Book shipments - handling

• Works must have been produced using intermediate media (printing plate, template, negative).
• Books and brochures which include CDs (both attached and detachable) are accepted. (In terms of content, CDs are subject to the same conditions that apply to books and brochures, i.e. they must not serve a commercial purpose or contain inadmissible advertising etc.)
• The books and brochures must be bound or have a cover.
• Sheets must be firmly held together on one side. Supplementary deliveries to loose-leaf works, whose underlying work could be sent as a book shipment, need not be bound.

Advertising

Book shipments may include dedications / advertising if the following criteria are met:

• Advertising must be confined to the outside and inside pages of the cover and to two consecutive pages at the beginning and end of the work.
• Dedications may consist of a brief saying, for instance "In fond remembrance, the author", who may also add brief quotations or the like. The dedication may appear on a loose sheet of paper or a card.

Book shipments must always be posted in unsealed wrapping and bear the inscription "Büchersendung" (book shipment) above the address in order to ensure rapid processing. The internal packaging may be sealed if it is the manufacturer's packaging and the sender has consented to it being opened for inspection purposes by making the note "Darf zu Prüfzwecken durch die Post geöffnet werden" (May be opened by the postal service for inspection purposes).

Book shipments may be sealed if at least 100 items of the same kind, i.e. items of the same format, weight class and sender, are posted at the same time and the sender agrees to their being opened for an inspection of the contents. Sealed shipments must be marked above the address with the stamp "Büchersendung/EntgeIt gepr." (Book shipment/postage verified).