Claim Yer Postcards

jeremedia · Post by **jeremedia** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:32 am

Last year I gifted around 400 post-paid postcards, each with a different photo taken over the previous year. The burner selects their desired card, writes their address on the back, and puts it back in my box. I then deliver the cards to to the Black Rock Post Office, where they make me cancel them all (which I love doing).

Before sending them off, I photograph each card. When I got home, I load the images of the cards into this site:

http://spacebuilt.com/burningman/

People can claim their cards and leave a note. I love the notes that have been left so far!

If you have a card and haven't claimed it, please do.

-jeratron

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:11 pm

I don't get it. What is a post-paid postcard?

The way I understand it:
So at the event people take a card and leave it in your box with their address on it. You deliver them to the post office at the event. The post office delivers them to the post office of the person who addressed it and they need to go claim them and pay postage? They can leave some sort of note at the post office that you get?

I don't really understand what you're doing. Sounds neat though. I'd like clarification.

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:06 pm

We have been doing kinda the same thing for the last few years. First of all a little back ground. The city of Black rock exists for 7 days. The Black Rock City post office is recreated year after year. Every year the post mark is a new one as this is a new entity yearly.

So, to gift someone a post card that is allready stamped, you give them the opportunity to ether mail it to themselves or to a friend. With the original Post Mark.

Last year we would take a picture of someone special, print it on a post card that day, put a stamp on and give it back to the person who's picture we took.

Sooo much fun.

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:59 am

Thats very cool WD!
I sent 2 postcards last yr. I had to barter for stamps at the post office...dumb me wasnt radically self reliant!

but that was fun to do...we had fun there for a few at the ole BRC P.O.

jeremedia · Post by **jeremedia** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:43 pm

Post-paid means the card already has postage.

Think if it this way: I am giving you my art, but the US Post Office is delivering it to you. That way you don't have to worry about carrying it around, moop, etc.

Example:
http://spacebuilt.com/burningman/postcard/2287

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 2:05 pm

Ahh ok. Duh. I was thinking "post-paid" as opposed to "pre-paid". Come to think of it I think a comedy routine pointed out the irony in that, and I finally understand. The claim thing is just on your website, correct?

jeremedia · Post by **jeremedia** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:52 am

Ha, that's funny. Pre-stamped is certainly clearer. Although my method this past year was to have the post-card-takers stamp the card themselves from a roll of stamps I carried.

Yes, the claiming potion is something I did this year to see how many cards actually make it through the mail. I hope more did then I got claims for!

philosopher · Post by **philosopher** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:15 am

Love the concept--didn't understand it too well last year. But maybe we can put up a poster or something this time around so people know what is going on and get the claim rate closer to ideal.