--- title: "Can coloring and puzzle books go by Media Mail?" description: "USPS rules crossword, pattern, poster, iron-on transfer and cut-out books out of Media Mail, but workbooks qualify. Coloring books aren't named." canonical: https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/activity-and-coloring-books/ last_updated: 2026-10-19 publisher: "The Reseller Index" --- # Can coloring, puzzle and activity books go by Media Mail? USPS's rules: Mostly no **Not if they lack reading matter: USPS rules that crossword puzzles, pattern books, poster books, iron-on transfer books and cut-out books that don't consist of reading matter can't go by Media Mail.** Workbooks and fill-in self-help textbooks do qualify. USPS hasn't ruled on coloring books by name, so a coloring or activity book is judged by the book standard itself: at least eight printed pages of reading matter, with no ads. One that fails ships by Ground Advantage: $8.01 to $11.22 online for 1 lb. Rates verified on Oct 19, 2026 ## The rule, in USPS's words Quoted from the official pages linked below each quote, checked Oct 19, 2026. > “Crossword puzzles, pattern books, poster books, iron-on transfer books, and cut-out books which do not consist of reading matter as well as publications containing advertising are not acceptable in the mails at the Media Mail rate of postage.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064: Media Mail, Books (updated January 2017) > “They are subject to the applicable First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, USPS Retail Ground, or Bound Printed Matter prices when mailed.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064: Media Mail, Books (updated January 2017) > “workbooks, books containing sheets which are blank on one side, loose-leaf bound books” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064: Media Mail, Books (updated January 2017) > “reading matter with incidental blank spaces for notations” [Domestic Mail Manual 173.4.1a](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility > “any printed matter that is mailable as USPS Marketing Mail may be included loose with any qualifying material mailed at the Media Mail or Library Mail prices.” [Domestic Mail Manual 173.6.1](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_6_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility ## What it costs to ship Media Mail costs the same to every US address, with a 1 lb minimum ($4.39) and any fraction of a pound rounded up. Ground Advantage, USPS's ground package service with tracking included, is priced by weight and zone: online is USPS's commercial price for labels bought online, and the counter price is retail. *USD, weight not over. USPS Notice 123 effective Oct 4, 2026; Ground Advantage includes USPS's temporary holiday prices, in effect until 12 a.m. CT Jan 17, 2027 (Media Mail isn't affected). Selling platforms and label services can have their own rates.* | Package | Media Mail (if it qualifies) | Ground Advantage online, Zones 1-9 | Ground Advantage at the counter, Zones 1-9 | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1 lb | $4.39 | $8.01 to $11.22 | $10.05 to $13.65 | | 2 lb | $5.13 | $8.39 to $13.42 | $11.30 to $19.80 | | 5 lb | $7.34 | $10.35 to $20.24 | $13.75 to $27.45 | ### Worked examples - A 1 lb crossword puzzle book on its own: Ground Advantage, $8.01 to $11.22 online or $10.05 to $13.65 at the counter, not $4.39. - A children's workbook, 12 oz: Media Mail, $4.39. - A 12 oz puzzle book packed loose with 3 lb of novels, on our reading of the rules: DMM 173.6.1 lets printed matter mailable as USPS Marketing Mail ride along, and USPS applied it to non-qualifying cards packed with a book, charging them Media Mail prices ([PS-213](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-213.htm)). The novels outweigh it ([PS-303](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-303.htm)), so the box, 3 lb 12 oz, would pay the 4 lb price, $6.60. USPS has no ruling on puzzle books packed this way. Every weight from 1 to 70 lb: [Media Mail rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/media-mail/) · [Ground Advantage rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/ground-advantage/) ## Edge cases - PS-064 lists USPS Marketing Mail among the prices these books pay, which is why we read them as printed matter mailable as USPS Marketing Mail. DMM 243.2.1 caps USPS Marketing Mail at 20 oz for most pieces ([DMM 243.2.1](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/243.htm#a_2_1)); PS-213, last updated in January 2017, put the line at under 16 oz. - The DMM's mixed-class rule points the same way: USPS Marketing Mail inside a Package Services parcel pays its own postage "unless excepted by the prices and eligibility standards in 253, 263, and 273" ([DMM 703.9.4.2](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#a_9_4_2)), and 273.6.3 is the same loose-enclosure rule for commercial Media Mail ([DMM 273.6.3](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/273.htm#a_6_3)). The open question is whether a book you sell can be an enclosure: 173.6.1 is headed Loose Enclosures, and USPS's PS-213 example was printed cards mailed with qualifying books. - Poster books are out, but a single educational chart can qualify: see [maps and charts](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/maps-charts-and-posters/). - Sticker sheets, crayons or toys packed with the book aren't printed matter: see [mixed box](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/mixed-box/). ## What to do - Ship puzzle, pattern, poster, transfer and cut-out books on their own by Ground Advantage. - When in doubt about a coloring book, ship it by Ground Advantage. Packing it loose with heavier qualifying books rests on our reading of DMM 173.6.1, not a USPS ruling. ## Related questions - [Can textbooks, workbooks and test booklets go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/textbooks-and-workbooks/) Yes: textbooks are books, USPS accepts workbooks and fill-in textbooks, and printed objective tests qualify with their answer sheets. - [Can a book with ads in it go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/books-with-advertising/) Only ads for books. Incidental announcements of books are the only ads allowed. Ads for anything else, including the publisher's own non-book products, disqualify it. - [Can maps, atlases, charts or posters go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/maps-charts-and-posters/) Educational only. Atlases and educational maps and charts qualify; decorative posters, poster books and mostly-text sheets don't. - [What if I ship a book and a non-media item together by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/mixed-box/) Whole box pays more. Unless the extra item is a permitted enclosure, the whole package pays the higher price, and USPS can fine concealed higher-priced mail. [All 25 Media Mail questions](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/) · [Cheapest way to ship books](https://resellerindex.com/guides/cheapest-way-to-ship-books/) ## Sources Rates verified on Oct 19, 2026 from each official page below. - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064: Media Mail, Books (updated January 2017)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.htm) - [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm) - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-213: Books and Charts, Media Mail (updated January 2017)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-213.htm) - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-303: Determining the Classification of Mail, Host Piece Test (updated July 2018)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-303.htm) - [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 243: USPS Marketing Mail content standards](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/243.htm) - [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 703: military mail and mixed classes](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm) - [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 273: commercial Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/273.htm) - [USPS Notice 123: price list (effective Oct 4, 2026), Media Mail and Ground Advantage prices](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm) - [USPS: temporary price change for 2026 holiday shipping (Aug 25, 2026)](https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0825-usps-announces-temporary-price-change-for-2026-holiday-shipping-season.htm) Subscribe: https://resellerindex.com/subscribe/ --- The Reseller Index Researched and drafted with AI assistance from each platform's and carrier's own published pages. A full-time reseller runs The Reseller Index and will edit every newsletter issue once the newsletter starts. Every number links to its source and carries the date we checked it. Spot an error? [Tell us](https://resellerindex.com/corrections/) and we'll fix it in the public corrections log. General information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by eBay, Amazon, Mercari, Poshmark, Depop, Whatnot, Etsy, TikTok Shop, USPS, the IRS or the software companies whose prices we track; their names belong to them. Each page shows the date its own rates were last checked. Sponsored placements are always labeled "Sponsored". © 2026 The Reseller Index. No trackers, no ad cookies.