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How order processing and shipping works

by Vervante •

Ever wonder what going on behind the scenes from the moment a product is ordered until it arrives at someone's door? Today we're pulling back the curtain and giving you the grand tour of how order processing, fulfillment, and shipping work with Vervante.

First: An Order is Received
We accept orders in a wide variety of ways, so you can set up your ordering systems to fit your business model and preference. We can work with:

  • ANY shopping cart system
  • online retail options such as Amazon
  • orders sent to us using Excel or a .csv file
  • orders placed manually via your Vervante Author Dashboard
  • Orders placed through the Vervante Bookstore

If you have questions about setting up your retail solutions and how they work with Vervante, that information and much more details about processing orders from your shopping cart can be found HERE.
 
Second: Printing, Processing and Fulfillment
Once we receive the order information, your product is either printed on demand, or pulled from stock we are storing for you in our warehouse. Here’s how that works:

  • Printing on demand is when we print only the amount ordered, at the time we receive the order. For books or products printed on demand, you pay only the cost of printing plus shipping and handling. Click here to read "What Is Print on Demand?" for more details.
  • Bulk orders can be printed and stored in our secure warehouse, ready to be pulled and drop-shipped when you need them. For more information about placing bulk orders and storing stock in our warehouse, see "How to Lower Costs Through Bulk Orders."

Processing & Fulfillment: After your order is printed or pulled from stock, it is assembled and packaged for shipping, and goes through a series of quality control checks to ensure both quality and accuracy for every order. Every package we send out includes a packing slip that you can personalize with your logo, message, policies and more to ensure customer satisfaction. To learn more about how to customize your packing slip, see "How to Create Personalized Packing Slips."

Now it's Time for Shipping
Orders are shipped according to the method you or your customer have indicated. We charge postage based on weight, shipping method, and destination. We do not have a flat shipping fee and we do not inflate the postage rates.

We ship anywhere in the world using USPS and UPS services and keep you up-to-date on its status. Here's how it works:

  • Orders are completed and prepped for shipping, the packing slip is scanned, and shipping labels are applied.
  • Products are shipped according to your preferred shipping method.
  • Shipping confirmation emails are sent to recipients with tracking information. This feature is optional and can be turned off if you don’t want Vervante to email your customer the tracking number.
  • Order information such as status and tracking numbers are posted to your Author Dashboard online.

We hope this peek at what happens to your products as they move from shopping carts to satisfied customers was enlightening. If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to reach out to our publishing pros via our Contact page. We're here to help!


What is Print On Demand?

by Vervante •

You've seen the term "print on demand" or POD a bunch, but what exactly does that mean? We get asked this question a lot, so we're happy to break it down here and walk you through exactly how Print on Demand (POD) services work. And how POD helps authors, entrepreneurs, and business owners share and sell books and products on their own terms.

What does the term "Print on Demand" mean?
Printing on demand uses both digital and inkjet printing methods to print books and other products only in the amount needed, when they are needed. While other publishing companies may require costly minimum orders in large numbers, here at Vervante we offer Print on Demand services for any size order, printing only when you need it, to meet your budget and demand. Click here to see a list of products that we print using POD services.

How does Print on Demand work?

  1. An order is placed for a book or other product.
  2. We print the exact amount ordered.
  3. The order is then shipped to the customer.

Here are two scenarios to illustrate how this works:

  • If you list your book for sale on your website and a customer orders one book, we print one book and ship it to your customer.
  • If you have a speaking event coming up and need 25 books, we will print 25 books and send them to wherever you need them.

Print on Demand pricing
For books or products printed on demand with Vervante, you pay only the cost of printing plus postage for shipping. We offer free quotes for print on demand pricing, all you need to do is click on the "Get a Quote" link on our homepage.

Why use Print on Demand?
No more garages filled with towering boxes of books, gathering dust and taking up space until your customers order them. No more late nights assembling shipping packages, filling them with orders and packing materials, then adding each customer address. No more hours spent in line at the post office trying to figure out postage and best shipping methods for each order. No more waste. Best of all - no more stress!

How to Use Print on Demand with Vervante
We offer Print on Demand services for books, planners, journals, information products and much more. Here is a quick list of products we can print on demand. Click HERE to see a full list of POD products. 

  • Spiral-bound products
  • Saddle-stitch booklets
  • Products & books with softcovers
  • Products & books with poly paper covers
  • Vinyl 3-Ring Binders
  • Die-Cut Tabs
  • Notepads
  • Card decks
  • Greeting Cards
  • Postcards
  • Certificates
  • Newsletters
  • Bookmarks

How to convert a planner into disc bound

by Vervante •

Many of our current customers wanted to know: Can I convert my current product into a disc-bound one? We're pleased to let you know that YES, you can
 
It's actually very easy to convert existing products that are currently spiral or wire-o bound to a disc-punched option. In fact, you can give your customers the option of selection either spiral, wire-o bound or punched for disc binding. 

The really good news? We don't need new files, just an email from you to let us know what you'd like.  Vervante is one of only a few companies that provide punching for a disc bound product, so you can put help your product stand out in the market by offering something that many other people can't.

Please note: We offer punching for disc binding - discs are not included. We are happy to punch your product for disc binding and you can send us discs to be bundled with the content that we ship to your customers.

If you want to include discs with your product, they can be purchased on Amazon, Etsy, or special ordered from overseas suppliers such as Alibaba. They come in a variety of sizes depending on the number of pages in your product, and in different colors and materials such as plastic and metal. All you need to do is send the discs to us, we'll store them in our warehouse, and bundle them with the disc-punched content we create for your product.

For more details about disc-bound products and disc-punching service we offer, see this article: "How to Create a Disc Bound Planner."

If you’d like a free quote for creating disc bound punched content, or for any other product or service, just click on the “Get a Quote” link on our website home page. Or you can always reach out to [email protected].