That’s what I mean.
I think that is true in all counties of the USA, but except from USA and Finland I usually get new gummed/moisten glue stamps, although the postal services of many countries (e. g. Germany, Netherlands, Russia) also offer self adhesive stamps etc.
i dont care about the postage , for me , its more about the human connection and message . Some people get very intense about the stamps. but iw ouldnt look twice if i received a postcard with the postal label instead of a stamp.
This! But I think we are in a minority. The more I am on Postcrossing, the less I appreciate stamps because there is so much emphasis on them. Yes, they are part of the postal experience but there is no need to be as fussy as many people are. People don’t use a label because they hate you, they use it because it’s convenient. They might not have the time/desire/wish/inclination to find beautiful stamps. I get stamps when I can but I have labels in my stash too (though ours have a picture so they are not so boring to look at).
As a receiver, I often don’t even look at the stamps. I feel sad when postcrossers make an effort putting a lot of stamps on my card because it is wasted on me, they could use it for someone else.
I like to send postcards - a picture with a message. I need to pay postage to get them delivered. How that postage is paid does not interest me, to me a stamp is a means to an end.
I realise we all differ but it is disheartening to hear all the time about stamps stamps stamps in a place that is not a stamps’ collector website. Even for stamps lover, hopefully they can understand that not everybody has easy access to stamps or cares at all.
Personally, I’m not a true stamp collector, but having once led a tiny high school philatelic club, I’d say that stamp is a sort of graphic after all, just like postcards. When I receive one, occasionally it would feature a topic which I can do some research on. It’s a learning opportunity nevertheless. A philatelist studies the topic the stamp features, so from this perspective, interesting stamps are always appreciated by stamp collectors.
However, I am against overspending just to please somebody. It’s a hobby after all, do what you can afford. If you know where to buy stamps and it doesn’t cost extra (like you don’t have to buy from resellers), go for it, like maybe trying to buy some from your postal service website. Many countries have something like that 
For me, I would buy nice stamps whenever I have the opportunity to do so. I never expect people to do the same for me, but I had heard many nice compliments that I send nice stamps over my past year of postcrossing. Malaysian stamps tend to not disappoint, regardless of whether you collect stamps or not.
Sometimes, if your stamp features an interesting topic, you can even explain about the stamp instead of just the postcard topic. I did it a few times when I have a card that I don’t know what to write about. Of course, the stamp and postcard theme should be similar.
@RalfH I am not a collector.
I am not even a picky person about postcards or kind of stamps 
…
and about connecting… I usually send full written and decored postcards, so, believe me, you are writing those things to the wrong person 
Going back on topic:
“real stamps” are both sticker or gummed, as long as they are the ones issued by a national post, with a theme, and get canceled by a postal mark.
Postcard + stamp + postal mark =
Classic way to receive a postcard.
As part of the postcrossing community, I really do NOT see this as expecting a surplus, but as normality.
Also, where I live, labels are the same price. I do not see any convenience for me.
I (of course!) understand exceptional reasons for others to use P. O. labels (as I wrote on my first reply), but I am glad it does not happen often on the mail I receive.
To find (nice) stamps, it is part of the beauty of this hobby.
Sometimes I use matching colours, sometimes matching themes, the “italian squares” serie (which is the most common stamp in Italy, but still very pretty), and, most of the times, the latest releases, but always real illustrated stamps.
I really have fun with stamps and I am so mad with some workers at my post office for making the purchase unpleasant (see my first post). So, no… I will always avoid the ugly labels!
And… and to not go crazy finding stamps around, I totally recommend online P. O. shops 
That’s it.
End of my 2 cents.6
No, for you came up with the sentence that the usage of stamps is an unwritten law and that is what I refer to.
And, as you see, even the opinions about what a real stamp is, can differ.
