That four-letter word is ‘topo,’ short for ‘topographical,’ and it represents the most popular of all types of postcard collection.
Topographic postcards (sometimes called simply “display cards”) represent geographic locations such as towns, cities, towns.
You can live a very easy life selling old topographic postcards on eBay, especially if you focus on buying inexpensive topographic postcards at flea markets and boot sales, and reselling those postcards on eBay.
This doesn’t mean you should ignore other types of postcards that pop up cheaply at auctions and flea markets. But I suggest you put them aside while you learn the simple process of selling your more profitable surveying counterparts.
Check out these wonderful prices for proof of sometimes staggering earnings on eBay for postcards that are neither unique nor rare:
* 1903 EALING Singapore to Hong Kong & Hainan Postcard – £ 170.35.
* MONTANA Marsh School, Evelyn Cameron c.1910 Postcard RP – £ 165.34.
* Postcard RPPC New Salem Kansas Santa Fe Railroad Depot – $ 424.95 (at time of sale approximately £ 216.18).
RP and RPPC in two of those listings represent ‘Real Photographic’ and ‘Real Photographic Postcard / Post Card’. Actual photo postcards are among the most collectible and expensive of all, in fact some collectors are looking for purely RPPC cards. Actual photo postcards are much rarer than their printed counterparts and were individually created and required constant attention during the development process, unlike most printed postcards that came out of machines and required little physical attention.
I always spell ‘Real Photographic’ on my list for people not used to the many abbreviations used for the phrase, including R / P, RP, RPP, RP, and of course RPPC.
