Hi,
We’ll go to Adelaide CBD, Adelaide Hills, Hobart CBD next month. We wonder where to buy maxicards recent and not so recent ones. Maybe vintage shops? Can you introduce us the shops? If they are prepaid, are they usually costing less than 3AUD? Because we have read that it is 3AUD to send a postcard out of Australia 
Are there also post office with special pictorial postmarks?
Thanks in advance!
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You can buy maxicards and pre-paid postcards in most post offices - you just need to visit and see what they have in stock. They will all be recent issues. Big post offices in the city will have better choices.
If you want to be sure to find a particular card, you might have better luck buying them online and getting them sent to your hotel in advance.
The pre-paid postcards are all $2.55.
The maxicards vary in price because it depends on the value of the stamps used on them.
The cards on the left cost $1.85 each! The cards on the right cost $4.50 each, because of the expensive stamps on them. (You can only buy them in sets).
(Edit - I reversed my lefts and rights… the right hand ones are the cheap ones…)
All pre-paid and maxi cards from the post office include postage anywhere in the world, and yes, it is a very good deal.
I usually buy older ones on ebay, I’m not sure about any shops selling them, but I’m not in Adelaide so someone else might have some ideas for you.
Enjoy your trip!
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After your great tip (in person a while back) I have been buying the maxicards online from Aus Post - so much cheaper and people receiving them love them (even the weirder ones)!
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Helent’s advice is excellent. If you can order them to be waiting for you at the hotel you will have your choice of everything that’s currently available.
Yes if you take your own cards in to the post office they are up to $3 postage per card. There are a few different zones around the world. Sending a postcard to New Zealand is the cheapest at $2.70. Followed by Asia at $2.90. And to the US and Europe is $3. I can’t remember the other zone prices.
Our international stamps are not so wonderful in my opinion, especially the $2.90 stamp to Asia. You can buy a $2.70 international stamp and a 20 cent stamp instead. Or you can use domestic stamps on an international postcard but you have to put extra 10% worth to account for the GST. So a card to Asia that should be $2.90 in international stamps needs to have $3.20 worth of domestic stamps put on. But they’ll look nicer!
Hopefully you find plenty of pre-paid and maxicards that you like though.
I don’t know that you would find any in the vintage shops. It would be luck more than anything. You are much more likely to find folded greeting cards.
If you go to the Australia Post website and search Postmarks a page comes up. It shows some Temporary and Permanent postmarks that are available in specific towns in Australia. However there is only 1 special postmark in South Australia and it’s a long way from Adelaide. And there are 2 in Tasmania but they are at the top of the state not down near Hobart unfortunately.
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