Postcard collecting, Postcrossing, travel postcards, vintage finds, postal history, and the small handwritten details that make a mailbox worth checking.
I keep a shoebox of about 340 postcards under my desk, and I still remember exactly where about half of them came from. That's the thing a text message can't do. A card from a stranger in Kaunas, Lithuania, sat on my desk for three days last spring before I filed it, because the handwriting was better than mine and I wanted to look at it again.
This site covers the practical side of that: how to start a collection without overspending, how Postcrossing actually works once you sign up, how to date a card from the back, and how to write something on 3x5 inches of card stock that a person will want to keep. It's written by someone who does this weekly, not someone summarizing it from the outside.
Starting a collection, sorting it, storing it, and knowing what you actually have.
A beginner's system for sorting, storing, and actually enjoying a postcard collection.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreSending cards to strangers, tracking them, and the odd, good habit it becomes.
New stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreWhat to send home, where to find good cards abroad, and why they beat a text.
New stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreReal antiques, reproductions, dating a card by its back, and what things are worth.
New stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreThe golden age of postcards, the divided back, and how a postal law changed everything.
New stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreReading a postmark, matching stamps to a card's era, and postal history basics.
New stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MorePen pals, better handwriting, good stationery, and why slow mail still works.
New stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreNew stories are in the works for this section. Check the blog for what's live now.
Read MoreThree sources we actually read, linked straight to the publisher. No proxies, no scraping, just the real feeds.
Stories and stats from the Postcrossing community, straight from the people who run it.
Printing and postcard-marketing notes, useful if you design or order your own cards.
A working collector's notes on vintage finds, postmarks, and what things are actually worth.
No. Plenty of collectors build strong collections from cards that cost under a dollar each at flea markets, estate sales, and postcard shows. The expensive end of the hobby exists, but it's optional.
Postcrossing is a system for exchanging postcards with strangers worldwide through a tracking website. Traditional collecting can involve buying, trading, or finding cards without ever mailing one yourself.
Check the back. A divided back (a line splitting the space for a message and an address) means the card was printed after 1907. Postmark dates, stamp design, and paper stock help narrow it down further.
Postcrossing matches you with a random address anywhere in its member network. Pen-pal forums and swap groups on sites like Reddit's r/Postcrossing also connect people looking to trade.