About me
A collector who buys collections
Hi, I'm Mike Ferreira. Vintage postcards are my passion, and buying whole collections lets me spend more time with the cards I love while giving their owners a fair, simple way to sell. It's just me here: one collector, not a company.
Why postcards
Small windows into everyday America
What draws me to old postcards is how ordinary they were. They were never meant to be history. Someone bought a card of the depot to tell a cousin they had arrived safely, or mailed home a view of the hotel where they stayed. A photographer set up a camera on main street because people would buy pictures of their own town. A century later, those cards are often the only record of what a place looked like and how people lived there.
Real photo postcards are where my heart is. I love the plain gray ones that look like nothing at first: a creamery crew lined up in their aprons, a dirt street with one Model T and a dog asleep in the road, a one-room school with every child squinting at the camera. Each one is a moment somebody thought was worth keeping. Holding one, reading the message on the back, and working out where and when it was taken never stops being a thrill.
Buying collections lets me see far more cards than I ever could at shows or one listing at a time. Every album has its own story, put together by someone with their own interests, travels and hometown. Going through one is my favorite part of the work.
I'm based in Sarasota, Florida, and I buy by mail from every state. All of it, from reading your description to writing the quote and checking the cards when they arrive, is done by me.
How I deal
Four things I hold to
Plain speaking
Honest about value
If most of a collection is common, I'll say so, and explain where the real value sits.
In writing
No surprises
The quote, any change to it and the payment all arrive by email, so you always have a record.
Free both ways
No cost to you
Prepaid insured labels to send the cards, and a free return if a revised offer doesn't suit you.
Careful hands
Cards treated well
Albums stay intact while I review them, and cards are stored flat and dry, away from light.
Why I buy whole collections
A collection tells me more than any single card. The way someone filled an album, the towns they focused on, the holidays they saved: it all helps me understand and value what's there, and it means the common cards aren't left behind for the family to deal with.
It's also simply better for the seller. You don't have to pick through boxes deciding what might be valuable, and you don't end up with a pile of leftovers nobody wants. One collection, one quote, one payment.
There's a personal reason too. Collectors know what happens when collections are broken up carelessly: the bright cards sold off, the plain old photographs thrown out, an album that took someone a lifetime scattered in an afternoon. Buying a collection whole is my small way of making sure the cards that matter most aren't the ones that get lost.
It doesn't mean I only buy huge collections. A modest album with a few good real photographs is just as welcome as a room full of dealer boxes. What matters is that I see the cards together, the way the person who saved them kept them.
Where the cards go
Every card gets looked at. Some I keep for my own collection, especially real photo views of small towns. Many go on to other collectors who focus on a particular state, topic or holiday, and who are thrilled to fill a gap they have been looking for. Local history collectors and family researchers find a good number of them too.
The best part is knowing that a card someone cared about a century ago ends up with someone who cares about it again.
I keep a note of where each collection came from, by state and by the kind of person who built it, though never your name or address once the sale is done. It's a small habit, but provenance matters to collectors, and "from a family album assembled in western Pennsylvania" is a better story than "from a box".
The cards I love most
Ask any collector about their favorites and you'll be there a while, so I'll keep it short.
I have a soft spot for real photo cards of general stores, the ones with the owner standing in the doorway and the porch stacked with barrels and crates. Depot views with the whole town waiting for the train come a close second. I love bird's-eye views taken from a church steeple, where you can see every house in a village at once, and I'll always stop for a good occupational card: a blacksmith at the forge, a creamery crew, a telephone operator at the switchboard.
I also enjoy the messages. A card that says "This is the hotel where I stayed, the food is terrible" or "Arrived safe, the baby is fine" connects you to a real person in a way no museum label can.
That enthusiasm is why I care about getting the price right. I know what these cards mean to collectors, and I want the people selling them to feel they were treated fairly.
How I look after cards
Cards that come to me are handled the way I handle my own collection. Albums are opened on a clean table and turned carefully, never forced flat. Loose cards are sleeved or stored upright in archival boxes, away from sunlight, heat and damp. I don't trim, clean, flatten or alter cards in any way, because their condition and originality are part of what collectors value.
When cards go on to other collectors, they are packed the way I ask sellers to pack them: upright, snug, protected from moisture, in sturdy boxes. A card that has survived a hundred years deserves to survive the next trip too.
What I'm not
I'm not an auction house and I don't take collections on consignment. You won't wait months for cards to sell and then receive a percentage. I buy the collection outright, at the price you accepted, and pay you within two business days of its arrival. I'm also not an appraiser: my quote is a buying offer, not a formal valuation for insurance or tax purposes. That keeps everything simple and clear.
And I'm not a company or a group of buyers. There are no partners, employees or investors behind this site, just one collector who loves old postcards and enjoys finding them good homes.
You never pay to ship, and you never sell at a price you didn't agree to
Once you accept the quote, I email a prepaid, insured shipping label. When the postcards arrive I go through them and pay you within two business days.
If what arrives is different from the photos and my offer has to change, you can say no, and I ship everything back to you at my expense.
- PayPal
- Check by mail
- Zelle
- Venmo
Frequently asked questions
- Who are you?
- I'm Mike Ferreira, a passionate vintage postcard collector based in Sarasota, Florida. I buy old postcard collections by mail from all over the United States, and I personally review every submission. More on the about page.
- Why do you buy whole collections instead of picking out the best cards?
- Because a collection is easier to judge as a whole, the common cards aren't left behind for you to deal with, and you get one simple payment. Cards pulled out of an album also lose context that collectors value.
- What happens to the postcards after I sell them?
- Every card gets looked at. Some I keep for my own collection, and many go on to other collectors who focus on a particular state, town, topic or holiday. Local history collectors and family researchers end up with a good number of them.
- Are you a dealer or an appraiser?
- I'm a collector and a buyer. I don't charge for looking at a collection, and my quote is what I'd pay. If you need a formal written appraisal for insurance or tax purposes, an independent appraiser is the right person.
- Do you buy small lots or single cards?
- My focus is collections and large lots, but a smaller group of good real photo postcards, early holiday cards or strong topicals is welcome. A handful of common printed views usually isn't worth shipping, and I'll tell you so honestly.
- How do you pay?
- By PayPal, Zelle, Venmo or check by mail, whichever you prefer. Payment goes out within two business days of the box being delivered to me, and I email you when it's sent.
A question first?
Ask before you send anything
Not sure the collection is worth a quote, or what to photograph? Just ask. Every message comes straight to me, and I answer each one myself.