Please QSL

The “Q” signal QSL means “I am acknowledging receipt of your transmission”. Therefore, a QSL card is a postcard which confirms contact with another station, in the mail. Today we also have E-QSL confirmations which take place through e-mail. While this is handy and inexpensive, it is not very personal and the other person has to subscribe to the service. It is not usually accepted for most awards probably because cheating would be very easy.
Most of the many contests available for a ham operator to participate in use the QSL card as proof of a contact. To receive the award of “Worked all States” (WAS) you would be required to produce a card from each of the 50 states. As you become more active you will begin to accumulate many cards. It is a common courtesy to return your card for each one received. You will, therefore, need to design and order your own QSL card. This card makes a statement about you. It may also hang in ham radio shacks all over the world. You have many choices from vendors in QST and other ham magazines, or you can make your own. My card is illustrated here.
Because of the increasing cost of postage, both domestic and foreign, the price of sending a card for each contact often becomes above reason. The postage for the card alone in the United States is $.26 but 90 cents to most foreign countries. Unless you are trying to win an award for contacting countries or continents, foreign QSLs should be limited.
ARRL, and others, have created bureaus where you can join and for a fee, send them your stack of international QSL cards and they will sort them by country. When they have enough for a destination they will send to that country. This system is a lot less expensive but the drawback is that it can take from six month to over a year for delivery.
A nice collection of QSL cards is the price of an active amateur radio operator. There is no other action between humans which induces such a level of courtesy and friendliness after a simple conversation than that of the on air QSO (conversation), be it Morse code, voice, or any other mode. These cards are a tradition in ham radio. They are used in all modes of communication. I hope you start your collection soon.