Buy and Sell Vintage Postcards, Postage Stamps, Postal History, Antiques and Collectibles!

Seller FAQ

For information on our Seller Programs and Fees Click Here.

How do I open a seller account?
You can sign up for one of our Seller Programs here. You can open an account with a credit card, PayPal, Moneybookers, Check or Money Order. You must be registered.
How do I pay or make a deposit to my seller account?
You can pay or make a deposit by going to your Account. You can check your acccount status there at any time.
On what day does my billing period end, and my bill become due?
Your billing period is based on the date you signed up for one of our seller programs. If you signed up on the 1st to the 27th of any month, your billing period will end on that same date each month. If you signed up on the 28th to the 31st, your billing period will end on the LAST day of the following month, and every month thereafter. Examples: You signed up April 28, your billing period will end May 31, and the last date of each month thereafter. You signed up on Jan 31, your billing period will end on Feb 28, and the last date of each month thereafter. You signed up on Oct 5, your billing period will end every month on the 5th.
How do I pay my Account? Do you charge my credit card automatically?
We do NOT charge your credit card automatically. You pay or make a deposit to your account on our secure form with a credit card, PayPal, Moneybookers, Check or Money Order. You can choose the method of payment, and it doesn't have to be the same every month. Use Paypal one month, charge card another month, etc.
How can I pull up my listings of Auction or Store Items?
If you just want to see your listings and not perform any actions on them, go to your Dealer Page. You'll find a quick link to it on the left sidebar on our Home and Browse Pages. You can also go to "Sellers" on the navigaton bar at the top, and click on Tools. You can display your items in several different ways: Auction Items - open or closed, with our without bids. Store Items - open or closed. Once you pull up your list, for auction items you can edit, change price, or delete if it hasn't received a bid. For closed auctions you can relist them, or move to your store. For open store items, you can edit, change price, or delete. For closed store items (items that sold), you can relist them if you have duplicate items, or mark them paid or unpaid.
How do I relist my unsold auction items that closed with no bids?
Same as above. Go to 'Sellers' on the navigaton bar at the top of any page, and click on Tools. Then select 'Auction Items/Closed Items/Without Bids'. You can then select which items to relist, or move to your store.
How can I change the price, or edit other fields, in an item I already listed?
You can edit anything in your auction listing, including price, if it hasn't received a bid. You can do the same for open store items. Go to our tools page.
I signed up for one of your seller progams, how do I cancel?
Go to the Seller Fees page, and select A La Carte Seller, then "Submit." This will cancel your Dealer Package, and you will go back to paying per listing, if and when you decide to list. Any auction items you listed while you were in one of the dealer packages can still be relisted free, as long as you lower the bid at least one increment, or move to the store. If you decide to keep store items, the charge is 0.01 per month, based on daily average. If you want to delete any auction or store items, go to our tools page.
How can I block a certain person from buying my items?
This is one of the features included in our Dealer Packages. If you want to block someone from bidding on your auctions, or buying your store items, use our exclude buyer form.
With so many different postcard categories, I don't know which one to list certain postcards under. Should a real photo of a diner in Los Angeles California be listed under Real Photos, Roadside America, or California?
There is no right answer. You could put it under any one of the 3! You might put it in one category, and someone else may put it in another category. You have the option to put it in all 3, although the 2 extra categories will cost you $0.05 (five cents) each. What IS important is for you to be specific in the Title of the item, and include the key words Real Photo (or RPPC), Diner, and Los Angeles California. We have a Search page to find specific items by entering key words. Thus, a person searching for diners, real photos, or a certain location, would find your listing regardless of which category you put it in...IF you include the key words in your title!
What is a "Featured Spotlight"?
If you want your item to appear for 7 days (or until bidding closes if it receives a bid) as a Featured Spotlight, there is an additional fee of $2.99. It will be featured at the top of our main listings page where it will be seen by the most people. If you have an image in Picture 1, a thumbnail (small image) will automatically appear in your listing (a thumbnail will NOT show if put your image URL in the description box using HTML). The Featured Spotlight applies to the original listing only, and will not appear on free relistings unless you pay for it again.
What is a Category Spotlight?
If you want your item to appear at the top of the listings for the category you select, and remain there for the duration of the listing, there is an additional fee of $0.49. If you have an image in Picture 1, a thumbnail (small image) will automatically appear in your listing (a thumbnail will NOT show if you put your image URL in the description box using HTML). The Category Spotlight applies to the original listing only, and will not appear on free relistings unless you pay for it again.
What is a "Boiler Plate" in a listing?
A Boiler Plate is one of the features included in our Dealer Packages. You may want to create a boiler plate for information your listings have in common, so you don't have to enter the same information over and over. Once your boiler plate has been created, you can change it at any time, which will change all previously listed items you listed with the same boiler plate. It cannot be attached to old listings you made without a boiler plate. Most dealers use it to list their terms, make announcements, or for links to their website. The boiler plate will be added to the end of your description in your listings, unless you want the description to appear at the end of your boiler plate, or somewhere in the middle. In that case, put the word description in brackets like this [description] anywhere in your boiler plate, and that is where your description of the item you are listing will appear. You can create boiler plates by going to Seller/Settings.
How can I add a PayPal logo to my listings?
You could insert a logo into each description of the item you are listing. However, the best way is to put it in your Boiler Plate, along with your other terms, so it will be added to your listings automatically. Log in to your PayPal account, and select 'Auction Tools', then 'Add PayPal to your listings', then 'Manual Logos.' Select your logo, copy the script, and paste it into your Boiler Plate.
What are your bidding increments?
We do not allow auction bids with odd amounts such as $6.01 or $9.23.  We use bid increments similar to auction houses as outlined in the following table:

