As sellers know, books can ship by USPS Media Mail, or book rate. Not all customers realize this, however, and if you offer Media Mail along with First Class, Priority and Parcel Select, then the customer may choose Media Mail for the whole shipment if he or she is ordering multiple items.
Some tips on using Media Mail:
YOU NEED TO MAKE A SEPARATE MEDIA MAIL CALCULATED SHIPPING PROFILE. You can then handle this two ways:
A. You can only have Media Mail on it.
B. You can have Media Mail and Priority Mail and Parcel Select on it.
What happens in the shopping cart if you choose option A? If a customer orders only a book, or two books, then the cart will calculate the complete order by Media Mail only. But, if the customer orders a book and a non book item, then the customer will get a highlighted message in pink to contact the seller. The shopping cart will not combine a separate Media Mail profile and a separate profile that is set up for First Class, Priority, Parcel Select, etc. The customer will have to contact the seller, or take one of the items out of his/her cart, either the book or the non book item. He or she will then need to place two different orders. Some sellers do not want a book, particularly a heavy book to ship with a breakable item. Completely understandable.
What happens in the shopping cart if you choose option B? If a customer orders a book and a non book item, then the book will be calculated as Priority or Parcel Select with the non book item. In other words, the calculator will ignore the Media Mail for the book, and the book will ship the same shipping rate as the other item or items. The drawback with this is that the shipping can be very expensive due to the weight of the book.
Either of the above options can be used, and the seller can choose which one he or she is most comfortable with.
I myself use option B........see the following post:
