducted from PBS Money; it needs to be applied in postage to the package.
The PBS portion of the PBS-DC fee is 27 cents, and is deducted from PBS Money when you print the wrapper with DC.

If you choose to use no added services, you need apply only the correct postage to your package.

See Current Postal Rates.
Read more details about the different postal rates here.

Remember that packages weighing more than 13 ounces that bear STAMPS for postage will need to be taken to the Post Office, due to USPS National Security regulations. This regulation does NOT apply to PBS Printed postage or any other metered or printed postage.

More details about the different postal rates:

MediaMail rate is the least expensive postal rate to use if your package weighs more than 7 ounces (and is not very wide/long and thin).

A typical paperback weighs less than a pound.
- MediaMail rate for packages up to a pound is $2.38
A typical hardcover weighs a little more than a pound.
- MediaMail rate for packages between 1 and 2 lbs is $2.77

You can save a lot of money if you ship more than one book in the same package.
- This is an excellent reason to enroll in Box-O-Books!

First Class Parcel rate is less expensive for packages weighing not over 7 ounces.

7 ounce packages (or less) cost less to send First Class compared with Media Mail rate: the First Class Parcel rate for a package not over 7 ounces is $2.19 (four cents less than Media Mail rate for the same package).
First Class Flats (= "First Class Large Envelope") rates are cheapest, but books do not typically qualify as "flats" (flats are letters and other flexible materials, and Large Envelopes must exceed the size of letters, which are classified as a maximum of 6-1/8 inches by 11-1/4 inches).
First Class Flats Rate is also known as First Class "Large Envelope" rate. Package shape/size/etc. requirements to use this rate:
- Must be rectangular.
- Must have one dimension that is greater than 6-1/8 inches high OR 11-1/4 inches long
  - HIGH = the short side of your book (if you stood it up on a table, with its spine on the table surface)
  - LONG = the long side of your book (this is usually the spine side)
- Must be no more than 12 inches high x 15 inches long x 3/4 inch thick.
- Must have 1 inch flexibility in each dimension.
- Must be uniformly thick.
This information can all be found on the USPS.com website information about First Class Large Envelope (aka First Class Flats) rate. Some USPS employees can be confused about this too: you may get information from individual USPS employees that conflicts with the official information. Basically:
- If your book is longer than 6-1/8 inches on its spine side, but this is NOT the short side of the book, then the dimensional criteria have not been met for First Class Large Envelope (= First Class FLATS) rate.
- If your book is very long, and thinner than 3/4 of an inch and also flexible in all dimensions, you can use large envelope rates, but this would be an exception: a large thin spiralbound book might fit the criteria, for example, but not a typical paperback, and no hardcover would be considered flexible, of course.

To decide if First-Class Large Envelope (= First Class Flat) Rate will work for your book:
- Check the dimensions (length/heighth):
- Check the thickness:
  - If it is greater than 1/4 inch but less than 3/4 of an inch, then it meets the thickness criteria, and you should then check the weight
  - it it is thinner than 1/4 inch or thicker than 3/4 of an inch it does not meet the thickness criteria, and needs to be sent package rate (First Class Parcel or Media Mail).
- Check the weight
  - If it weighs more than 3.5 ounces but less than 13 ounces, it meets the weight criteria, and you should then check flexibility.
  - If it weighs less than 3.5 ounces or more than 13 ounces, it does not meet the weight criteria, and needs to be sent package rate (First Class Parcel or Media Mail).
- Check the flexibility
  - If it is able to flex greater than 1 inch in all directions (the spine/binding usually prevents this in a softcover book--try to flex the two short sides to meet each other, in other words), it meets the flexibility criteria, and you can send this book using First Class Large Envelope (aka First Class Flat) rate.
  - If not, it does not meet the flexibility criteria, and needs to be sent package rate (First Class Parcel or Media Mail).
In summary: The great majority of books cannot be sent using First Class Large envelope/Flat rates. First-class PARCEL rate is usually the appropriate first-class rate for a book.

If you choose to send a book using First-Class postal rate, be sure to obscure the MEDIA MAIL on the PBS wrapper.

If you use PBS Printed Postage, the appropriate Postal Rate class will print out on the wrapper automatically.

See Current Postal Rates

Help Center - How much does it cost to mail a book?

postage is determined by package weight. MediaMail and First Class postal rates do not depend on distance--it will cost the same to send a package to any address served by USPS (including AK, HI, PR, GU, US Virgin Islands and APO/FPO addresses) using either First Class or Media mail.

First Class postal rate is less expensive if your package weighs 7 ounces or less; Media Mail is less expensive if your package weighs over 7 ounces. When you print the PaperBackSwap wrapper, the system will calculate the least expensive postal rate for the estimated weight of your package.

If you choose to print your postage (by choosing the printable postage option on the Wrapper Settings page), the best postal rate will be figured out for you:

If you use PBS Delivery Confirmation Only to send a package, you will need to add 19 cents to the postage.

If you choose to use no added services, you need apply only the correct postage to your package.