Collecting old postcards has been a passion of
mine for twenty years. I first started collecting Halloween, Santa
and Artist signed cards cards. Ellen Clapsaddle was one of my favorite
artists. I also collected some pretty woman cards from Harrison
Fisher and other artist but because I'm so picky about condition
they can get quite pricey.
Along the way I started picking up
postcards of my hometown ... I eventually sold my entire Holiday
and Artist signed collection but kept my hometown of Hastings,
Michigan collection. From there it spend to cards from our whole
county of Barry.
Tips for Collecting
Rarity and condition are my number one factors
in detemining how much I am willing to pay for a card. I also prefer
the REAL PHOTO postcards over printed photo cards. Real photo postcards
of buildings, street secnes, train stations etc are generally more
expensive than printed cards due to the process For REAL PHOTO postcards,
the black and white photo was printed on heavy postcard stock.
NON-REAL PHOTO cards were printed like pictures in a magazine. Real photo postcards will NOT be colored like this one
Sometimes you will come across a black & white photo postcard that looks like a REAL PHOTO POSTCARD here are some tips to help you.
1. Use a magnifying glass if you see dots like
this 
it
is NOT a REAL PHOTO postcard.
2. Real photo postcards when tilted a little have
this kind of black, blue tint to them.
3. Always check the back
of the postcard as that will tell you whether it is a real photo
card or not by looking at the back itself and what the stamp box
looks like. Learn up on it by going to the two links below.
Here is a link to a very good site called PLAYLE'S
ONLINE AUCTIONS that shows many REAL PHOTO POSTCARD STAMP BOXES
be sure to click on the alpabetical links on bottom of
their page to see other real photo stamp boxes.
http://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoa.php
On this same website you can see photo's of REAL PHOTO BACKS
http://www.playle.com/realphoto/backa.php
And my last tip DO NOT always trust what you read on ebay as many sellers will improperly list a non real photo card as a RPPC (real photo postcard)