People usually buy textbooks shortly before they need them, so offer priority mail as well as media mail. Many textbooks will fit in a priority mail flatrate envelope which costs $5.15. The bigger textbooks will fit in a Regional Box A priority mail box (you need to buy postage online).

https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail-flat.htm?

For costs of postage for the Regional A box use

http://ircalc.usps.gov/

Probably you can buy postage at eBay. Have you read:

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/shippingcenter.html

-- Jonathan Grobe

if someone were to choose media mail, do you know how much cheaper it would be?  I think that priority mail would be the best way to go there for $5.15 in a free envelope. Also, what kind of envelope for media mail? do they have envelopes made of the same material at office supply stores?

Goto:

http://ircalc.usps.gov/

and plug some numbers in to see the price of the various shipping options. For media mail, lots of sellers simply set a flatrate $4 (or less) shipping charge. Although you can also use the shipping calculator.

For media mail I use padded mailers for lighter books and boxes for heavier items.

Do an eBay search for

3 padded mailer

or

4 padded mailer

and

bookfold

(I usually get multi-depth ones)

Usually you wrap a book in bubblewrap before putting it in a box.

You can get shipping supplies at places like Staples, but they are going to be more expensive than online.

Likewise the local Post Office has some priority mail supplies--like the flatrate envelopes--but the not the Regional A and B boxes (which you have to get online).

Of course if you want, you can always cut random sized boxes down to size to fit a book you want to mail.

I am sure there are some threads about the best way to ship books in this forum--do a search.

-- Jonathan Grobe

I think any textbook would need to go in a box and use the shipping calculator to get the rate.

If you do not want to buy a slew of boxes from uline or other box purveyor you may be able to scrounge some boxes from your community. I get a lot from the dairy department at the grocery store. I've learned to go around 11:30 in the morning to get the boxes that have stocked that morning.

I do use the multi-d boxes but not for thick books like textbooks.

I was thinking of textbooks in the sense of the big hulking books. I ship tons of books in mailers, too.