Media Mail Vs. Priority
 

Has anyone used the USPS MEdia Mail shipping through DVDEmpire? Is it all that much slower /unreliable than Priority??

It's usually a few days slower than priority, although often it can get to you just as fast (depending on where you live).

I don't use it because I read the fine print on their website: if you don't get a package from them via media mail, you're stuck. DVDEmpire won't send you another one unless you pay for it.

yep-i noticed that too..i may chnage all my preorders with them..Blood Simple already went out so I will see how long it takes but I dont think any shipping is going to be fast in light of this weeks events

Deke Rivers,
I have used the Media Mail option several times. My most recent was 61* which they shipped out Friday the 7th and I received it Thrusday the 14th. Every order has taken 5 business days from PA. to MS. and shipping packaging is great. I ordered recent using USPS Priority and it took 3 days and package was crushed with foam peanuts falling out of box, luckily the DVD was in good shape.

saintsfan

first time it happens to you they will send you another one...but it is worth making a note that even if they do not, your credit card company will give you back your money if you do not get your dvd, no matter who is at fault...of course, if you have to do that, dvdempire might get rid of you as a customer.

For me media mail ships as fast as first class. In many instances, I have received amazon media mail in the west coast faster than Priority Mail from midwest or the east.

Btw, you can purchase delivery confirmation with media mail.

What's media mail? How's it different from first class and priority?

"Media mail" is just a new name for "Book rate." Basically, fourth class...the cheapest way to send a package.

I'll take Priority (1-3 days) over Media mail (3-14 days, from experience) any day.

I had one package sitting 5 miles from my place for three days because if was Media Mail! Arggh.. Frustrating to know it's sitting there... I'll pay a couple bucks to know that I will get it within 3 days.

This month is kinda a moot point since I suppose some stuff will take at least a week longer to get from here to there for at least a month.

Not necessarily - I had two packages that shipped on Tuesday of this week - One media mail from Missouri and a Priority Mail from California - in light of the current circumstances I didn't expect them anytime soon (not that I was upset - there are much more important things to worry about lately), but to my surprise they both arrived today. Now that air traffic is moving again, Mail service will probably remain pretty much on shedule.

While I realize others have had problems, I've always found the Postal Service to be most efficient and dependable. Out of probably 400 or so dvd's shipped over the past couple of years, I've only had 1 lost shipment, and only a couple have taken more than a few days to arrive. UPS on the other hand seems to take forever (especially from the west coast), and the packages usually look as if they have been run over by a steamroller.

A post office employee told my wife that they will return a media mail to the sender if the address is wrong. I had not heard that before.

Thanks for the info!

I've had the same problems with Priority Mail. Over half of my boxes arrive crushed, torn, or similarly damaged. It's a real pain when using Ebay, and I actually request media rate on books and comics for this very reason.

Media rate, on the other hand, usually arrives unscathed.

My theory is that the Priority packages are higher priority, and there is a need to get the packages dispatched quickly. As a result, the packages are subjected to more abuse in handling.

I think media mail receives the same rough handling as Priority mail. At one time I received a media mail and the package looked like it had been dropped off the USPS truck at a road construction site and rolled over million times by a roller vehicle. Of course the DVD inside was all crushed.

The boxes that I have received from DVD Empire using Media Mail have been stronger made than the Standard USPS Priority box they used. I wasn't impressed at all with the Priority option, except that it came two days sooner.

saintsfan

Ugh, just won an auction with media mail. Crap.

A customer service rep once told me that the heavier media mail packages often get thrown into the Priority mail stack by the post office. So often they can arrive in 2-3 days.

I have noticed this that single DVD packages might take 5-10 days, but a package with several DVDs will arrive in 2 days.

I had a large pre-order sent on Friday from DVD Empire so I wonder if there's any chance I'll get it soon. The last few Media Mail pre-orders I have had with them arrived on Monday before street date!

While my statistical experience with media mail is not quite the same as Jadzia's, it is fairly close. Where I differed is that media mail has a tendency to sit at a post office sorting/handling center for an indeterminate number of days whereas priority mail will sail right through the sorting center. Like Axolotls Return, I watched my package by using the tracking feature. It is kind of frustrating to see the media mail package zip across the country to only then languish for three calendar days in the city before finally making it to my suburb post office.

Perhaps they used a donkey to carry media mail. It is just a new gimmick name for book rate, so it is expected to be slow as an ass :p

Amazon usually ships my preorders by media mail. It takes 3 business days for me since their WA distribution center is only 4-5 hours away by car from my local PO.

Startide- how do you track mail?? I can never track priority let alone media mail? how did you do it?

Deke Rivers, you can track mail here:

http://www.usps.com/shipping/epstrac.htm

Of course, the sender must have purchased Delivery Confirmation or a similar option in order for your package to be tracked.

I gotta say-Media mail worked fine for me..Im surprised..Blood Simple shipped out on Friday Media Mail and I got it today-same as street date..I will keep using it I guess until I have a problem

As for "smashed" packages, that happens if the box has a lot of air in it. If it is tightly packed with the cardboard firmly around the DVD cases, then it seems to arrive okay. Evidently, the package is a LOT more sturdy when the cardboard is tightly around the cases as opposed to having a box with the air spaces filled with peanuts.

Ironically, the media mail packages always arrive tightly packed, so the cases aren't generally smashed. The priority mail ones have been the worst off. Sometimes, there is just a piece of crumpled paper inside the priority mail box and the DVD case just bounces around inside. Boo.i..ng! Boi..n..g!

I'm almost never in a rush to get the video, so media mail or priority, it doesn't matter to me because there is only a few days difference between the two methods.