FAQs

The postcards on my site are from a wide variety of artists, publishers, wholesale suppliers, and postcard sets. While many postcard designs can generally only be bought at a brick-and-mortar retail shop, or in a large set of similar designs, I aim to offer a unique postcard shopping experience that lets people mix and match from different sets, styles, and suppliers to curate their own personalized postcard selection based on the designs they and their recipients will love most. Each listing notes the postcard’s artist and publisher on the product page, and for anyone searching for a complete set of a certain kind, they can easily find and purchase that set in full elsewhere online.

That said, for most artists and publishers, it’s not worth the trouble of selling postcards one at a time given their low price point; this is why postcards are so commonly sold in large packs of similar or identical designs. Personally, I love variety and would rather choose a few favorite cards from each set than buy 50 of one kind, so that’s what I aim to offer others through my online postcard shop!

I started this online postcard shop because as a consumer, I got frustrated by websites claiming to sell postcards for a dollar or less, then adding five times that much in shipping at checkout. I price my postcards higher per card in order to offer free shipping on all orders—I feel that it’s a better buying experience to know up-front what you’re going to pay, even if it initially looks more expensive this way.

While you might see faded photo postcards on sale for $0.25 in a rack across the street from any given tourist attraction, I only source and sell postcards of decidedly higher quality. I search for sturdy, beautifully-designed cards printed on premium paper stock, and I support small business owners and independent artists by purchasing directly from them wherever I can.

This store is also designed for variety and to let you pick your favorites—while it’s certainly cheaper to buy postcards in large pre-packaged sets, doing so tends to get you some cards you really like as well as several you’re less excited about. Since I personally enjoy having more variety and sending handpicked cards to friends and family that I know each person will love, my shop is designed to let you select the cream of the crop according to your own personal needs and taste.

Additionally, my site caters to anyone looking for a single specific postcard—for instance, a certain national park—who doesn’t want to buy a full set in order to get it. In those cases, it’s cheaper to spend a little more on the one card you actually want than to buy a full set just to get that one.

For those who still feel the pricing is too high, please note that buying five or more postcards unlocks cheaper pricing sitewide—and you’ll still see the free shipping at checkout!

We recently reorganized our postcard collections to make it easier for you to find exactly what you’re looking for! From national parks to glow-in-the-dark postcards, browse all of our collections here.

Still too much to choose from? Check out our monthly postcard subscriptions instead! We curate stunning arrays of three, five, or ten premium postcards per month, stamps included.

Subscriptions feature some of the same types of cards in our shop alongside a much wider variety of beautiful, high-quality cards that we don’t always have a chance to list for sale individually. These may include smaller-run art print postcards, designs from international postcard sets, and more!

Follow this link to access your subscription dashboard. For more information on pausing or cancelling, see our Subscription FAQs section below.

Always!

The Postcard Maven
3131 Cherrywood Ave.
Bellingham, WA 98225

I support the USPS by sending most orders in an envelope using standard postage stamps, and while I can’t provide tracking information this way, this has proven to be a very dependable shipping method. If for some reason you don’t receive your cards in a timely manner, please let me know!

All but the largest orders are packed in a clear compostable sleeve and shipped in a 5×7 envelope. These orders almost always arrive in pristine condition, without any damage or bent corners. If you ever receive a shipment that has been damaged in transit, simply send me an email with a picture and I’ll be more than happy to ship you a replacement order right away!

My postcard shop now accepts international orders! I love being able to share cards from the US market with snail mail enthusiasts everywhere from The Netherlands to Israel to New Zealand.

Please note that shipping times for international orders are completely dependent on local mail systems, and in some countries may take several weeks to arrive. For international orders, I offer a tracked shipping option in addition to my standard (untracked) free shipping, so those who would like to know where their postcards are in transit can choose this option at checkout as needed.

My monthly postcard subscriptions are currently only open to US subscribers, but if you live somewhere else and are interested in subscribing, please do drop me a line—not only will I work on adding service to your country and update you if I’m able to do so, I’ve also been able to work out creative solutions for sending postcards to some people who have been interested in subscribing from overseas in the meantime!

If your order arrives bent or otherwise damaged in transit, please email me so I can make it right! I will be more than happy to send a replacement order with reinforced packaging, or to refund your original payment method if you prefer. If possible, please provide a picture of the damage as well so I can work to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to any future orders!

I want you to be 100% happy with your order! If you’re dissatisfied for any reason, please email me and let me know what happened so I can make it right. I accept returns and exchanges for any reason within 30 days of receiving your order.

It’s super-easy! Each month you or your chosen recipient will receive a curated assortment of three, five, or ten blank postcards from a myriad of premium postcard sets hand-picked for their designs, paper quality, and variety. Each shipment includes enough postage for you to mail your postcards anywhere in the U.S. (to send internationally, you’ll simply need to add your own postage to the stamps provided).

Don’t worry! Postcards make amazing gift tags, recipe cards, office memos, notes to self, bookmarks, and grocery lists. You can even frame your favorite designs to hang on your wall! And like a Forever stamp, great postcards never expire—simply stash them with the rest of your writing supplies for the next time the urge to send one strikes.

We send orders out on the 10th of every month, and most people should receive their postcards within a few business days. We support the U.S. Postal Service by sending all subscriptions with stamps via USPS, and while we can’t provide monthly tracking information, we’ve never had a shipment go missing. If for some reason you don’t receive your cards in a timely manner, please let us know and we’ll be happy to send a replacement set right away!

No problem—it’s as easy to stop as it is to sign up. From your subscription dashboard, you can choose to pause for up to six months while you finish using the postcards you already have, or you can cancel your subscription completely at any time. To cancel, click "Manage" under "My Subscriptions," and choose "Cancel Subscription" at the bottom right.

Of course! Popular for birthdays, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Christmas, and everything in between, monthly postcard subscriptions make a thoughtful gift at a great price for friends, family, partners, coworkers, and more. Just click Subscribe or Gift It and add the gift recipient’s mailing address when prompted (your billing information and emails will be kept completely separate). By giving postcards rather than more “stuff,” you’re giving the gift of human connection (which we happen to think is pretty priceless).

If there's a particular person you'd like to exchange mail with (or simply hear from) more often—for example, your kid heading off to college, your family friends moving to a new town, or your long-distance partner—getting one subscription for them and another for you as a going-away or anniversary gift is an especially great way of remembering to send each other more notes!

You can buy postcards individually from The Postcard Maven anytime!

Or send us a postcard!

The Postcard Maven
3131 Cherrywood Ave.
Bellingham, WA 98225