Thoughts on prestamped

Similar to me have you found yourself scratching and it doesn’t come off, it’s prestamped mail. What I’m wondering is everyone’s thoughts on them; do you frown, or do you not mind that much? I assume the sender can strike a bargain when they buy, but does the receiver’s perception outweigh the benefit?

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Canada Post has some very lovely postage-paid cards that I’ve been tempted to buy but I find on Postcrossing people mostly do want real stamps, so I’ve never bought them.

I wish Canada Post would just sell the postcards on their own, but I can understand their appeal if you’re on holiday & you want to send a postcard without buying postal stamps which can be hard or a hassle to find depending on where you are sometimes.

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/shop-magasin/en/stamps-timbres/postcards-cartes-postales.jsf

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I’m not a stamp collector so I wouldn’t mind it. But I’ve found that a lot of Postcrossers do like real stamps.

Personally, I feel that if it’s not too much trouble for the sender, then they should accommodate the receiver’s wishes (even if the receiver wants real stamps). But at the same time, receivers should understand that not everyone has easy access to real stamps so if they get a preprinted one, then they should accept that it was sent in good faith. Basically, people should just be kind to one another. :wink:

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I like them! It’s cool to see what different postal services offer. And I can confirm what @LC-Canada said about the Canadian pre-paid cards; they’re very nice. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I’m a person mentioning that I like stamps on my postcard, but I like those pre paid Canadian postcards a lot! They’re awesome. I only mention stamps, because I don’t like label stamps / meter stamps or those codes written by hand available in some countries.

It would be a shame to miss on those beauties!

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I use the pre-paid Canada Post postcards for some of my postcards. I think most people view them as collectables and they actually have a nice “stamp” on the back (it is printed onto the postcard, but still forms a stamp image). In my years of Postcrossing, I haven’t had anyone complain and most if not all have complimented the nice postcards. To me, the Canada Post pre-paid postcards are fairly unique and can only be found in Canada (other countries have their own versions, but not the same images, etc.).

The pre-paid postcards that I have received from other countries like Australia and China are really nice - so I don’t mind them and it reflects a small part of the local postal system. :slight_smile:

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Belarusian pre-paid cards are rather unique

https://belpost.by/en/philately/catalog?types[]=postcard

But I guess it wouldn’t be comfortable to use them for Postcrossing since you need to write adress on the picture side and you also still need to put extra stamps on it for international delivery.

Don’t mind pre-paid cards btw

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I have received Australian postcards ‘postage paid’ also.
You could always stick on an extra ( used) stamp somewhere to please stamp colletors?

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I wouldn’t mention it in my “thank you” message, but, no matter how much I try to be open-minded, I am almost always disappointed, if there is no real stamp on the snailmail I receive! :pensive:

Especially since I know Canada has super-beautiful stamps and I get them on snailmail virtually never! :frowning:

When I receive prepaid cards from China, there are always real stamps on the cards alongside the printed “stamp” also. That is perfectly fine with me. And also, I get relatively many cards from China and I rarely receive the same stamps twice. That is absolutely fabulous! :fireworks: :sparkler: :sparkles:

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I’m disappointed that Canada Post is not selling new prepaid postcards on their website and they’re quickly running out of existing ones. Our local postal offices only sell Manitoba-specific prepaid postcards, which are not nearly as beautiful as those online. I asked them on social media why this is, but they ignored me.

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Yes Canada Post seems to be pretty miserly, both on the stamp & postcard production front sadly.

An upside this year was they didn’t raise the postal rates, lol

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Here in Oz, a typical tourist card stamped and posted to Europe costs around $4.50. A maximum card incorporating postage world wide, issued by Australia Post can cost as little as two dollars, and prepaid cards bearing no stamp are $2.40. Not surprisingly the cheaper option is popular with postcrossers, and the cards themselves are very attractive.

I like stamps, but as this project is not a stamp exchange I do not get disappointed by prepaid cards, in fact I like them.

