Tuesday, September 8, 2020

India Post Tracking: Sending a Book as VPP

Hi there, welcome back to the continuation of the previous post. If you have not subscribed to my blog, please do so by using your email id in the box to the right of the blog. You will get all notification in your email inbox. Comment below if you have any questions. 

Following TNIE reportage India Post says bugs being fixed, extra security  layer added- The New Indian Express

VPP means Value Payable Post. It’s a service to send goods run by the Indian Postal Service. Here is a link that you can use to read about this service and make the best use of it if you are in India. For authors and publishers, this service is a boon when Amazon, Flipkart and other service providers are not performing up to their best. 

https://www.indiapost.gov.in/MBE/pages/content/value-payable-post.aspx#:~:text=The%20value%20payable%20system%20is,the%20agency%20of%20the%20Post

 

Sending a VPP necessitated me to go to the post office. In the past, when I attempted this service the postmaster told me that I shouldn’t seal the cover. I had the book covered with good packing material and it was tightly sealed with duct tape. Following the postmaster’s advice, I removed the duct tape and placed the book in the cover without sealing it while sending it as VPP Book Post. The advantage for a Book Post is that it cost a meagre amount on stamp duty. 

 

Armed with the experience of sending a book post and VPP I went to the post office this time, excited at the prospect of selling a copy of my book. The postmaster was busy beyond what I had ever seen in my post office. I waited for him to finish that work. Two gentlemen were also waiting to get it finished. The postmaster spoke to them about something that I didn’t understand. It was the business of the two gentlemen there. I kept my distance from them while making sure the address on the pack was correct. 

 

When my turn came, the postmaster asked me to also write the from-address on the cover. In my excited hurry, I had defenestrated the necessities required by the postal department to carry my message across to the other person. So I filled the from-address and waited. He asked me to seal the cover, pointing towards a bottle of gum. 

 

I confirmed the instruction by asking him a second time, “should I seal the cover?” 

 

“Yes, you should,” he said. 


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