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Shippers all around the country love USPS Media Mail Service and its insanely discounted rates. As a result, people often ask us whether there’s an international Media Mail service that allows them to snag the same discounts for overseas shipments. Unfortunately, there isn’t…but you’ve still got some options!
Media Mail is a Domestic Service, Not International
While Media Mail is a fantastic service to send certain types of items like books and vinyl records for cheap, USPS only offers it for domestic shipments. That means you’ll only be able to use it when shipping to any the 50 states in the United States. This includes Alaska and Hawaii, as well as every other US Territory. You can also access Media Mail rates when shipping to overseas military addresses, since USPS treats these addresses as domestic destinations!
Learn more about the cheapest ways to ship to:
Use First Class Package International or Priority Mail International
If you’re sending items that qualify for Media Mail overseas, you’ve got a couple of other options. Your first option is to ship via First Class Package International, which is the cheapest international service USPS offers for packages under 4 lbs. For any packages over 4 lbs, the next best bet is Priority Mail International.
Access Special International Services with Shipping Software
First Class Package International and Priority Mail International are perfectly fine services, but they can still get expensive. Since this is the case, you would do well to sniff around different shipping software platforms to see if you can find any specially-discounted international services.
Believe it or not, there are special services out there that hook you up with the cheapest international rates around. However, you’ll only find them on certain shipping software platforms, and each company offers different options (some expensive, some not so expensive). One service like this that we use all the time is Simple Export Rate. This service completely changed the way we reach international customers when we discovered it…and it was worth the extra research.
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