A new service aims to beat the woes of international mail

December 14, 2021

Signedcards.com offers a choice of four different types of greeting cards.

Sending a greeting card abroad from Mexico, many expats can attest, is not a practical way to keep in touch with loved ones.

Mail can take weeks, if not months, to reach its destined address in the United States, Europe, or farther afield.

But a former U.S. Marine who faced the problems of cross border mail over a long international career came up with a solution that might satisfy the needs of some U.S. expats who wish to mail greeting cards to loved ones.

Signedcards.com is the brainchild of Jerry McLaughlin, whose service allows the correspondent to take a photo of a handwritten message and upload it onto the website. The message is then printed onto a card of the sender’s choice and dispatched by first class mail from a U.S. address to anywhere in the country, ensuring speedier delivery.

The service could be particularly useful for expats sending cards to the U.S. for specific dates, such as Christmas, birthdays or anniversaries, where a local postal service’s delivery times would be unpredictable.

McLaughlin said that facilitating communication inspired him to set up Signedcards.com: “Sending messages of celebration, support, and thanks are acts of love and mercy. Those acts change the world. The easier it is to send those messages the more of those notes that are sent,” he said.

There are 27,500 cards to choose from and it costs US $7.99 to send one, including the price of the stamp.