The QSL bureau is a great way to get lots of QSL cards from and to other countries.
How does the QSL Bureau system Work?
If you were to send a DX station a QSL card, and you wanted a card back, it would cost 1.60 + 2 green stamps. Total of ~$3. This is the cost of 1 QSL card, which is 1 confirmation for your DXCC total.
Let’s say you needed 100 QSL cards for DXCC, and 1 card is $3, the total would be $300 in just postage!
Shortly after WW2, there were more hams and better receivers to listen to. This resulted in more DX contacts and more hams wanting to get confirmations for the QSOs they had.
Unfortunately, QSL cards are not as popular as they used to be, due to online confirmations. BUT QSL cards are still valid for awards. You can get them checked by an ARRL card checker and receive credit for them.
If you are making DX contacts, you should do one of these:
- Pay for bureau credit. You can pay for credit here: https://wvdxc.org/pay-online-for-credits/
- List on your QRZ profile that you DO accept QSL cards/bureau cards.
- List on your QRZ profile that you do not accept bureau cards.
How do I send QSL cards to the QSL bureau?
First requirement, you need to be an ARRL member to use the outgoing QSL bureau. You can read more about the ARRL here:
Next: Review the bureau guidelines HERE
Fill out the cards, and sort them by callsign prefix
Send the envelpoe to the QSL bureau with the proper fee