Selling options compared
The table sums up the seven routes side by side. The sections below go through each one in more detail.
| Option | How you're paid | Speed | Your effort | Fees and costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eBay | Card by card, as each one sells | Weeks to months, and many listings never sell | High: photos, a listing and shipping for every card | Selling fees, payment processing and postage on each sale |
| Delcampe | Card by card, as each one sells | Often slower than eBay for American cards | High: the same listing work as eBay | Free to list, a commission on each sale |
| Postcard dealers | One offer, often only for the cards the dealer wants | Quick, once you find a dealer | Medium: finding a dealer, usually at a show | No fee, but the price leaves room for the dealer's resale profit |
| Postcard shows | Quick offers at the show, or your own sales from a rented table | Only when a show is on near you | High: carrying the collection there, or staffing a table | Table rent if you sell yourself |
| Auction houses | After the sale, minus the auction's cut | Weeks or months after the auction | Low once the collection is consigned | A seller's commission, sometimes photography or lot fees |
| Antique malls and estate sales | Booth sales, or the estate sale company's settlement | Fast, when clearing a house | Low to medium | Booth rent, or the sale company's commission |
| A buyer of whole collections | One payment for everything; with me, by PayPal, Zelle, Venmo or check | About a week or two from first email to payment | Low: a form, a few photos and one box to pack | None with me: free quote, prepaid insured label, free return if you decline a revised offer |
1. eBay
eBay is the largest marketplace for old postcards, and good real photo cards sell there every day. Buyers search by town, state and topic, so a well described card of a small-town main street can find the one collector who wants it.
Best for: individual cards worth roughly ten dollars or more, especially real photo postcards with identifiable places.
Downsides: every card needs its own photos of front and back, a title, a description and shipping. Selling fees, payment processing and postage together take a meaningful share of each sale. Common cards rarely sell one at a time, and a large share of listings never sell at all. For a collection of a thousand cards, it is a part-time job. The eBay guide covers how to do it well.
2. Delcampe
Delcampe is a European-based marketplace built for collectors of postcards, stamps and paper items. Serious postcard collectors use it, including many outside the United States, and listing is free with a commission on sales.
Best for: sellers comfortable listing cards individually who want a collector audience rather than a general one.
Downsides: the same work as eBay, a smaller American audience, and sales that can take longer.
3. Postcard dealers
Dealers buy stock to resell at shows and online. A dealer who specializes in your kind of cards will know their value quickly.
Best for: a mid-sized group of better cards, if you can find a dealer who handles them.
Downsides: dealers buy to resell, so they need room for profit, and many prefer to cherry-pick the best cards and leave the rest. Finding one near you can be difficult, since most work shows rather than shops. The shows and dealers guide explains how to approach them.
4. Postcard shows
Regional postcard clubs and promoters hold shows where dozens of dealers set up tables. You can bring cards to show dealers, or rent a table and sell yourself.
Best for: people who live near a show and enjoy the hobby.
Downsides: shows are seasonal and scattered, and carrying a large collection to one is hard work. Offers at a show tend to be quick and cautious.
5. Auction houses
Regional auction houses and specialist paper and ephemera auctions sell postcard collections, usually in large lots.
Best for: exceptional collections with documented rarities, or collections that are part of a bigger estate sale.
Downsides: the auction house takes a seller's commission, sometimes with photography or lot fees, the result is unpredictable, and payment can take weeks or months after the sale.
6. Antique malls and estate sales
You can rent a booth or hand cards to an estate sale company.
Best for: clearing a house quickly when the postcards are a small part of it.
Downsides: postcards are often priced by the box at a fraction of their worth, and scarce cards go to whichever sharp-eyed dealer arrives first. If a collection is about to go into an estate sale, get a separate quote first.
7. A buyer of whole collections
A collection buyer, like me, quotes the complete collection from your description and photos and pays once for everything.
Best for: whole albums, boxes and estates, especially when you do not know what you have or do not have time to sell card by card.
Downsides: a collection buyer pays less than the eventual retail price of each individual card, because the buyer takes on the sorting, listing, selling and the risk that some cards never sell. What you gain is one fair payment for everything, including the common cards that would not sell on their own, and no work.
How to choose
Ask three questions.
How many cards? Under fifty good cards, selling individually can make sense. Hundreds or thousands, and the work of selling singly usually outweighs the extra money.
What is in it? If the lot is mostly common printed views and later cards, no route will make it worth a lot, and a collection buyer is the only one likely to take all of it. If it is full of real photo cards of small towns, any route can work, and getting a quote first tells you what you are working with.
How much time do you have? Listing, answering questions and shipping a thousand cards takes many weeks. Selling the collection whole takes about a week from first email to payment.
Whatever you decide, two pieces of advice apply everywhere: keep the collection together until someone has looked at all of it, and do not clean or repair the cards.
Questions people ask
What is the best place to sell old postcards?
It depends on the collection. For a few individually valuable cards, an online marketplace usually brings the most per card. For a whole album, box or estate, a buyer of complete collections is usually best, because it is the only route that pays for the common cards and takes no work on your part.
Can I sell old postcards at an antique store?
Some antique shops buy postcards, but most buy cheaply and by the box, since postcards are a small part of their business and they need to resell at a markup. If the cards include real photographs or early holiday designs, get a quote from someone who knows postcards before anything is sold by the box.
Is it safe to mail a postcard collection to a buyer?
Yes, when the buyer provides a prepaid label with insurance and has clear terms in writing. With my quotes, the label is insured for the agreed value, and if a revised offer after inspection does not suit you, the collection comes back at my expense.
How long does selling take?
Selling a whole collection by mail is usually done within a week or two. Listing cards individually can take months, and some will never sell.
Should I sell to the first buyer who makes an offer?
Not necessarily. Get the offer in writing, ask what it covers, and feel free to compare. A fair buyer will not pressure you to decide on the spot.
Sources and further reading
Ready to sell? See how to sell old postcards step by step.