Sometimes I use a combination of what I have on hand: two Forever stamps, and a twenty cent stamp. I’m out of the twenty cent ones now, so today I used the school bus which is 24 cents I think.
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@wmiz77 this forum thread is interesting and fun to look at too. There’s lots of US members who use combinations of current, readily available stamps.
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Thanks 
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I like seeing different stamps, but: I also love the modest, elegant look of postcard having only one stamp, address and the message. It has a timeless, precious feel 
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Also, the global stamp changes. When I look older cards. there has been moon, poinsettia and some succulent. All these are round, so I like seeing that the shape stayes the same, but image changes.
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The choice of stamps found on postcard is not an issue.
I don’t mind if you only have definitives stamps.
A written and stamped card is fine as it is.
The extra effort to add variety to stamps is consider a bonus to me.
I’m a stamp collector by the way.
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Whenever you’re ready to go outside the current USPS offerings, there is a whole thread about it here:
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Just some observations. First when it comes to postcards, it is the picture that is collected. However there is great appeal concerning the stamps used on the message side. I have many thousands of postcards that are stamped & written. On Sunday, I picked up this item at a stamp show; a mailed viewcard from Greenland:
I also think that with PostCrossing you need to take some initiative. Asc @roxsm and @samquito noted there are options to get some stamp varieties on your mail. Here is a envelope that I mailed involving a private swap to a member in the Mideast:
I bought the Forever stamps from USPS stamp fulfillment in Kansas City; the other commemoratives were purchased at a major stamp show last year here in NJ.
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I love to use the higher value Forever stamps – A 2oz Forever stamp (87 cents), a Forever postcard stamp (48 cents) and a Pear (10 cents) make a nice 3-stamp combo. At least until the rates go up in July.
Another option that I know not all of us have is to print an address label. My handwriting is atrocious, and big, so printing labels saves me space for stamps and/or stickers.
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Postcrossing is about connecting not collecting, so you don’t need to meet anyone’s wishes - not for stamps or postcards - but at the same time, trying to meet those wishes (when they’re reasonable) can be part of the “connecting” experience, especially if you don’t have much in common to write about.
Sometimes I’ve received cards where the message was totally boring to me, but if they at least used a card and/or stamp on a theme that interests me, it still feels like they made an effort to connect.
When I draw a profile that politely mentions a love of nice stamps, or that mentions a love of something I have an image of on a stamp, like “birds” or “whales” I use two domestic forever stamps and two 10 cent pear stamps to add up to enough postage, not because I’m trying to build out anyone’s stamp collection, but because I feel the extra effort adds a nice personal touch.
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I’m from the US and so whenever I do international swaps I just use the Global stamps because it’s easier. There’s only been a few instances where I’ve put multiple and different stamps on an international swap. The first was because the person I was swapping with was making a bit of a deal about it and sent a screenshot of what they do and don’t want. The other instance was because I wanted to because the person I was swapping with was being really nice and understanding and so I wanted to make the postcard a little extra special.
Other than that, I usually (with Facebook postcard swaps) give two options for how they want their postcards. Written on and with a stamp, or blank and/or written on but in an envelope, that way I can avoid the hassle of people picking what stamps they want.
As someone from the US I unapologetically use only the postcard stamps for the us cards and the global stamps for the international cards. I would rather have the space to write the address and a note than use a bunch of different stamps.
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My issue with the Global Forever stamps are that they are oversized, leaving less room to write longer addresses to some countries needing several lines.
I have a preference for two Forevers and additional postage to show the diversity of our country, both nature and people.
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I am completely the opposite…I like stamps and my message is pretty generic
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No! A Global Forever stamp is fine. Unfortunately there is only a very small variety of them, that is why some U.S. users use a combination of two USA Forever stamps and some face value stamps to get to the required postage of US$ 1.45 (and soon US$ 1.50).
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@Rainlion apparently you can only use postcard stamps if the postcard itself is
At least 3-1/2” high X 5” long X 0.007” thick. No more than 4-1/4” high X 6” long X 0.016” thick. Have finished corners that do not exceed a radius of 0.125
If it’s any larger you are technically supposed to use forever stamps. I end up always usingg .63 cents on all my domestic cards since I’m paranoid they might not make it to the destination.
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I like the global stamps instead of first class stamps. I have more space to write. Most of the time I over pay with 2 first class and a rabbit which is $1.52.
Then I started putting 3 postcard stamps @.48 cents and a 1 cent stamp which totals to $1.45 exactly. They are all small enough and do not take up too much space.
But I echo many on this thread, it is about connecting not collecting.
Do your best and make sure you have fun. Don’t worry about what people want, they’ll eventually have their wishes come true, maybe not from you, but from someone out there.
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Would love to emphasize on one thing too:
If the message (and card) is great, not those one line salutations, often times I believe even with the common flower stamp it’s okay.
Senders all around the world puts effort into writing their cards, so some people use nicer stamps (with beautiful postmarks too at times!), some write longer messages. It depends. As long as the recipient is able to see the effort into the card it’ll be wonderful.
I think non-stamp collectors wouldn’t really consider a nice stamp as effort as much as stamp collectors, though, based on what I read on this thread, it’s okay.
I believe that when you receive a card, seeing human touch on it is the most important. Wanting to see nice stamps on the card doesn’t make you a “stamp collector that is hard to please” (that is insulting imo), it’s just that if you have the opportunity to use nicer stamps, go for it.
Borderline would be that the message doesn’t have any substance. I rarely see that type of cards here, most of these are from Facebook swaps, not sure why. Also don’t send a blank card if the receiver didn’t ask for it 
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Thank you everyone! I did purchase a bunch of stamps, and I had A LOT to send out between RR and regular exchange.
Some got the global stamp, and some got 2 forevers and extra stamps to get to $1.45. For US, some got postcard stamp and some got all other stamps. Honestly it came down to space on the postcard. Some only had room for the global stamp.
I did learn to figure out stamp placement BEFORE writing the address though 
I tend to write A LOT in that small space. I try to find things to connect with per the profile description and try to match the postcards to their likes.
Those who like washi, art, stickers got that.
Anyone who specifically mentioned stamps, got unique stamps if it fit.
I think that’s the best I can do. I have to just let it go and hope the recipient is brought some joy. If they aren’t happy, it’s out of my control and I really really tried to the best of my ability.
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And that’s the most important thing 
For a while I was annoyed at the fact that sometimes when I mailed out stuff, the recipient did not acknowledge that they had gotten it.
I mean, if someone had taken the time and effort to send you something, least you could do is spend 30 seconds saying something along the lines of it reached, thank you.
But then I let it go.
All I could do was ensure that I prepared the item well and stuck on enough postage.
And asked for them to let me know when the item has arrived.
Whether or not they proceed to acknowledge receipt, that is something I can’t control, so I learnt to live with it.
That’s life isn’t it - things won’t always go one’s way so one has to learn to ride the waves.
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Yeah, I think PC is going to help me grow as a person Patience, letting go of expectations, working through the need to people please……all good things.
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