Sending a real letter | Help

Did you write a personal physical letter in the past decade?

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soulweaver

soulweaver

Nice is Free
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I was a great fan of writing letters. I still am.

Just a couple of days ago, someone close to my heart asked me to write a letter. It was like in the old times. I immediately brought of my letter pad, and my ink pen and started writing. Before long, the letter passed muster of what we deem is appropriately long enough to be considered a real letter (3 sides of a ruled A4 sheet).

It was then time for reckoning.

I went to the post office. Yes, they still do exist. And after having made it past a few snickers and murmured comments, I was told that it would take, hold on to your seats, twenty-five hell-forsaken days for a letter sent via SPEEDPOST to reach its intended destination (USA). The cost? Eleven hundred Indian Rupees.

I inquired about sending it via registered post. The cost? INR400. The time taken? 40 Days and 40 Nights.

What about UPS, FedEx etc? They assured delivery in 4 days at damage of INR2600.

Is it just me, or are things really this insane?

Two sheets of paper. Two Continents. Two People. Two Thousand. Too Fcuking Much!

Edit:
Is there a simpler, more reasonable way of doing things?
 
No man!! Those handwritten letters are worth a LOT more.
Forget the post office charges for a second..and think about the letter after 2 decades.
And most people who still writes and expects others to write physical letters, keep them in some special places, so they don't get lost with time.
 
soulweaver said:
I was a great fan of writing letters. I still am.

Just a couple of days ago, someone close to my heart asked me to write a letter. It was like in the old times. I immediately brought of my letter pad, and my ink pen and started writing. Before long, the letter passed muster of what we deem is appropriately long enough to be considered a real letter (3 sides of a ruled A4 sheet).

It was then time for reckoning.

I went to the post office. Yes, they still do exist. And after having made it past a few snickers and murmured comments, I was told that it would take, hold on to your seats, twenty-five hell-forsaken days for a letter sent via SPEEDPOST to reach its intended destination (USA). The cost? Eleven hundred Indian Rupees.

I inquired about sending it via registered post. The cost? INR400. The time taken? 40 Days and 40 Nights.

What about UPS, FedEx etc? They assured delivery in 4 days at damage of INR2600.

Is it just me, or are things really this insane?

Two sheets of paper. Two Continents. Two People. Two Thousand. Too Fcuking Much!

Edit:
Is there a simpler, more reasonable way of doing things?
Click to expand...
Prices are similar even if you send something bigger. I remember shipping phones to US for 2100 bucks via DHL using a service where India Post had tieup with DHL. I think it was called Worldnet Express.
 
I oh so totally agree! But, I was looking for a more reasonable way of sending letters. I decided to send it the old school way. Stuck stamps on it and put in in the post box. Let's see what happens to the letter. I have boxes of letters with me and what a nostalgia trip it is.

Want to frame all of those and keep them, if only it weren't for some truly personal, truly naughty, and truly intimate stuff in those letters ;)
quaratineinthesejeans said:
No man!! Those handwritten letters are worth a LOT more.
Forget the post office charges for a second..and think about the letter after 2 decades.
And most people who still writes and expects others to write physical letters, keep them in some special places, so they don't get lost with time.
Click to expand...
 
Have you considered Aerogrammes? You may have to rewrite your letter again, though. I have no idea if they still exist - these used to be the cheapest option available many years ago, back during my long-gone pen-pal days.
 
You might be getting ripped off.

Capture.JPG
 
soulweaver said:
I did ask them. They said there's no guarantee of the delivery times. The minimum expected time they said is 45 days, irrespective of what's written there.
Click to expand...
It is interesting that you bring this up. When I look back, a big part of the thrill and excitement of posting a letter was in it's very unpredictability, especially given our never-so-good postal system. You probably would be able to relate to this, given your letter-writing background.
 
codelad said:
It is interesting that you bring this up. When I look back, a big part of the thrill and excitement of posting a letter was in it's very unpredictability, especially given our never-so-good postal system. You probably would be able to relate to this, given your letter-writing background.
Click to expand...
Well, I always found the postal system to be pretty reliable back then. 2012 was the first time delivery got messed up. The letter reached the recipient though. Before that, it was write it, post it, forget it.

That is why the anguish now.
 
soulweaver said:
Well, I always found the postal system to be pretty reliable back then. 2012 was the first time delivery got messed up. The letter reached the recipient though. Before that, it was write it, post it, forget it.

