How it works
Selling your postcards, start to finish
The whole sale happens by email and mail. You describe the collection, I quote it, you ship it free, and I pay you. Here's every step, including what happens if you and I don't see eye to eye.
In one paragraph: fill in the quote form with a description and some photos. I reply by email, usually within two business days, with an offer. If you accept, I email a prepaid, insured shipping label. When the box arrives I check the cards against your description and pay you within two business days by PayPal, check, Zelle or Venmo. If the cards turn out different from your photos and you don't like my revised offer, I ship them back at my cost.
Step one
Describe the collection
Roughly how many cards, what kinds, what era, how they are kept, and up to twelve photos. Ten minutes is plenty.
Step two
Get a written quote
I study the photos and description and reply by email with a number and a short note on what drove it.
Step three
Ship it on my label
Accept the quote and I email a prepaid, insured label. You pack the box and hand it to the carrier.
Step four
Get paid
Within two business days of arrival, by the payment method you chose. Or a free return if you'd rather not sell.
What happens at each step
When you send the form
You get an on-screen receipt with a reference number, and the details come straight to me. I read every submission myself. Nothing is owed, nothing needs to be packed, and you haven't agreed to anything.
When I quote
Most quotes go out within two business days. For a big estate with many albums I may ask for a few more photos first, usually of album pages laid flat or of the cards in a particular box. The quote is a single number for the whole lot as described, with a sentence or two on what I saw: "about 120 real photo cards of Ohio towns, the rest printed views" is the kind of note you can expect.
Take your time deciding. If you want to compare offers, that's your right.
When you accept
Reply to the quote email to accept, and tell me how you want to be paid. I send a prepaid, insured shipping label sized to what you described. For several boxes you get one label per box. Please send the collection complete, exactly as you described it: the quote covers the whole collection, so cards removed after the quote change the offer. The packing note beside this section covers the essentials.
When the box arrives
I open it, count and look through the cards, and compare them with your description and photos. If everything matches, payment goes out within two business days of delivery and you get an email saying it has been sent.
If something doesn't match
Occasionally a collection turns out different from the photos: more damage than was visible, or a part of the collection that didn't make it into the box. If that changes my offer, I explain why by email and give you a revised number. You can accept it, or decline, and I ship everything back to you on my label and my insurance. You're never out of pocket for having asked.
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
Fair dealing
What you can count on
These are the rules I hold myself to on every collection, large or small.
In writing
Every offer by email
You always have the number in writing, with a reason, before anything ships.
Insured
Covered in transit
The label I send carries insurance for the full price you accepted, so the risk on the road is mine.
Prompt
Paid in two business days
Counted from the day the box is delivered, not from when I get around to it.
Reversible
Your cards back, free
If a revised offer doesn't suit you, the whole lot comes home at my expense.
How you get paid
You choose the method when you accept the quote:
- PayPal to the email address you give me.
- Zelle to your bank email or phone number.
- Venmo to your username.
- Check by mail to the address you give me.
Payment goes out within two business days of the box being delivered to me. I email you when it's sent, with the amount and the reference number, so you have a record for your own files.
Very large collections
A collection of ten or twenty thousand cards isn't unusual. It just takes a little more conversation. I may ask for photos of each box or album, and the quote may arrive a day or two later than usual.
Shipping works the same way, only with more labels: one prepaid, insured label per box. Ship the boxes together so they arrive together, and I check and pay for the whole collection at once.
If you're handling an estate and the collection is one part of a larger cleanout, the page on inherited collections covers the questions executors and families usually ask.
The same is true of collections in difficult places: a storage unit across the country, a relative's house you can only visit once, or an attic that's hard to reach. Tell me about the situation on the form and I'll help you work out a sensible plan before anything is packed.
Three mistakes to avoid when selling
Cleaning the cards. Wiping, erasing or washing an old postcard almost always does more harm than good. Dust and age toning are expected on cards this old. Scrubbing removes surface sheen from real photos, lifts color from lithographed cards and flattens embossing. Leave them exactly as they are.
Breaking up the collection first. It's natural to want to pull out the cards that look best before asking for an offer, but the plainest cards are often the most valuable, and an album with its pages intact is easier to judge. Ask for a quote on the whole collection, exactly as it is, and ship it complete.
Packing loose and light. Postcards are tougher than they look, but a box with room to shift lets stacks fall over and corners bend. Stand them upright, fill every gap, and if albums are going in the same box, put them flat on the bottom with the loose cards above. Five extra minutes of packing protects the value of the whole collection.
Avoid those three and the rest of the process takes care of itself.
Frequently asked questions
- How does selling my postcard collection work?
- You fill in the quote form with a description and, ideally, a few photos. I reply by email, usually within two business days, with an offer for the whole collection. If you accept, I email a prepaid, insured shipping label. When the box arrives I check the cards and pay you within two business days by PayPal, check, Zelle or Venmo.
- 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.
- What if the collection is not what I described?
- It happens, usually because damage wasn't visible in photos or part of the collection was left out. If that changes my offer, I explain why by email with a revised number. You can accept it, or decline and have everything returned free.
- How do I pack the postcards?
- Leave albums closed and cards in their sleeves or boxes. Stand loose cards upright in bundles held with paper bands, fill empty space with crumpled paper, bag them if rain is possible, and tape every seam. Then attach the label I send. The how it works page has more detail.
- Is shipping insured?
- Yes. The prepaid label I send carries insurance for the full price you accepted, so the risk while the box is in transit is mine, not yours.
- What if I do not like the offer?
- Then you simply say no. Before anything ships, declining costs nothing. After the cards arrive, if what I find differs from the description and my offer changes, you can decline the revised offer and I ship everything back to you free, insured.
A question first?
Something here you want to ask about?
Send a question about a card, an album or a whole estate. You don't need to be ready to sell to ask.