How to Save on Greeting Cards

We still send out cards (you know, the old-fashioned, paper kind) on special occasions to various people. The most-popular occasions include birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, but we also send out cards for thank yous, graduations, baby births, and to express sympathy for a loss.

If you've shopped for cards anytime recently, you'll know that it's very easy to drop $4 or more for a single card. Add that up over 100 or more cards per year (many people send out a huge number of holiday cards alone) and you're talking some real money. So here's how we minimize the expense while still being able to send a nice, thoughtful card:

1. We make our own cards. Not really "we", but our kids make their own cards -- birthday cards for grandparents, thank you cards for gifts given, Mother's and Father's Day cards, etc. These usually turn out to be very sweet and precious and much more valuable to the person getting them than a store-bought card could be.

2. We buy cards in bulk. You can get a boatload of cards for not much money at all -- effectively making the costs of a card way less than what you'd spend on a soda. And if you buy at the right time of the year (think post-Christmas purchases of Christmas cards), you can save a TON on a nice set of boxed cards. BTW, to make each card "special", we always include a note or letter.

3. We went electronic for holiday cards. We used to spend a fortune sending out Christmas cards. Then we went to a "Christmas letter", which we still sent to 100 people so the postage was a decent expense. This year, I whipped up a quick website and emailed out a link to it. People could see more pictures of our family (50 or so) and read what we were doing at their own convenience. Those people without web access (yes, they do exist), got the standard letter.

How about you? How do you save on greeting cards?

Comments

[Benjamin]

I like your idea of sending out an email link to a special Christmas page!

I know my wife and I sent out over 100 Christmas cards last year. We used the picture greeting cards that you can order off of shutterfly and it didn't take long before we were well over $100!

This year we will probably buy some discounted christmas greeting "box sets" and print pictures off with our own printer to include with some of the closer family members.

[justin]

For single cards such as for a birthday or other occasion, I go to the local Dollar General. Their cards are usually $1 or 2 for $1 and are just as nice as the expensive ones you get at a card shop. Granted, they don't have a gigantic selection, but the standards are all there. It is also a much cheaper place to buy gift bags/wrap as well if you need that. It is also a good place to buy bulk Christmas cards as well. You can get a box of 30 for a couple dollars. Its great if you have a lot of folks to send cards to.

[CoolHappyGuy]

Any tips as to how to buy cards in bulk?

I've often wished for this option when we've come upon a great card.

[FMF]

Cool --

Uh, go to a store that sells them in bulk? ;-)

[garyatk]

My wife made the mistake of buying a box full of cards for all occasions from Current. She got the cards for less than fifty cents each, and got a real nice box to keep them organized. The problem is that we continued to receive a Current catalog in the mail every week. After numerous calls to Current customer service, finally after a year and a half, the catalogs stopped coming after last Christmas. Then a couple weeks ago, we got another one. We have promised to never buy anything from Current ever again!

[Kim McGrigg]

Regiftable.com has several stories from people who recycle used cards as a fun tradition. One writer has a card purchased in 1985 that is still going strong! http://www.regiftable.com/Archive.aspx?storyID=327

[Kimberly DeCarrera]

One thing that I did years ago that has come in handy... get a box of plain cards that have no greeting on the inside. I got ones that have prints of colorful, modern flowers. They are great to use when you forget to get a specific card and for all the thank-yous, sorry for your loss, and other random cards that you need. You'll already be spending the time to write on them, so no need to get them with a printed greeting. Most people don't care what the card actually says, just that they get something.

I bought them, not as a way to save money, but out of necessity because I was always forgetting to buy cards.

[Loretta]

I stock up on cards at the dollar store/deals/dollar tree when I'm there...they are 2/$1...
Then I have them available as events come up...and no running out for a card at the last minute.

[Briana]

Some great ideas! I still love receiving cards in the mail, though! But emailing a link to the holiday letter is a great idea to save some money on postage!

[Monroe on a Budget]

I do handmade greeting cards for every occasion except Christmas.

It's easy to get cheap cards for the holiday season, and that's too many cards to make during a busy time of year!

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