Contact
Ask me anything about your postcards
Questions about a card, an album, a family collection or how selling works. I answer every message myself, by email, usually within two business days.
Use this form for general questions. If you already know you'd like to sell, the quote form is quicker: it lets you add photos and the details I need to make an offer.
Prefer plain email?
Write to me directly. Attach a few photos if you have them, and tell me roughly how many cards there are.
mike@ibuypostcards.com
What to expect
I reply by email, usually within two business days. If your question is about a specific card, a photo of the front and back helps me give you a useful answer.
There's never any charge for questions, and asking doesn't commit you to anything. Writing simply to find out what you have is welcome, and I'm happy to help with that.
I don't make sales calls, and I won't add you to any mailing list.
Just so you know who you're writing to: there's no office, no support desk and nobody screening messages before they reach me. Every message lands in my own inbox, and I read and answer it myself. If you send a picture of a card you love, don't be surprised if my reply runs a little long. I enjoy talking about old postcards about as much as anything.
If you write and don't hear back within a few business days, please check your spam or junk folder first, and add my address to your contacts so my replies reach you. Then write again; occasionally an email goes astray, and I'd never want you to think I had ignored you.
Before you write
A few pages may already answer your question:
- What I buy, including what I usually pass on.
- How selling works, step by step.
- What old postcards are worth, honestly.
- How to date a postcard from its back.
- Selling an inherited collection.
- The full FAQ.
And if your question is about a specific card or album, a clear photo of the front and back is worth more than a long description. Two pictures usually let me answer in one reply instead of three.
Other questions I get
Can I bring the collection to you? I buy by mail, which is what lets me buy from every state. The prepaid, insured label makes shipping simple and free for you.
Do you appraise collections for a fee? No. I'm a buyer, not an appraiser, so I don't charge for looking. My quote is what I'd pay. If you need a formal appraisal for insurance or tax purposes, an independent appraiser is the right person.
Do you sell postcards? Not through this site. It exists for buying.
I only have a few cards. Is it worth writing? If they are real photographs or older holiday cards, yes. If it's a handful of later printed views, I'll tell you honestly whether they are worth the trouble of shipping.
Can you help me identify a single postcard I found? Usually, yes. Send a clear photo of the front and back and I'll tell you what I can about when and where it was made, and whether it's the kind of card collectors look for.
Do you buy postcards outside the United States? I buy collections located in the U.S., because the free insured label and return depend on domestic shipping. Foreign postcards that are part of an American collection are welcome.
Will you tell me what you'd pay before I decide to sell? That's exactly what the quote is. It's free, and you're under no obligation.
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
Questions I can usually help with
You don't need to be selling to write. These are the kinds of questions people ask, and I'm happy to take any of them:
- "What's this card?" Send a photo of the front and back and I'll tell you what I can: roughly when it was made, whether it's a real photograph, and anything notable about the subject.
- "Is this album worth anything?" Photograph the cover and a few pages laid flat. I can usually tell whether it's a typical family album or something more unusual.
- "My parent collected postcards. Where do I even start?" The page on inherited collections is a good first read, and then I'm glad to talk through your situation.
- "Should I sell these one at a time or all together?" It depends on how much time you have and what's in the collection. I'll give you an honest view, even if the answer is that you'd do better selling some cards yourself.
- "How should I store the collection until I decide?" Flat or upright in boxes, somewhere dry and away from sunlight. Don't clean them, tape them or stack heavy things on albums.
If I don't know the answer, I'll say so rather than guess.
Photographing a card for a question
A phone photo is all I need. Lay the card on a plain, dark surface near a window in daylight, turn off the flash, and hold the phone straight above it so the card isn't skewed. Take one picture of the front and one of the back, close enough that the card fills most of the frame.
For real photo cards, a slightly angled second shot of the front helps me see the surface sheen. For holiday cards, an angled shot shows the embossing. Attach the photos to your email, or use the contact form to describe the card and I'll reply so you can send the pictures back to me directly.
If you have many cards to ask about, it's usually quicker to use the quote form, which takes up to twelve photos at once and doesn't commit you to anything.
It also helps to tell me where the card came from, if you know: a grandparent's album, an estate sale box, a flea market find. That context sometimes explains a card faster than the picture does, and it makes for a better conversation.
If you aren't ready to sell
Deciding to keep your postcards is completely fine. You might just want to know what you have, be researching a family album or a hometown, or be deciding whether to keep a collection together for the next generation.
I'm glad to help with any of that. Knowing a little about where your cards came from and how collectors see them makes it easier to take care of them, whatever you decide. If you do want to sell later, the quote form will be here, and you can mention that you wrote to me before, so I have the background.
And if you're building a collection yourself and want to compare notes about real photo cards or small-town views, write anyway. Postcard collectors are a friendly bunch, and I never tire of talking about them.
One practical tip while you decide: write down anything you know about where the collection came from, such as who built it, roughly when, and where they lived. That kind of background is easy to lose when a collection changes hands, and it's useful whether you keep the cards or sell them.
There are also a few things I can't help with. I don't provide formal appraisals for insurance, estate tax or donation purposes; for those you need an independent, qualified appraiser who doesn't buy what they value. This site is about postcards; if something mixed in with them might interest a specialist in another field, I'm glad to say so.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take from start to finish?
- Quotes usually go out within two business days of your form. Once you accept, the label arrives by email, and shipping typically takes a few days. Payment goes out within two business days of delivery, so the whole sale is often done in about a week or two.
- Do I need to sort or count the cards first?
- No. A rough estimate is fine: count one album page and multiply by the number of pages, or figure a full shoebox at around eight hundred to a thousand cards. Sorting and counting is my job.
- What if I have no idea what I have?
- That's a very common situation, and it's fine. Describe what you can see in plain words (albums or boxes, roughly how many, black and white photographs or colored prints) and add a few photos. I'll tell you what it is.
- Can I drop the collection off in person?
- I buy by mail, which is how I can buy from every state. The prepaid, insured label makes shipping simple, and you never pay for it.
- 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.