Flat Cards - are they an American thing?

[NigelSutherland]

Are Flat Cards an American thing? I see there are numerous Flat Card templates on Zazzle, but they're not something we have here in the UK, (other than postcards). Greetings Cards here are pretty much all free-standing folded cards. I'm just curious...

[KeegansCreation]

Flat cards are cheaper to produce (and therefore buy) which makes them appealing for mass mailing, as often happens for Christmas. You can't stand them up for display but there are a number of display widgets you can buy that hold multiple flat cards for display. I tape them to the door frame of our living room.

[Connie]

We tape them there, too!

[Anne · Accepted solution]

@NigelSutherland They are. Nobody in Europe would want a flat card as it is seen as cheap. Maybe they will become popular in Europe as well unless the economy sees a miraculous recovery 🙂

[Malissa]

They are popular as photo cards to send out at the holidays or special occasions.  They are also a very commonly used card type for invitations- at least since I was a kid giving out birthday party invites in the early 80's. You could (and still can) buy them in multi packs in stores.  The folded cards are most common in the US for general (not personalized) holiday greetings and occasions and feature art and text like the type you find in the greeting card aisle at the store.

I don't think that flat cards are cheap (that is a little insulting implying that they are just an American thing because they are cheap Anne) and I find it really surprising that people in Europe don't use flat card invitations, but the flat photo greeting/announcement cards have been pretty popular here in the US for at least since the early 00's because it is a great simple way to send photos to loved ones as well as greetings or announcing a wedding, baby, etc.