--- title: "Records, CDs, tapes and DVDs by Media Mail: yes" description: "Yes. Sound recordings qualify, and USPS classifies video recordings as sound recordings, so vinyl, CDs, cassettes, DVDs and VHS all go by Media Mail." canonical: https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/records-cds-dvds/ last_updated: 2026-10-19 publisher: "The Reseller Index" --- # Can you ship vinyl records, CDs, cassettes and DVDs by Media Mail? USPS's rules: Yes **Yes. Sound recordings qualify for Media Mail, and USPS classifies video recordings and player piano rolls as sound recordings, so vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, Blu-ray movies and VHS tapes all go at Media Mail prices: $4.39 up to 1 lb, $5.13 up to 2 lb and $7.34 up to 5 lb.** A recording can travel with incidental announcements of other recordings and with guides or scripts prepared solely for use with it. A video game on a disc doesn't count: USPS rules video games ineligible in any form. 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. > “Sound recordings, including incidental announcements of recordings and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such recordings. Video recordings and player piano rolls are classified as sound recordings.” [Domestic Mail Manual 173.4.1e](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility > “Video and sound recordings (including tapes, albums, and CDs/DVDs)” [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) ## 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 | Ground Advantage online, Zones 1-9 | Ground Advantage at the counter, Zones 1-9 | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | DVD box set, 15 oz | $4.39 | $7.33 to $8.95 | $10.05 to $13.65 | | 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 - One LP packed at 1 lb 4 oz: Media Mail rounds any fraction of a pound up, so it pays the 2 lb price, $5.13. - A DVD box set at 15 oz: $4.39. Ground Advantage online would be $7.33 to $8.95. - A 5 lb box of CDs: $7.34, against $10.35 to $20.24 online by Ground Advantage. - A $150 rare LP packed at 1 lb 6 oz: $5.13 plus $4.50 for up to $200 of insurance = $9.63, since Media Mail includes none ([tracking and insurance](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/insurance-and-tracking/)). 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 - Blank CDs, DVDs and tapes have nothing recorded on them: see [computer media](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/computer-media/). - Lyric sheets, liner notes and booklets made for the recording ride along: the rule covers guides or scripts prepared solely for use with it ([DMM 173.4.1e](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1)). - The rule names no format, so 45s, 78s, reel-to-reel tapes, 8-tracks and laserdiscs count as sound or video recordings like LPs and CDs. - Audiobooks on CD or cassette are sound recordings. An audiobook preloaded on a USB drive is unsettled: the DMM's wording for prerecorded computer-readable media covers it and USPS's ruling rules out only blank drives, but USPS's service page says digital drives don't qualify, and USPS hasn't ruled on it ([computer media](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/computer-media/)). Ground Advantage avoids the question. - A T-shirt, poster or turntable part packed with the records makes it a [mixed box](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/mixed-box/). ## What to do - Weigh the packed box and round up to the next pound before buying the label. - Keep everything in the box a qualifying recording, book or permitted enclosure. ## Related questions - [Can software, blank CDs or flash drives go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/computer-media/) Prerecorded media only. Prerecorded computer media and their manuals qualify; blank CDs and DVDs, flash drives, hard drives and video games don't. - [Can film reels, slides or negatives go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/film-slides-and-negatives/) 16 mm or narrower prints. 8 mm, Super 8 and 16 mm positive prints ready for viewing qualify; 35 mm film, negatives and slides aren't on the Media Mail list. - [What are the Media Mail weight and size limits?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/weight-and-size-limits/) Up to 70 lb and 108 in. in length plus girth; priced per pound with a 1 lb minimum, any fraction rounded up. - [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. ### USPS package rules beyond Media Mail - [What packaging does USPS require for books, records and CDs?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/rules/packaging-books-and-records/) [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: Mail and shipping services (Media Mail eligibility, Ground Advantage, First-Class Mail)](https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.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.