The smallest batch I can have printed is 25, which seems low for (let’s say) 4 people. So, I’ll probably go with 50 if the number of participants stays the same. I suppose I can limit the number of cards per person if more people join on short notice, or if I know a few days ahead of time I can have extras printed. (The printer is just down the street from where I want to host the meetup.)
Also, I haven’t set up an official meetup yet. I have only posted about wanting to host a meetup in the meetup section to test the waters. The area is very small, so I think getting more than 5 participants (excluding yours truly) will already be a marvel.
Speaking of which… - what constitutes a meetup? More than 2 people?
1 - I determine how many cards intend to offer each participant. I have not ever charged or solicited donations for cards, but I have accepted donations if people have offered.
2 - I assume I’ll get ten participants, this then gives me a base number of cards to have on hand (5 each x 10 participants = 50 cards, etc.). I’ve usually gone with ten cards per participant. I usually bump that up some so i have some extras of my own to send , and have some flexibility in the number of attendees i can support.
The trade space here is cost/leftover cards and tediousness.
Cost goes up with more cards (but price per card drops), unless you charge for them
A large number of leftover cards can be hard to get rid of.
Too many cards can be a beast if you are trying to get them all signed.
RSVP and actual attendee numbers are rarely equal; almost always you will not get all of the people who RSVP. Life gets in the way…
Here’s a rough example from the last face-to-face meetup I hosted:
I printed 200 cards with the intent of giving each attendee ten.
I got 12 participants, two of whom wanted less than ten cards and one of whom wanted 20.
All 200 hundred cards got signed by all participants which took a little over an hour.
I should note that for virtual meetups I’ve hosted on Zoom, the numbers are a bit different. I limited the number of cards per person to 6, because that was the maximum number I could send them (had to be sent in this case as it was not face-to-face) and still stay under the 1 ounce maximum for the cheapest postal rate. I also would have significantly larger turnouts for these meetups, sometimes upwards of 40 people. All infall, it depends on what you do, but the basic core concept is the same.
Nice to have some sort of formula to figure out the number of cards. I like the idea of 10 cards per person.
I get what you are saying about the number of participants actually coming to the meetup. In all honesty, I didn’t consider that fact at all. Still too excited at the prospect to think of reality.
Am I ever so glad I hopped on here to ask for help and opinions!!
Yes, always! I set a deadline for ordering and then I order the desired number of cards (rounded) with the printing company. Most German postcrossers do it this way.
Yes, everything else is against the guidelines (at least when they have the logo). As I only order the desired number, I can’t tell what the price will be in the end (ordering more cards makes the individual card cheaper). In the German meetup subforum you will often see something like “25 cents / card max, depending on the total amount” or similar phrases.
Meetup customs heavily vary from country to country. Check what’s common in your area. For German meetups most often the cards are send in advance (or at least offered to send them in advance), so the attendees may prepare them ahead of the meetup.
That is exactly what I meant by ‘selling postcards’. Not for profit, but to defray the cost. I will need such a small number that I will be paying for it out of my own pocket.
If I planned on hosting something local to my area, I’d need a lot of cards! (The meetup I am hoping to organise will be part of my holiday adventure.)
Speaking of which - I’m keeping my eyes glued on the meetup section for something close to me.
If it possible, to pin a meetup in 2 categories? I want to do a Meetup on the germany side of border for the dutch and german ones. Because they ask about it. Its just 2km from the border…
I have downloaded the Meetup Logo and instructions. I have a card design worked out. Now do I need to get it approved before printing up my cards? And do I need to get it approved before posting the Meetup in the Forum? Thanks for any help you can offer.
You can post the meeting here in the forum and also show the picture of your designed card in the topic.
mundoo will check the picture and If something does not correspond to the logo guidelines, then she writes it in the topic.
If everything is ok, she will write the meeting in the calendar on the main page and then you can print the cards.
I just opened a new topic for a very firest meet-up on Sept 30th in Neustadt (Palatinate region). How can I get this event listed with a blue pin on the world map/calender at Postcrossing > Explore > meetups ?
All meeting topics are checked by @mundoo and if everything is in order, i.e. all details are complete, the meeting cards comply with the rules and there are no other complaints, then she adds your meeting to the calendar.
Any questions she may have for you should be answered quickly if possible.
I recently did a meetup at the Snoopy Museum. I considered making a card featuring a photo of the museum, but refrained because I thought it might be a copyright violation.
This is the one I wanted to make if the copyright doesn’t matter:
@mundoo does go through all meetups threads. If it’s OK, she’ll add it to the calendar. If not, she’ll let the host know what needs to be fixed. So there’s no need to ask here to get a meetup added to the calendar.
logo). As I only order the desired number, I can’t tell what the price will be in the end (ordering more cards makes the individual card cheaper). In the German meetup subforum you will often see something like “25 cents / card max, depending on the total amount” or similar phrases.
(The meetup I am hoping to organise will be part of my holiday adventure.)
Attention Postcrossing Team: