New postcards added

22 Jul, 2021, No comments

Greetings from...Germany
Door Dresden, Germany
3 Cocktail-postcards: Mojito, Bellini and White Russian
Centaurea
Chick-Fieldweed
Illustrated postcard: Judging Cat
View card Balderschwang, Germany
Owl

Why buying a postcard that's not from the place of the motif?

8 Jul, 2021, No comments

There are people who simply like the motif and don't care about the origin at all but there are also avid collectors who do care. So what are the reasons to buy a postcard with a picture from e.g. France when it's not bought in France?

In many countries it's not common to sell postcards. In Egypt, for example, I looked for postcards for a week but couldn't find any - neither in the hotel nor in the adjacent shops. On the penultimate day I finally managed to find a street seller who sold a postcard book for 1€. Since it's not common the sell postcards there, the quality is so-so. Maybe you can imagine how the quality of the postcards were. I don't know where the sellers got them from, but the printing quality of the postcards were so-so, the images were kinda blurry and the postcard is rather like paper than like cardboard.
In many countries it might be even impossible to find a postcard. So I was lucky enough to find some postcards but it could be worse. I also couldn't have found any, which would be a pity. If you travel somewhere, where people are quite poor and can't afford cameras or where there aren't any printing houses, you may not find a single postcard. Post offices may exist but not postcards, so it's good to have some (backup) postcards in your luggage.
You can choose the motif beforehand. You don't know what kind of postcards are sold in your destination, so it's more convenient to choose some postcards online from the shop while being at home.
There's more choice. You can choose from much more postcards than some stores.
You don't have to go to the location. Maybe there are personal memories of the place, but you don't just get there easily. For example, I met a Brazilian who lived in Berlin when he was a student and who returned to Brazil after completing his studies. He was very happy about his postcard from Berlin! Maybe you just forgot to buy a postcard in the respective place. Then it comes in handy that you can buy a postcard online.

Honestly, I wasn't a prepared postcrosser and I left it to fate whether I find postcards or not. I never thought of taking some backup postcards with me on my travels but as you can see, it's actually a good idea! You can bring some with you and send it from that country.