That is why the anguish now.
Click to expand...
You truly must have been very lucky with your letters. My experience was chequered and occassionally painful (especially as a small boy), and I had often received letters in tatters and envelopes torn open. It is no wonder that I have not written a real letter in more than a decade now, and I can't say I miss it all that much.

Interestingly, packages from Aliexpress (the cheaper non-trackable ones) sometimes led to the same thrill and longing that real letters once produced. Sadly, that is fast fading into the past as well.
 
I have had experiences of battered envelopes, but all in all, I have received and sent without missing hundreds of letters in at least 4 languages from 5 countries.

Oh the memories.
 
Write a personal physical letter in past decade? What is this thread like meant to be a joke or something? I have to write at least a dozen every year! I like people who pretend they live in some Western country but India
 
soulweaver said:
What about UPS, FedEx etc? They assured delivery in 4 days at damage of INR2600.
Click to expand...
Speedpost is painful. I had to send some packages over to an USA address, speedpost took 3 weeks. Fedex, DHL quoted astronomical prices.

Then I heard of GarudaVega. Sending a 5KG parcel with them only cost 4000rupees, they ship either through Fedex or UPS, it reaches in 3 days flat! I wonder how such services can actually be cheaper than using DHL/Fedex themselves.

Might want to check if they take up delivery of letters too!
 
sauravghosh said:
Write a personal physical letter in past decade? What is this thread like meant to be a joke or something? I have to write at least a dozen every year! I like people who pretend they live in some Western country but India
Click to expand...
Really. Personal letters. Even in this day and age.
 
I miss the real good old days... Writing letters is purely expressing thoughts and emotions. I like writing a lot and expressing everything in words and letters was my hobby. Some letters I used to write but never posted..But few times a year I used to post/exchange letters with my distant cousins and it a great exp. back then.
Digital world was like a curse to end it all!
Now value of relationships has gone for a toss!
 
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Yes, even I do write personal letters almost everytime when in some other country.
But it shouldn't take so much time to reach US. From India to central Europe, it takes about 7 days (speed post).
 
Since we are on to the subject of sending letters, you should check out this website called https://slowly.app/en/
Does a really good job at coming as close as possible at emulating the experience of sending a letter as it can take as long as 4 days to reach someone on the other side of the world without the uncertainty of your letter getting stuck somewhere. Highly recommend checking it out!
 
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soulweaver said:
Is it just me, or are things really this insane?
Click to expand...

It's not that bad, but the pandemic has complicated things. We've had delays and slowdowns in postal system in the last year but things are getting a lot better now.

I sell extensively through eBay US and other places, last year I shipped 200+ items through India Post even with the lockdown. Most of the parcels/letters I send are 6" x 9" or smaller. Just one through Speedpost, and another through Registered Post, and all the rest through regular 'Ordinary Post' where you'd weigh it, calculate postage online, buy and paste stamps on it and then drop it at a mailbox near you.

The Speedpost one was for a rubber seal for a pressure cooker to Saudi Arabia, it took three weeks to deliver at the peak of the pandemic. The Registered Post one was a Samurai branded Nintendo NES to France, which reached in 11 days just before the lockdown went into effect here. I do not prefer Speedpost or Registered Post because they require aadhar card copy with tedious paper work for customs that should be handwritten in duplicate.

Apart from three that were returned as undeliverable because the addressee moved, all the others reached their destinations safely and at very low cost (between Rs 60 to 200, depending on weight). You still need to fill a customs form and attach it to the outside of the letter. I use the CN22 form attached. Without this, your letter/package may be returned to you by customs in Mumbai. I print four of these on an A4 sheet.

The postal system is thriving, and is very reliable. I haven't lost a single package in the last few years. As for pricing, Registered Post is about Rs 70 more than Ordinary Post, that's it. But as I mentioned, the paperwork required is cumbersome so I don't prefer it for orders under $75. Speedpost is really not worth it.

You can also buy stamps online at huge discounts through India Post's portal, if you're sending in bulk. There's savings of at least 30%.
 

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Just a suggestion: if you're writing a letter, consider writing it with a fountain pen. The gradual fading of the ink, smudges ( sometimes from tear drops) etc. make them real special.
It may sound real weird, but I had a pretty strong sense of smell ( gone after covid ) and used to love to smell old letters.
 
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