Do you send postcards? I always try to send one to my parents when I travel – they love receiving them and it’s great going through the stash of cards that I’ve sent them over the years – the message on the back can bring back memories that the picture on the front doesn’t always trigger…
But sending a postcard can sometimes be a hassle. It’s generally not a problem buying the card but finding a stamp and then locating a post-box can be a bit of a pain. I’ve sent postcards that have arrived after I’ve returned to the UK and left again on my next trip or they’ve never arrived at all – where do those lost postcards go?
So, when I discovered a nifty little app for i-phone, called By Post, where you can design a postcard on your i-phone, using your own photo, and send it anywhere in the world for just 99p – all within a couple of minutes – I had to give it a go. Here’s how it works…
Download the app to your phone (the app itself is free) and start creating your bespoke postcard.
Step 1 – Either take a photo or use one from your camera roll
Here’s the shot I chose which I’d taken on my phone – bit pleased with this one!
Step 2 – Add your message and the address which you can choose from your contact list or add manually.
Step 3 – Pay. The cost is 99p per card to anywhere in the world – pretty good value when a first class stamp in the UK is currently 60p. Paypal or credit card can be used or you can add credit to your account on-line.
Step 4 – Press Send. It really is that easy.
I sent my first postcard from Turkey which was delivered within 48 hours – the first time a postcard has arrived before me! The card was great quality; good depth of colour and not at all flimsy. Here’s the result – not the best photo as it was taken on the fly and I wasn’t thinking of a blog post at the time. What do you think?
BTW no incentive was received for this post – I just love this cool little app. Simples!
Suzanne Jones is creator, writer and photographer at The Travelbunny. When she’s not indulging her wanderlust you’ll most likely find her enjoying coastal walks in her home county of East Sussex, UK.
Suzanne co-writes Sussex Bloggers which showcases the best of East & West Sussex.
Do you still use this app, TB? I promised my Grandma I’d send her a postcard from Bruges at the weekend, but the app crashed every time I got past the select a photo stage. It won’t work now I’m home either, so she’ll have to have a postcard of Birmingham instead!
I used it about a month ago and it worked fine. This is from their T&Cs “When a period of 12 months has passed with no orders placed we will assume that your account is no longer active and the Credit balance will expire” so you shouldn’t leave it too long. Have a look at their website http://www.bypost.com
Love this idea! I’m a great fan of postcards but lazy at printing my own photos. Win win situation. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks – this was so easy to use and arrived in the UK within a couple of days of posting in Turkey 🙂
Sounds cool! And the Cappadoccia photo is awesome too!
Loved Cappadoccia and the hotel you recommended – thank you, it was perfect 🙂
Something funny just happened, I just got a postcard with my dog on it that I sent as a trial one (with a silly msg written on it), BUT I didn’t have any credit in my account plus it didn’t give me any sending confirmation…… This is weird. And what is worse is that I don’t remember if I sent anything else, hope not cos I don’t remember what I wrote eventually, LOL
I wonder if you’ll get an more! They don’t take long to arrive do they. Have a lovely weekend 🙂
I like the idea of using my own photo for the postcard! And your postcard picture is great 🙂
Thanks Meg – I really like this app. I’ll be using it a lot!
Love this! Great idea as I love sending (and receiving) postcards but often don’t get around to it while travelling. This makes it so easy! Somehow also apt that a digital tool (smartphone) is helping to keep an old art (letter/postcard writing) alive.
It can be inconvenient to send a postcard but this takes out all the hassle and so much more personal. I’ll definitely be using this again 🙂
This app looks great! Off to download it right away – thanks 🙂
Have fun! 🙂
Pretty cool app! I’m going to see if there is one for the iPad.
Let me know if they do – thanks for stopping by 🙂
Wow – what an excellent idea – I am going to download this app.
Hope you like it as much as I do!
This looks incredible! I can’t wait to use it when I go on holiday! I read an article that said that only 7% of people send postcards on holiday and I thought that was really sad. Hopefully this will change things!
I’m going to use this a lot – not just when I’m away – it’s so lovely to receive something other than a bill in the post!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I’ll definitely be trying that next time – cheers! Buying a postcard is never a problem, but finding somewhere that sells stamps is a big pain and usually puts me off.
It was so easy Richard – I’m hooked!
I used to send postcards, but nowadays, they only arrive after I’ve got back, so I’ve given up. 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever sent a postcard that arrived before I got back – until now!! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
What a great idea. I will get this app. I also love sending postcards and this adds a more personal touch to them. Thanks for sharing this.
I love this – can’t wait to use it again!! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Reblogged this on Eat, travel, photograph and commented:
I definitely want to try it!!
Does it work on other phones too?
I think it’s just for i-phones Elisa but I know other phones have apps so they may do it for them too. I’ll try and find out for you…
I already downloaded on my Samsung 😉 The only problem I think is with the credit, I have to upload it online… I’ll have to try… Don’t know yet! And it doesn’t give me the option of the credit card but only paypal…
Oh great glad you got the app – I paid for my first card with Paypal and then added credit on-line. It might be worth hanging on a bit as they do offers sometimes i.e buy £10 of credit and get and extra £5 free. Keep an eye on their twitter feed…
Wow! That’s great! Am gonna try it 🙂