Valid Bid Increments

Minimum Opening Bid Increment
$1.00 to $4.75 $ 0.25
$5.00 to $14.50 $ 0.50
$15.00 to $29.00 $ 1.00
$30.00 to $97.50 $ 2.50
$100.00 to $195.00 $ 5.00
$200.00 to $490.00 $10.00
$500.00 and over $25.00
How do your reserve auctions work?
Sellers have the option to choose a Reserve Auction where they set a "secret reserve" price that must be met before their item sells. Sellers should keep in mind that many bidders do NOT like reserve auctions! The auction listing will show only the starting bid, not the secret reserve price. If the bidding never reaches the reserve, then there is NO winning bidder, and the item does not sell. The auction listing will show that it is a Reserve Auction (in the box for "current high bidder"), but the reserve price will not be revealed unless a bidder meets or exceeds it. While a reserve auction is in progress, you will notice several differences from a regular auction. When a reserve auction receives a bid, the maximum amount of that bid, if below or equal to the reserve price, will immediately be shown as the current bid. The user ID of the current high bidder, as well as the bidding history, will NOT be shown unless the reserve is met. If and when a bidder's maximum amount meets or exceeds the reserve price:
  • The current bid will show the reserve price
  • The current high bidder box will show the bidder's user ID
  • The bidding history will be revealed
From that point on, the auction will proceed in the usual manner of a regular auction.
How can I get good scans for my listings?
We use a Hewlett-Packard ScanJet IIcx, many years old, but with superior optics. Then we use a program for called Paint Shop Pro to "acquire" the scan, resize it (if necessary), and compress it into the jpeg format. There are many other graphics software you can use. We find it pretty easy to resize and compress an image to below 200kb, which is the maximum size if you intend to upload it to our site. (If you are storing the picture scan on your own site, there are no size requirements...but keep in mind the larger the file, the longer it will take to view it). We use a DPI (dots per inch) setting of 100, and for single postcards, a jpeg compression level of 30. We usually scan 1 to 4 postcards full size. Experiment with your particular scanner, and see what works best for you. If you have a lot of items you would like to show in one file, and it is more than you can put on your scanner at one time, you can do several scans, then copy and paste them into one image. Here are several links for more information and tips: