--- title: "Books with ads and Media Mail: what USPS allows" description: "Only if the ads are incidental announcements of books. Ads for catalogs, calendars or other goods disqualify it; brand names in manuals don't." canonical: https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/books-with-advertising/ last_updated: 2026-10-19 publisher: "The Reseller Index" --- # Can a book with ads in it go by Media Mail? USPS's rules: Only ads for books **Only if the ads are incidental announcements of books: USPS's book standard allows no other advertising, and it counts the publisher's own ads as advertising, whether display, classified or editorial.** The books announced don't have to qualify for Media Mail themselves, but they must be books, so ads for catalogs, calendars, checkbooks or other printed goods rule the book out. Brand and product names that a manual needs, such as parts references in an auto repair manual, aren't advertising, USPS says. 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. > “Advertising includes paid advertising and the publishers' own advertising in display, classified, or editorial style.” [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 > “There may not be advertising for catalogs, calendars, checkbooks, or other miscellaneous printed materials in the books being mailed at Media Mail prices.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-072](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-072.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-072: Book Advertisements (updated June 2014) > “These announcements must be incidental and exclusively devoted to books, without extraneous advertising of book-related or other materials or services.” [Domestic Mail Manual 173.4.2c](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_2) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility > “The product and brand names are not disqualifying for this price, nor is the fact that they may be produced by the manufacturer of the product.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-045](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-045.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-045: Manuals, Media Mail (updated June 2014) ## 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 paperback with three pages of ads for the publisher's other novels, 12 oz: Media Mail, $4.39. - A brand's cookbook with full-page ads for its food products, 2 lb: Ground Advantage, $8.39 to $13.42 online. - A repair manual from the vehicle's maker, 3 lb: Media Mail, $5.86; the brand and part names in it aren't ads ([PS-045](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-045.htm)). 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 - Bound-in order forms are allowed: one envelope or addressed postcard and one order form, and up to three book announcements may each carry a single order form ([DMM 173.4.2](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_2)). - Directories count as books when nobody paid to be listed and the publisher has no interest in the services or products listed ([PS-064](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.htm)). - A flyer or coupon tucked in loose is a separate question: see [packing slips and flyers](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/packing-slips-and-flyers/). ## What to do - Check the back pages: announcements of other books are fine, anything else isn't. - Ship a book that fails by Ground Advantage, or as a First-Class Mail large envelope if it's flexible and up to 13 oz. ## Related questions - [Can you ship comic books by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/comic-books/) Only with no ads. A comic needs no ads except announcements of books; an issue with other ads pays First-Class Mail or Ground Advantage prices. - [Can you ship catalogs by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/catalogs/) Only certain kinds. USPS accepts reprints of historic catalogs, catalogs with editorial matter and unpaid supplier listings, and film catalogs of 24+ pages. Sales catalogs don't qualify. - [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 I include a packing slip, invoice, coupon or bookmark in Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/packing-slips-and-flyers/) Yes. An invoice or packing slip for the order is allowed, and so is loose printed matter that could go as USPS Marketing Mail, such as a coupon or paper bookmark. [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 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-072: Book Advertisements (updated June 2014)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-072.htm) - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-045: Manuals, Media Mail (updated June 2014)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-045.htm) - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064: Media Mail, Books (updated January 2017)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.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.