This has been on my mind for a while now. But here in the U.S. postcard prices are all over the place. I think the least expensive I have seen them is 20¢ but lately I’m seeing shops wanting $2+ per card. I’m wondering if that’s how it works in other countries too? When I was a child (a long time ago ) postcards almost were always 25¢ each or 5-for-a-dollar no matter where you went.
We travel a lot and typically hit up the airport news stands to scout the “basic” stock and walk away with 15-30 to get our collection for that area started. Recently in Nashville, TN they wanted $2.25 each for super basic ones that weren’t even good quality. Glad I decided that was too much because we ended up finding way cooler antique-inspired ones in a downtown gift shop for ~75¢ each.
So what do you normally pay? And how much is too much for regular run of the mill stock?
In Finland, the average price for a normal size postcard is 1,50€ which is quite a lot if buying many… The prices wary from about 1,20 to 2,50 when bought “new” say from a grocery store, without any sales. Of course you get good deals and have sales in different places but itäs typically pretty expensive to be honest.
In NZ you can find some for 0.50 cents but they tend to range more from $1.50-$4.00 each. It all depends on the artist, style, quality of paper, where you buy them from, etc.
I really don’t buy many US postcards these days. If I go to a postcard show, I will sort through the $0.25 boxes and pick out some for swaps or my own collection. You are going to get hosed buying postcards at retail, unless you are in a very touristy area.
I sell modern postcards in my online store. Very popular topics liked Lighthouses, Maps, various states, etc. Generally, cards are $0.49 each and I offer flat-rate shipping for any number of postcards you buy that are shipped in the same package. Here is the link if you are interested:
How much you would pay for an average postcard and how much on average you would pay for postcards are two subtly different questions. If you’re wondering about average payment, the link in one of the earlier posts is a good reference.
As for how much I would pay for an “average postcard”, probably not more than 50¢. Anything above that would either need good quality paper stock or a theme that I really like.
In Canada it costs $2.71 to send a postcard overseas, so I mostly look for economical cards here. Otherwise I could easily spend $5 or more per card, which I cannot afford if I wish to have lots of cards travelling at a time.
Tourist cards can be purchased for 35 to 50 cents each, but many of the available cards are frankly rather ugly, so it takes some looking around to find attractive ones. I also like to buy postcards from charity shops, where such cards are typically 15-25 cents each. As they are donated and are about as random as it’s possible to be, they offer much greater variety in subject matter! I’ve also bought cards from Zazzle.ca, which has a good range of Canadian cards. My only criticism there is that the cards are printed with a matte finish, which means the colours look somewhat desaturated.
The other option (which I really recommend!) is buying postage-paid postcards from Canada Post. You can get beautiful Canadian landscape postcards for the cost of an international stamp, so effectively the card itself is free. The only issue there is (1) they don’t have cards showing my city, which is something a lot of recipients want , and (2) because postage is included, there isn’t actually a stamp on the card, which may disappoint those Postcrossers who actively want stamps!
In short, there is no perfect single solution, but there are still some good options so hopefully I can find something that’s just right for each of my recipients.
For me in Lincoln, U.K. I can pay as little as 10p, at Oxfam bookshop they’re 20p a postcard. Also I’ve been lucky to buy a whole shoebox full for £5 so that works out to just 1p a postcard.
It all depends on where I buy a postcard as to how much it’ll cost…
I’m learning to look around. 30p to 70p for touristy type cards is normal in UK. Ive bought newly printed on internet to gain variety e.g. cats but with postage they can add up. EBay is a good source of unused cards even if some years old they are mostly in perfect order & can be interesting/unusual. Amazon have packs of themed cards which are good value but you have a lot with one theme…It’s becoming a side hobby - happy hunting
I buy all of mine in secondhand shops - environmentally friendly and cheap. They range from 5 - 15 cents a piece. I also keep suitable sections of food packaging for the postcrossers who like those, which is free.
AUD$
I try to pick them up at op shops for my collection. So .20-.50c… if buying new $3-5. Or maybe a postcard book/set which usually works out around $2 each.
I buy all my postcards online since very little places sell them here. Postcards are sold around IDR 2500-4500 (USD 0.17-0.31), most are sold at IDR 3000 (USD 0.21). Indonesia Post also sells postcards at this price.
You can also get cheaper postcards but they are usually postcard books. I got one that has 100 cards for IDR 95000 (USD 6.59)
Ganz unterschiedlich, mal second hand für 5 Cent mal 1.50 Euro für besondere Wünsche von Postcrossern. Dafür ist aber unser Porto finde ich sehr teuer zur Zeit 95 Cent, ab Januar 1,10Euro glaub ich. Das ist kein günstiges Hobby. Aber es macht riesen Spaß!
In India, few shops sell postcards, unless you are in a tourist spot. So, I buy all the cards online.
The prices range between Rs 10 to 40 ( $ 0.13 to 0.52). The cost of sending overseas is Rs 12 ( around $ 0.15) irrespective of region.
Hello,
I work at a Welcome Center and Museum. We sell post cards for Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska. Our cards are .35 cents a piece or 3 for one dollar. When I joined Postcrossing, I chose different cards from the area, but now I have bought cards from Etsy, and I don’t mind paying for homemade cards to support small businesses. Thanks for letting me speak
Hi, for me it ranges from nothing (ad cards) to 2 Euro (rarely). My favorite is sending my own cards printed for about 0,80 Euro each (just small series of 10 to 20 cards).
And I have a huge enough stock at hand from all the years before postcrossing, I don’t know the costs anymore.
Already gave away a lot I knew I will never send (because I have too much).
So to me it’s more the cost of sending 0,95 Euro per card. And that’s what I use to calculate how many cards I can send.
I participate in Postcrossing and also sell postcards! I have over 100 models published, some of which cannot be shipped outside the envelope!
The most expensive ones cost around $0.90!
Hugs, Reginaldo.
) postcards almost were always 25¢ each or 5-for-a-dollar no matter where you went.
, and (2) because postage is included, there isn’t actually a stamp on the card, which may disappoint those Postcrossers who actively want stamps!
so hopefully I can find something that’s just right for each of my recipients.
