How do Scribble credits work?
One credit is one card: the card, the envelope, the writing and US postage. You buy credits outright at a rate that depends on how many you buy in one purchase, and they never expire. Each space has its own balance. Shop checkout spends private Just me credits when you confirm the order. Scheduling a campaign holds credits from its selected space; they are only spent when each card enters production, and a canceled campaign returns every held credit.
On this page
#The three numbers on the Buy credits screen
| Number | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Available to spend | What you can spend or reserve in this space right now. |
| Held for scheduled campaigns | Paid for and promised to a send date. Still yours: a canceled campaign returns them in full. |
| Total paid balance | Available plus held. Credits never expire. |
#Held versus spent
Bought
You buy a quantity and are charged in full at purchase. The rate is set by that one purchase, not by your history.
Held
Scheduling a campaign holds one credit per card. Held credits leave available and appear under held. Nothing has been consumed.
Spent
A scheduled card spends its reserved credit when it enters production. This is the point of no return, and it is why the cancellation deadline is 9am on the production start date.
Returned
Cancel a scheduled send before its deadline and the reserved credits return to available. Shop orders spend credits at checkout; contact support if a paid order is held or needs correcting.
#What a credit includes
- The card and its envelope.
- The message written in ink by a machine holding a real pen.
- The recipient and return addresses written in pen on the envelope.
- A real US stamp.
- Handing it to USPS.
There is no per-card postage surcharge, no envelope fee and no setup fee. Uploading your own artwork does not cost extra.
#Running out mid-run
| Where | What happens |
|---|---|
| Building a campaign | The review step tells you how many more credits you need and links to the top-up with the quantity filled in. |
| An automation run | Anybody not yet written to is skipped with a reason, and picked up on the next run once you top up, as long as their date is still far enough ahead for the card to be made in time. |
POST /api/v1/cards | 402 no_credits. Nothing is created and nothing is charged. |
| A race for the last credit | The card is canceled rather than made, and the response says so. Two concurrent sends cannot spend the same credit. |
#Common questions
- Do credits expire?
- No. Credits never expire.
- Can I get a refund on unused credits?
- Yes. Ask for a refund of unspent credits within 30 days of buying them by emailing hello@scribblecards.com. The refund goes to your original payment method. Cards paid for with credits also have our 30-day satisfaction guarantee; a refunded card restores the credits used for it.
- Is there a subscription?
- No subscription and no minimum. You buy credits when you have something to send.
- Does a held card cost a credit?
- It depends on how it was ordered. Shop orders paid with credits are charged at checkout. Scheduled cards spend their reserved credits when they enter production. Check the named space’s ledger, or ask support to check a held order.
- Who can buy credits?
- Anyone can buy credits for their private Just me space. In a shared space, owners and admins can buy credits; members can send using its existing balance.
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