Foreign stamps and SASE...?

[rukastar]

Hey people, I've been collecting pretty heavily for a few years now and I'm always looking to branch out and try for new people and such. As an American, I primarily write to baseball players (with the best success), but lately also some actors and musicians VV.

I consider myself lucky with my first foreign and football attempt in September with Robin Van Persie. I only got a club card, but I really went out of my way to get UK stamps for the SASE for that and I'm still proud of my success and quite shocked it worked as well as it did. I only recently starting getting into the sport, it's totally new to me but I'm really interested in it. Anyway I'm looking to try some other footballers, especially in Spain, and I am finding it's not so simple to even find Spanish stamps for order online as it was for English ones. I would of course try for IRC if the United States still had them, it's a shame we don't any longer.

I guess what I'm leading up to is: I'm wondering if in some cases like this if just a SAE would suffice? I know it's rude to not include something in regards to return postage, but it's going to be a pain in the ass for me to try to even acquire the right postage to affix on the SASE.

I can imagine this might hurt my chances of getting a success, but I also know sometimes the target recipient in other countries might not even use sase at all and just include their own return envelope and stuff.

If I write to a professional foreign club, what are the odds that they might reply to me in the USA if I still include a SAE but don't include stamps? Do other collectors sometimes get away with only SAE and no stamp? Even abroad?
I don't intend on sending anything big or heavy, for baseball players I always send the 2.5x3.5 cards along with SASE in a standard envelope. I've gotten away many times in the past with mailing 4x6 photos in the same envelopes, I reckon I might do this here.

Thank you for reading and I hope to read any suggestions from more seasoned collectors than myself.

-Ruka

[kimmylee]

Spain has the euro so you could get a 5EURO note from a bank/travel agent and enclose it (well concealed) for postage.
Paper currency is generally the answer if you can't get IRC's or the correct foreign stamps.

[rukastar]

Thank you, appreciate it. Now... off to trying to get euro bills in the states... hmmm

[maccafan78]

I've been trying to get UK stamps forever. They still sell IRC's in Canada. IF you still have any UK stamps available, I'd be glad to trade them for some British stamps. Last time I checked IRC's were approx. $3-4.
If you're interested let me know.

[tullhead]

Hi Ruka
I have pmd you

[sonicsam]

Thank you, appreciate it. Now... off to trying to get euro bills in the states... hmmm

Any US bank can order them special for you.