India Post ties up with Snapdeal to sell stamps

World's largest postal service, India Post has tied up with online marketplace major Snapdeal to sell stamps to reach out to larger audiences.

Under the partnership, targeted especially at philately enthusiasts, Snapdeal will sell stamps and collections priced between Rs 300-5,500.

"While stamp collection has been a popular hobby, we found consumers who said they found it difficult to buy stamps.

India Post has an amazing collection of stamps that we feel we our consumers will be delighted to have," Snapdeal co-founder and COO Rohit Bansal told PTI.

Also, with Snapdeal's extensive reach, India Post will be able to reach a large number of customers, he added.

"Miniature works of art, documenting human history and endeavours, cultures, traditions and national heritage, postage stamps can be window to the world.

The partnership with Snapdeal will enhance the ease of purchasing philatelic stamps and products on the Internet at the click of a button," India Posts Secretary Kaveri Banerjee said.

The first India Postage Stamps were issued in 1854, which bore the inscription 'India Postage'. The first independence stamps, issued in 1947 (three in number), depicted the Ashoka Pillar, the Indian National Flag and an Aircraft. Since then, India has issued more than 3,000 stamps.

There are 68 Philatelic Bureaux and 1,111 philatelic counters in the country.

"We are increasingly working with government agencies to help them reap benefits of eCommerce. With this partnership, they will be able to reach out to a larger audience," he said.

India has the largest postal network in the world with over 1.55 lakh post offices (as on March 2009) of which 1.39 lakh are in rural areas.

Image: A single storey post office building in Uttarakhand.

Photograph: Courtesy, India Post