Until now, Cardzilla was all about surprises. You sent postcards to random users and received postcards from people you did not know in advance. That part is still at the heart of Cardzilla and always will be.
But sometimes you want a little more control. Maybe you saw a postcard you really like. Maybe you want to exchange cards with a specific person. That is exactly what direct swaps are for.
A direct swap lets two users agree on an exchange and clearly choose which postcards they will send to each other. The whole process is structured and guided by the site, so it works smoothly even if you and your swap partner speak different languages. Basic English is more than enough.
To take part in direct swaps, you first need to upload the postcards you are ready to trade.
Open Direct swap -> My gallery from the main menu. Here you can add photos of your postcards. You can also organize them into groups if you like. Group names are visible only to you and help you stay organized.
For each postcard, upload a photo of the front side. You can also add a short description if you want. Adding a postcard to your gallery means you have this postcard and you are willing to send it in exchange for another one.
Each offer in the direct swap system represents exactly one physical postcard. If you have several identical postcards, each one must be uploaded as a separate offer.
We recommend uploading a postcard only once. When it is used in a swap and the contract is confirmed, the postcard is automatically removed from your gallery and from all offers. If you still have another copy of the same postcard, you can upload it again at that point.
If a postcard is no longer available for any reason, please remove it from your gallery.
All swap offers from all users are visible in Direct swap -> Offers. You can scroll through the list at any time and look for postcards you like.
For each postcard, you can see who owns it and which country they live in. Click on an offer to open its page. There you will find the Request a swap button.
When you click Request a swap, you start creating a new swap contract. You need to choose what you are offering in return.
You can offer:
Once you send the request, the owner of the postcard will get a notification about your offer.
All your outgoing and incoming swap contracts are listed in Direct swap -> My contracts.
For incoming requests, you can see:
Click on a contract to open its full page. There you can review all details. You can either select one of the offered postcards or reject the swap by clicking Reject. In both cases, the swap initiator will be notified of your decision.
If you accept a swap and choose what you want in return, the initiator will see your choice. They can then either cancel the swap or confirm it.
Once the swap is confirmed, both users receive emails with each other’s mailing addresses. Outgoing postcards are created automatically and appear in Postcards -> My postcards.
When you send your postcard, be sure to write its postcard ID on it so the recipient can register it after delivery.
After you sign the postcard, you can upload proof of sending to the site. Take a photo of the back side of the postcard, where the stamps are attached and the recipient's address is written. If you want to surprise the recipient, you can take this photo before writing your personal message.
Both participants in the swap will be able to see each other's proofs on the contract page.
All confirmed swaps are shown in a separate table. In each contract row, you will see icons indicating whether proofs are uploaded and whether the postcard has been delivered. This makes it easy to track the progress of each exchange.
Postcards sent through direct swaps:
Direct swaps are not limited by the usual cap on sent but unregistered postcards. You can take part in as many direct swaps as you like.
If multiple users request the same postcard, Cardzilla automatically handles this. A swap cannot be completed if a postcard is already reserved. Once a swap is confirmed, the involved postcards are removed from galleries and offers, and any other swap contracts that included those postcards are canceled automatically.
Direct swaps give you more control while keeping the spirit of postcard exchanging alive. Try it out and see where your next postcard journey takes you!