Hi there, newbie here again! I’d like to send special stamps instead of the mundane boring ones, is this ok as long as they add up to the cost for postage? Thanks so much in advance. I believe it’s now £2.20 to post a postcard internationally from the UK.
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Yes of course. I do this all the time. At the moment, I have a postcard downstairs to write, and it has a combination of 4 special stamps that add up to £2.20 on it.
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I guess you can get the special ones cheaper too on eBay etc?
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Philatelink!
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Hi @MartynHst43277
Welcome to Postcrossing - I hope that you have a lot of fun here.
It’s definitely OK to use more than one stamp to make up the value. I always use 2 x first class at the moment as they add up to the international value. I get my commemoratives from the Royal Mail website, but I know others on here use a website called Philatelink (www.philatelink.co.uk) to get them at a discount. I’m just a bit cautious about fakes.
Some friends of mine had ‘to pay’ on something they bought on the internet, which used fake barcoded first class stamps (boring definitives), so they are definitely around already.
As an aside - worldwide, people won’t have stamps with King Charles on them yet, so if these are the ones you can get hold of, many people would love them.
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Suggest no - see my post above. Fakes are a real problem. And e-bay is a source of fake everything!
I believe Philatelink is OK though. But be careful, I think that there was a fake Philatelink website at one time (others in the UK group will chip in on this!) .
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eBay is a bit risky. Some will be genuine, others not. As @Seracker said, Philatelink is really good. I’ve been using them for years.
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Can you get air mail stickers anywhere please so I don’t have to go through the post office every time. Thanks !!!
You don’t actually need an airmail sticker @hst43277 , according to my Postoffice. You can write Air Mail on the card, or if you want them, Amazon and e-bay have stickers. They are not regulated in the same way as stamps, I think, so I have no fear of fakes! But I rarely use one (only if the recipient seems more interested in stamps and stickers than the text of the card) and my cards get to their destination.
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Are airmail stickers strictly necessary these days?
I find that as long as I stick on necessary airmail postage, they will travel by air, with or without the sticker.
I have some local airmail stickers (not country specific) that I can share, let me know if you’re interested
I usually put on 3-4 stamps per postcard sent. Once I’ve used up all the smaller (in monetary value) stamps, I will use 2 first class.
I like to use an air mail sticker. But last year, I went away within England, remembered postcards and stamps but forgot the stickers. All the postcards arrived. I buy mine from eBay.
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You can write “BY AIR MAIL par avion” on the card and it will get there!
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Don’t worry about Airmail Stickers! I have a roll of washi tape that I use instead, sometime it says ‘airmail’, sometimes it’s ‘par avion’, sometimes it’s ‘luftpost’! It’s always been fine - it feels more like a decorative nice-to-have than a necessity these days!
PS. Picture from the olden days of £1.85 postage! £2.20 now 
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Like many countries, Ireland doesn’t issue stamps value X cents anymore, just N for national and W for world. This means that I can’t use more than one stamp anymore as there are none available to add up to €2.20 which is the cost to post outside Ireland. N stamps cost €1.35 so two of those won’t work either.
I sometimes add some old used stamps as well as the new W stamp.
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I’ve seen ads an Facebook for stamps cheaper than at the post office. I’ve always been afraid to buy them for fear they were fake or something. Have you ever bought these cheaper than stamps?
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@Seracker actually no. The USPS discontinued them (Airmail stickers) years ago.
@Florallle that back of your postcard is quite attractive
@DawnMarie3203 I was browsing Facebook last night and saw several of those ads. My advice is stay away from ads/posts that offer current Forever stamps at discount. The chances that they are fake are significant. When I buy older, unused postage, I usually buy it from stamp dealers at shows.
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The King Charles ones have been available online from Royal Mail for some time. People have appreciated having them.
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For many years now, I run a Gratis offer here on Postcrossing. I send members Free postcards. I enclose a postcard (my own) that members return to me stamped and written. The above is one of Brisbane that I recently received.
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There are a lot of fake uk stamps online, some of them are very convincing which is why we have to have the bar coded ones, the special issues ( pictures etc,) are ok. Non barcoded ones with Queen on have to be used by July.
Might I recommend you buy from reputable stamp dealers - I think they can offer a variety of older stamps below face value
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