As Bodding says, the classic way to receive a postcard is with attractive stamps and a postmark. Unfortunately some postal administrations do make this rather difficult, especially in the case of postmarks. Around half the cards I receive from the USA are not postmarked at all, and the UK Royal Mail often neglects to cancel stamps properly - however in both cases the use instead of biro or marker pen ensures that the stamps are obliterated and the appearance of the card is ruined. Australia Post is also guilty of this vandalism. The forum thread “They ruined my stamps” deals with this sad aspect of modern postal procedure.
Can we agree to disagree?
I have only run across monochrome barcode stamps perhaps three times out of several hundred received cards. If any members have been disappointed as hardcore stamp collectors in receiving my American card, I have received many, many thank you comments for sending “nice” stamps.
When I have gone to the post office to check a weight and I need additional postage for an odd amount, sometimes they add a label with a barcode and I’m secretly annoyed but I think they do it on days when I already have multiple stamps it may just be easier. I secretly want to request stamps only but I don’t want them to hate me because I’m always in there with stamp combinations and probably super annoying.
I prefer to receive stamps over a barcode label but I’m not a collector or anything and just appreciate the effort. If nothing had stamps anymore I would be sad though. Pretty mail makes my day.
Some might get very “intense” about it but if is true Postcrossing and stamp collection go hand in hand, so it does not surprise me. I do understand why some people might not like them, might sound stupid but it takes some “magic” from the process
If people say they like nice stamps, I try to give them nice stamps. If they don’t say anything about it, I use the typical international forever stamp. In the USA, if you use the kiosk to buy postage, you will get little stickers that may have a similar picture to one of the actual stamps, but they won’t be actual stamps. I can easily imagine a particular office running out of a particular denomination of stamp, but they should be able to sell you some other combination. They would not likely put a meter strip on at the counter because the ones we print out wouldn’t fit. If you want a decent postmark, you had better ask them to do it while you watch. At that point you can’t have the cards back, so make sure you are finished with them. And, to answer a previous question, the USA hasn’t made anything but self-adhesive stamps for years now. Any unused stamps since 1800 something are still valid for face value, however, and may be used. I admit that the self-adhesive stamps were not popular with collectors. The public, however, adores them. They don’t want to even lick their own envelopes- always begging for tape.
I avoid the single $1.45 stamp as it’s oversized leaving less room to write addresses. Okay for envelopes I suppose.
Here’s some postage labels from the UK: “post and go” stamps. These are dispensed from a machine with the value printed on the left (e.g. 1st Class, Europe up to 20g). These ones in particular are special editions: they usually have a large Machin profile. What do people think about using these?
We don’t have mail labels here, only “normal” gummed stamps so I never had to choose between the two. But since a few months ago, all of the three closest post offices to me have ran out of 10¢ and 20¢ stamps. This can be a problem because sending postcards locally only costs 10¢ for me and sending postcards to Singapore and Malaysia are only 20¢ normally. But because I am unable to obtain those stamps, i have to use bigger denomination ones. This is not a huge problem because it’s not expensive but I imagine if the cost is more expensive, I would’ve preferred to use mail labels rather than bigger denomination stamps. So I think it would be convenient to have the mail label option.
They are so pretty! I would like these colourful meter stamps!
I don’t like meter stamps but it is not a reason I would not like the card that comes with it.
I say, it’s up to the individual for preference but generally if there is no other option, meter stamp is fine.
Absolutely. I appreciate stamps but it’s the postcard and communication that’s important and I really dislike finding profiles that are so obviously only for the stamps.
It is totally ok. That situation happened to me in Spain and France and everyone that I have sent a postcard with that ugly big label haven’t even mentioned it in the thank you message. So I want to believe that there is more people who cares more about the effort, message and postcard than the stamps, in this community 
luckily!
One of the reasons that I like Postcrossing is the “mystery & magic” of how postal systems operate around the world. I enjoy receiving the “postage meter” labels because they often contain quite a bit of information about the origin of the mailpiece. Don’t get me wrong, I love stamps, too!
