--- title: "Mixing media and other items in a Media Mail box" description: "Unless the extra item is a permitted enclosure, the whole package pays the higher price, and hiding it can bring a fine. USPS's mixed-class rules." canonical: https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/mixed-box/ last_updated: 2026-10-19 publisher: "The Reseller Index" --- # What if I ship a book and a non-media item together by Media Mail? USPS's rules: Whole box pays more **The whole package pays the higher price: when mail of a higher price is enclosed with mail of a lower price, USPS charges the entire piece at the higher price, unless the extra item is a permitted enclosure.** USPS's service page warns that if you include anything that isn't allowed, you or your recipient pay higher postage, and the DMM adds that concealing higher-priced mail can bring a fine under 18 U.S.C. 1723. Permitted enclosures include an invoice, a personal message or bill, and loose printed matter mailable as USPS Marketing Mail, and the qualifying items have to outweigh them. 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. > “When mail of a higher price is enclosed with mail of a lower price, the postage on the entire piece is charged at the higher price, except under 9.2 through 9.6.” [Domestic Mail Manual 703.9.1.1](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#a_9_1_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 703: military mail and mixed classes > “Mailers are subject to a fine if they conceal letters or other mail of a higher price in mail sent at a lower price without paying the correct postage on the enclosures (18 USC 1723).” [Domestic Mail Manual 703.9.1.2](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#a_9_1_2) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 703: military mail and mixed classes > “If you try to include anything that's not allowed, you (or your recipient) will have to pay higher postage rates.” [USPS: Media Mail](https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.htm) · USPS: Mail and shipping services (Media Mail eligibility, Ground Advantage, First-Class Mail) > “The grouping that weighs the most is considered to be the "host piece" and the mailpiece is classified according to the classification of the items in the grouping.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-303](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-303.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-303: Determining the Classification of Mail, Host Piece Test (updated July 2018) ## 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 qualified) | 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 | | 3 lb | $5.86 | $9.04 to $16.30 | $11.80 to $23.15 | | 5 lb | $7.34 | $10.35 to $20.24 | $13.75 to $27.45 | ### Worked examples - 2 lb of DVDs and an 8 oz video game: one box (2 lb 8 oz, the 3 lb price) costs $9.04 to $16.30 online by Ground Advantage; two packages cost $12.46 to $14.08 (Media Mail $5.13 plus Ground Advantage $7.33 to $8.95). - 3 lb of books and a 4 oz T-shirt: one Ground Advantage box at the 4 lb price is $9.93 to $19.06 online; split, $13.19 to $14.81. - 3 lb of books and a 2 oz paper flyer: the flyer is a permitted enclosure, so one Media Mail box at the 4 lb price, $6.60. 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 - The host-piece test: if the non-qualifying items weigh more than the qualifying ones, the package isn't Media Mail at all ([PS-303](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-303.htm)). - Books, CDs, DVDs and other qualifying items mix freely in one Media Mail box. - A separate piece of First-Class Mail or USPS Marketing Mail can ride inside if its own postage is paid on the outside and the parcel is marked "First-Class Mail Enclosed" or "USPS Marketing Mail Enclosed" ([DMM 703.9.4](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#a_9_4), [9.7.3](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#a_9_7_3), [9.10.1](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#a_9_10_1)). - USPS lets mailers combine separate pieces of Media Mail and Bound Printed Matter for the same addressee in one regular machinable parcel, each with its own postage on the outside and an endorsement such as "Bound Printed Matter Enclosed"; without the endorsement, or if it isn't machinable, it pays Ground Advantage commercial prices ([DMM 703.9.6.1](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#a_9_6), [9.12](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm#a_9_12)). ## What to do - Price both ways: one Ground Advantage box, or Media Mail for the media plus a separate label for the rest. - Never hide a non-qualifying item in a Media Mail box; USPS may open any Media Mail package ([inspection](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/inspection-and-postage-due/)). ## Related questions - [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. - [Can I put a thank-you note or gift message in a Media Mail package?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/personal-note/) Yes. A personal message or greeting with the item rides along without First-Class postage; it's weighed with the package. - [What happens if USPS inspects a Media Mail package and it doesn't qualify?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/inspection-and-postage-due/) Postage due. USPS may open any Media Mail package. If postage is due, it can charge your label account, return the package, or collect from your buyer. - [Can you send board games, puzzles or video games by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/games-and-puzzles/) No. USPS rules that games, including board games and video games, are used primarily for entertainment, and jigsaw puzzles aren't on the Media Mail list. [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 703: military mail and mixed classes](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/703.htm) - [USPS: Mail and shipping services (Media Mail eligibility, Ground Advantage, First-Class Mail)](https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.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 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.