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I often - not 100% of the time, but close - get very nice feedback when I send the Canada Post postage-paid cards. I keep a few in stock, but am running out of the Haunted Canada series; alas. More unfortunate, is that Canada Post is no longer carrying the SGang Gwaay, BC - UNESCO World Heritage Site card. :frowning: I have only two left and they are popular in swaps.

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Recently I noticed the change in branding, shown below:

@Inkspell, I think what you have there is an older Canadian prepaid postcard from the Postcard Factory (“PCF”). I don’t believe they are being published anymore as prepaid cards – I looked on their site and couldn’t find any that are postage paid. (I used to own several, but am down to only one now… a dreaded multi :wink: ).

As far as I can find out, the newest prepaid cards are published solely by Canada Post.

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I am fortunate to live near a Canada Post outlet that has a rich trove of Canada Post’s prestamped postcards. They have an atypical selection of prepaid postcards from a number of older series: Canada’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the NHL series of Canadian hockey team jerseys; animals; and an assortment of images related to (downtown) Vancouver, and national icons (Niagara Falls, Rocky Mountains, RCMP officer).

In contrast, a downtown Vancouver Canada Post outlet has the covered bridge series, an older series related to flowers, and the animal series.

For any Canadian Postcrossing users looking for prestamped postcards, it pays to pop into an outlet and see if they have a selection available for sale. It will always vary between Canada Post locations.

I like them for their convenience; write in the message and address and it’s ready to mail. Since they are worth $2.71 CDN, they are good value if you are sending them to the rest of the world. Furthermore, the size is a bit more larger, so they offer a bit more space to write in addresses and personal correspondence. Moreover, I find some series like the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Canadian series are highly sought after by some users as they are printed with the UNESCO WHS logo on the front.

While some appreciate the conventional postcards, I tend to send them out to those with particular preferences in postcard images or are not fussy about stamps on postcards.

I’m curious to know if other countries offer these pre-stamped postcards too. If you are willing to exchange one for a Canada Post pre-stamped postcard, Canada x World Round Robin group is offering a pre-stamped postcard round robin group. We need one more member to sign up; in return, I’d be happy to send you one. If it is popular, perhaps it can repeat again with other Canadian users!

https://community.postcrossing.com/t/canada-x-world-rr-new-group-post-postage-paid-postcards/3148/2

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By prestamped do you mean what we call prepaid (with just the ‘prepaid’ marking where the stamp usually goes)?

Ours retail from Australia Post for $2.40 and can be posted in Australia to anywhere in the world with no further postage applied. This said…I’ve been adding a small denomination stamp to the back of mine…to make it look a bit more enticing :grimacing:.

I have a couple of these prepaid cards already here, and I’ve just ordered some more online too, like these…

I’m not sure how long they will take to arrive though :grimacing:.

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@Tinkatutu

If Postcrossing is based on connections, and not collections, I think there’s a place for these type of postcards in our transactions. Personally, I would want one from Australia; if you sign up for Group 95 Canada x World: Canada Post Prestamped Postcards, I’d be happy to send a Canada Post prestamped postcard in return.

Otherwise, for any of the country round robin groups, a way to gauge interest among users for these postcards is to offer a prestamped/prepaid group. Start off small to determine the engagement and interest level.

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Thanks @mezzanine2. That’s good to know! I might wait until my order of prepaid cards has arrived before committing to any RR. I’ll also see what the other participants are looking for and make sure that I have something to suit their wishes. I haven’t really dabbled in RRs yet (except for the Christmas one). I was too concerned about having enough variety of cards to make everyone happy. My collection is getting bigger now though. So maybe…:blush:.

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I’ve received some postcards from China and I didn’t know it was a pre-stamp before this. I thought it was just like an ornament of stamp to tell where to to stick your stamp :joy::joy:. So they have value, interesting. I wish my country had this type of postcard, it would be so practical, because getting real stamps are hard (only in big post offices or have them ordered online). I personally don’t mind the pre-stamp, I think the sender can always attach used stamps on the card to please the receiver who likes or collect stamps. Also pre-stamp would be so nice for touristic cards you buy and you send during your holidays. Hopefully this will be more of a thing

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