What are the current laws on mailing extreme porn in the US and into the US? I have noticed posting in the USPS offices about their "right" to inspect any tape, DVD or other media. Like it might contain a dirty bomb or Lynn Cheney's secret desires.
Personally, I have lost DVDs in clear plastic containers shipped across town. And all these contained were short commercial animation tests.
I've been buying sexually explicit products (magazines, videos, toys, etc.) thru the US Mail since 1982 and in all that time I've only had problems once. It was a couple of years ago when I ordered a Max Hardcore title from a reptutable mailorder source that I had been a regular customer. I thought I had lost the shipment when it finally showed up about a month later up with a sticker from the US Customs stating that it had been "inspected" for illegal contraband. Naturally none was found but I still wonder why this particular package was nearly confiscated by the authorities. I guess now that Ashcroft's Patriot Act is in effect, any piece of mail is a potential target for this type of inspection.
Even if the did inspect the package, the only things that they can legally conficscate are movies containing child pornography (performers < 18 yo) and beastiality (I'm not even sure about the beastiality).
Nothing else is technically illegal. Obscene material is illegal to sell. But it's not illegal to buy or own obscene material. Also, because of the weird wording of obscenity laws, nothing is obscene until a jury in a local community declares that specific item to be obscene.
So, unless you are importing Traci Lords DVD's (or DVD's of her dog), you have nothing to worry about.
I think that you are refering to the signs regarding media mail. Media mail is only for certain types of media and was created to allow libraries to share books and other such sharing of information. If you are mailing a large quantities of hardcovers or other heavy media there is a big price break. However some people will try to send non-qualifying material through it so they have the right to inspect the package to ensure that the contents are acceptable for media mail.
I should add that the company I had this incident with is located here in the US and has been in business many years. I contacted them at the time and told them what happened and they were very surprized as they said that had never occured with their service before, or at least that they were aware of. Even though I'm sure it wasn't their fault and I eventually got the product I ordered I was still very much concerned about this happening again and haven't ordered from them since.
In response to Flash's comments about Media Mail, they do allow you to send DVDs. However, my post office told me that you have to take the unsealed box up to the counter so that the clerk can look inside to verify the contents.
I found this out the hard way. I was selling some adult dvd's to useddvdempire. When I said that I wanted to send them media mail, the clerk told me that he had to see the contents to verify that I was sending media. Since I did not want to have them open up the box (there was a long line behind me...I also did not want the clerk to see the contents), I just opted for priority mail.
I once had a DVD Empire order that was obviously opened and resealed (the tape job was bad and not the kind of tape DVD Empire uses), but the contents were inside.
Personally, I wish the words "teenage" "teen," etc. would not be used so often in DVD titles. Should a box become opened, it just invites controversy.
While that is true for individuals using Media Mail, it isn't required for companies utilizing Media Mail. A company like mine might send out 10,000 Media Mail parcels in a single day. Manual verification of the contents of each package is impractical in that situation. In our case, spot checks, if they ever even occur is the norm.
The fines for a company like mine misusing Media Mail are prohibitive enough to prevent anyone from intentionally trying to rip the Post Office off.
I wasn't trying to imply that you can't send DVDs through media mail, sorry if it came across that way. I was just figuring that is what Percy was refering to. Usually here I just get questioned on what is in it, ie a DVD. Once they said they were going to open it for inspection and I said okay but warned it contained an adult film so someone who wasn't offended by such things should do the inspection and they decided to skip the inspection.
Thanks for the clarification guys. It makes sense that businesses don't have to bring open packages to the counter to verify media mail content, given the large number of packages they ship.
I've shipped hundreds of packages media mail and my post office has never asked to see what was inside, though a clerk who was new once asked what was in there. A couple of books have gone astray, though.
One thing you do need to be careful of is where you ship to. There are certain zip codes and states that aren't very friendly to the whole porn thing and which have taken action in the courts regarding obscenity. Here's a list you might use as a starting point:
http://www.wantedlist.com/FAQList.aspx#15
This article's more industry related, but it can give you an idea of the penalties involved if a person or organization isn't careful about this sort of thing:
That's correct if you are selling something to someone in these areas. If you are just mailing something to someone that you know, there is nothing to worry about.
Petite Tanned Bosslady Enjoys A Hard Working Cock - review by Captain Jack
Posted - Jan 15 2005 : 5:01AM