< insider info…
p.o. employees stand in the center of a room about 50 feet long and hurl parcel post/media mail packages into little carts for the carriers. if you don’t have that shit packaged well, you’re screwed.
it’s not always like that. but that’s usually the case. don’t ship a 10 pound book in a little paper envelope and you’ll be ok.
you people drive me crazy when you tell me you package stuff up well and you have a box held together with regular scotch tape and no bubble wrap/peanuts. we don’t wrap your stuff up for you. that’s ups, and they charge you to do that too.
and yes you can insure media mail. it just goes slower. and it’s not “dated”. it’s a service provided to help students get their books around the country in a less expensive way.