Category: Postcards

The USPS (United States Post Office) is giving away free cards with postage.

http://www.poweroftheletter.com/

At the site click on the free card link.  I love free postcards and this is almost as good.

postcards in Bisbee

The free cards are a joint marketing effort of the USPS and HBO to promote a miniseries on John Adams.

The USPS’s idea is to get people to regain the habit of sending cards and letters.  But there is a major problem.  Fifty years ago a postcard was the least expensive, fastest and most convenient way that you could let someone in another town know what was going on.  Now it is fifth on the list in terms of price and convenience.  Now Phones, Fax, Email and Text Messaging are all cheaper, faster and easier.

The personal letter and the postcard are doomed. 

I say this as a person who sends about 150 postcards a month.  I honor the nostalgia of the postcard and wish that we could keep them alive, but they are as doomed as quill pens and velum scrolls.  No amount of effort can keep the first class letter a big part of the post office and without it the post office is doomed.  It will become in the next fifty years another Amtrak.  An expensive anachronism that is to out of date to save and to powerful to kill.  It will become for a future generation the poster-child for all that is wrong with government run programs.

In the meantime  go to the link above get a free card and send it to me.

Here is a free post card from the company that makes one of my favorite products. Rainbow Sandals. Lillian got me a few the last time she was there at the factory store. I would be happy to send you one if you ask…but supplies are limited.

I thought that I couldn’t wear sandals with the strap between my toes but Lillian raved about Rainbow Sandals and slowly convinced Nurit and Rebecca to try them. One year for my birthday or some other event she bought me some and to be polite I tried them. They are great, they don’t hurt between your toes at all and I can’t wait until summer to start wearing them every day. I now have three pairs. And now Rainbow has free postcards. Life can’t get any better than this.

I recently purchased at a very good price about a thousand historic postcards. They date from the 1950’s to the early 1970’s and were bought by someone on their travels and never sent.

Example one

The dilemma is do I send them out to my “postcard pals” or keep them as a valuable collection?

Example two

I’m trying to get away from collecting any more stuff and my old collection of cards is one of the reasons that caused me to start sending postcards. However….

Example three

I think that a postcard that was sent thirty years later is of less value than one that was never sent but getting them out into the world where many more people can enjoy them has a certain attraction also.

If you have an opinion about this interesting dilemma please send me a comment by clicking below and putting in the secret code that keeps the spammers away.

There is confusion about the term: “free postcard.”

Free in this context means given to you but might included a requirement to have patronized the giver. Many hotels for instance give free postcards but they are in the rooms so they have an implied caveat “free postcard with the purchase of a room.” These are still free by our definition.

But what is a postcard? For the purposes of this blog a postcard must be:

1. Within the size parameters stipulated by the USPS. So that it can be sent at the postcard rate.
Postcard Rate Dimensions:
– Minimum: 3-1/2 inches high by 5 inches long by 0.007 inch thick.
– Maximum: 4-1/4 inches high by 6 inches long by 0.016 inch thick.

This one is to large:

This one is just right:

2. And have a writable area on the back left that is at least 25% of the message side of the reverse.

3. And be available for more than just a moment.

So most of the Art exhibit opening cards fail tests two and three.  An advertising card could easily qualify and here is a picture of one that does:

Even Libertarians have rules.

Having said all that I’ll repeat postcards are an excellent anachronism for staying in touch, for giving a little bit of pleasure and for promoting a product or service.  If they also meet the above rules it is even more excellent.

Wouldn’t you like to get this postcard.  You would know the person who sent it had fun acquiring it and if you ever got to Chicago you might be tempted to give O’Tooles a try.

This postcard was sent to me by Lillian.  It is also a beer coaster.  What great idea.

Fat Tire Beer

So when you are in Fort Collins, Colorado go to the New Belgium Brewing Company and write me a postcard.

If you write your postcard on site they will put the stamp on and mail it for you.  Of course, you should say something nice about the beer in exchange.  To do that of course you’ll have to try the beer.  And…so…”life is good”

Now consider this: another business that gives away postcard to adveritise and create goodwill that is extremely successful. Coincidence?  I don’t think so.