Welcome to Postcrossing. As several members have noted here, when starting out you might want to send postcards of a general nature. Wish lists on profiles are nice - but they are just that. Don’t assume that people will toss your card into the trash.
There are a wide variety of sources for postcards. If you want additional information, send me a private message.
I’m one month in and i love it
I also look at their profile if i have what they like 
i send it.
However if i don’t …i just shut my eyes 
and pick from the ones i bought from Amazon, Cracker Barrel and Taylors Book 
and I don’t worry 
about people throwing them away
Hi @laurenthomasv, I moved your question over here, where similar questions have been discussed previously.
Enjoy Postcrossing!
Many people like to get a card with the US-State name, state capitol, state bird and/or state flower on it. So maybe it is a good idea to have four or five cards of them availabe as a beginner.
I had purchased some boxes of postcards for the Reddit community I belong to, but after joining Postcrossing I did go on Etsy and find some local artists who make Canada/BC designs. It can get pricey though so I’ll try and go through the large pile I already had on hand unless someone’s wishlist doesn’t line up with them at all, in which case I’ll send a Canada one. 
If it is super duper specific request hard to find, then I choose closest possible from my stash.
But if it is something which is easy to find, then I purchase it when I can. Then, it arrives it’s destination a bit later than usual ofc, but I guess that’s fine.
I tend not to. I try to see if I have something in my stash. Right now, I’m working through a box of 100 Disney related postcards. I also have a book of about 15 postcards from my city for people who like photography and touristic cards. They have been sold at a local drugstore for years so I can easily buy them again once I run out.
I try to fit people’s preferences as much as I can with what I have. The Disney box for example, has quite a few themes in it. Art, animals, people… all are included in the cards.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the time and money to purchase individual postcards for everyone.
The next time I run out of cards, I will try to purchase them based on the most common preferences I see. Hopefully this will match many people’s wishes.
Same for me… Now I’ve most of the popular themes… Initially, when you have a smaller stash, I’d suggest buy the more popular themes until your collection gets bigger, so you can fulfill most of the postcrosser’s wishes. Here’re the themes “I” consider popular → Lighthouse, Maps, Recipes, Flags, Flowers, Birds, Animals, Art, Reading, City Views with name on the front, Illustrated postcards, Beaches, Cats/Dogs
We use Postcrossing to augment our travels. Typically when we land we hit up the airport newsstand to get an assortment, and then look for postcards while we are out and about at giftshops. Once we have a good variety we do our best to match items to the interests of those we are paired with. Sometimes we are lucky, other times we are not. We do get a kick out of playing matchmaker and recently started getting creative with stamp combos too.
In my case, I have received requests to purchase some postcards, in some cases with the maximum number of stamps for the value of the shipment.
Over the years I bought certain themes which I read again and again in profiles. But I don’t do it with every single theme.
I have a huge stock of cards (all in all about 2,000 different motifs) and still cannot please everyone. But I don’t have to. I have to send a (real) postcard and that’s it.
Hey there- I am curious!
When I select postcards, I try to choose something from my area that shows where I live or my country. I have been doing this since I am interested in learning about other places and cultures.
However, it seems that many others buy postcards based on their interests to send to others that share their same interests. OR keep things on hand that are requested on profiles/popular.
What do you do? I have been thinking about getting some Harry Potter postcards or some Queens postcards to send, for example, instead of local postcards. I dont have many options near me so will be purchasing online.
Do you buy postcards based on…
Your interests?
Popularity?
Your area?
The whole shebang?
Thank you for your feedback!
Mostly I buy what I like. I have mostly box sets that I can usually find something to suit most folks (honestly because they are so much cheaper). I’m not a huge fan of tourist cards, but those I do buy occasionally because I know they’re usually popular, and they’re easier for me to get at my local drug store.
Caveat being, I’m considering buying LouPaper just based on popularity 
I live in a tourist area, but the available cards are variations on a theme, slightly different but not a lot. So, my outgoing wall would look pretty monotonous quickly. I’ve made some Zazzle cards of my photos, as well as buying a few dozen “random” ones at Etsy - the latter varying from amazing to “I hope I can get rid of this one sooner than later.” My last couple of addresses had long lists… where I really couldn’t match anything in either case. So, a “city view” card for each.
I draw the line at buying a Disney collection, etc. to keep on hand.
I buy postcards online (and sometime offline nearby art-market). I always buy postcards that match my liking 
. The themes mostly are : something about my country (viewcard & illustration), and some cats theme
I don’t really buy postcards with themes that I don’t fancy, eventhough they’re on demand such as series, postcard box, and other themes I don’t really like to receive myself
I’d end up with too many postcards I don’t know where and when to send if I buy postcards based on what other members like (and ofc I have to spend more cash)
When I started postcrossing I had a big mixed lot that I purchased from Pomegranate (now I think the deal is $14.95 for a mystery assortment of 100) at the advice of one of my art history college professors (I used some of them for postcard games in my classroom, but many of the images didn’t work for that and I kept in a box at home…I don’t send out the ones used with my students), a few artist postcard books, and some postcards from my state that I bought at tourist shops. Then I had a few years away from postcrossing and restarted during the pandemic…now I have over 2000 cards purchased online (from Etsy artists [a few from my state that allowed me to do curbside pickup instead of shipping] and from places around the USA that have online giftshops…many places that I want to support while still being pretty stuck at home like the Eric Carle Museum, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Guthrie Theater, some book arts centers, and more, and some boxed sets. I find that for most people I can find something that I like that they also like 
so I don’t buy cards that I don’t like or specific cards for specific people who I am sending to.
2000 
. While it’s good to support local business and artists, I would be very confused with 2k postcards, especially where to find certain theme because I’m a messy person 
I salute postcrossers who manage their empty cards neatly based on themes
I often buy artist sets…so like 6 of the same card and then you save some money per card 
This is my only hobby right now because my family has essentially isolated at home for the last 2 years due to a high risk family member. I have 4 postcard totes with dividers that my husband got me for my birthday to keep all of my cards organized. And my oldest kid also does Postcrossing, so these cards are a collection for both of us to use! Stuck home for 2 years…postcards are my relaxation and stress relief for now!
Ooh thanks for mentioning Pomegranate- never heard of it and it sounds right up my alley! What a great deal!
