I must ask: is it good, moral, correct , to pay for receiving a desired qsl card ? Some folks feel itsok to pay some green stamps to cover mailing cost however, in a lets say large operation, it makes some folks feel, someone is getting rich down the road. I would like to receive some insight from folks here. Thanks in advance Luigi NP4FW
Considering that (I think) it’s illegal to mail cash in the US, I’d say no. But regular stamps are nice but not needed in my opinion.
It is not illegal to send cash in the mail, especially in small amounts. Otherwise our courts would be filled with grandparents who send birthday and holiday cards in order to hide their inheritance from taxes. As for large operations, such as a DXpedition, they put up thousands of dollars (Bouvet is about $1.67M). They don’t demand payment, but it helps make it a bit less painful and you get something more tangible and special.
Thanks Mike for your response. I do know, that many people send the currently " two green stamps " to obtain a good qsl card. The point is: on a local chat, folks complains that somebody, mostly individuals are getting rich ( to say so ) in the action of sending a QSL card. Its a tough theme. Anyhow , thanks a lot.
My home club, Radio Society Of Tucson, is putting on a 10 day contest this fall similar to Route 66, Thirteen Colonies etc. We have 8 special event call signs and each will have a QSL card so printing and postage expenses will be substantial so we will be requesting a donation for cover costs. The club is doing this event to promote amateur radio and not to make money. Being deeply involved with our club’s Special Events SIG, I know the costs of putting on a large event and they are substantial. I doubt anyone is getting “rich” charging for QSL cards. When I send out my personal QSL cards I charge and expect nothing in return but understand those that do.
P.S. Look for RST Cactus Event starting 11/20/25 on most bands and modes! There will be lovely QSL cards featuring the cacti of the Sonoran Desert and a certificate available to those that work all available stations. You can search AK7AZ on QRZ and get more information as well as see our donation info.
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Well well… i gonna be more specifis on this. We can understand on large, and complicated sites. Example bouvet.. but lets be honest. More recentlely we are having a one man dxpedition with 2-3pc doing ft8 2 or 3 bands same time .. mostly gaining quick qso under ft8 and or fox hound mode.
Then after reaching quockly 60k qso or so you look for qsl policy. Maybe looking some kind of wlectronic way of confirmation, lets say lotw after a 2 to 3 buck donations is ok. But im noting some requesting 5 up to 7 donation by oqrs, for direct card or electronic confirmation. Let see the numbers under a 60k qso and a rate of 33% qsl request for 7$ .. 138k$$ more than good for 1 man expenses. This is the real deal under the ft8 operations for recent ft-most or ft-only dxpeditions. This is not what ham radio is for. Sorry for my honesty but you cant stop sun light with a finger.