LetterAgent
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Mail a letter to a pen pal the same way you mail any letter: their full name and mailing address on the front, your return address on the back, and enough postage for the destination. For pen pals abroad, write the country name in capital letters on the last line and expect delivery to take longer than a domestic letter.
Pen pal matching sites, language-exchange communities, and hobby forums are the usual starting points. Look for sites that let adults verify each other and that do not publish home addresses in public profiles. Many people start by swapping first names and a general region, then share a mailing address only after a few messages have built some trust. That slow start is normal in pen pal culture, not rude.
For children, the safe route is a school program, a library club, or a moderated site that a parent or teacher can review. Children should not share a home address, school name, or daily schedule with a stranger. A post office box, a school address, or a parent's work address keeps the fun while keeping the home address private.
Open with how you found each other and one or two things you would like to talk about. A first letter that asks three or four simple questions gives the other person something easy to answer: what they do for fun, what their town is like, what music or books they enjoy. Keep it to one or two pages. A very long first letter can feel like homework to answer.
Photos, postcards, and small flat extras like stickers travel well in a normal envelope. Anything bulky, like a thick stack of photos or a small gift, may need extra postage or a padded envelope, and some countries restrict what can arrive in a letter. When in doubt, keep the first few letters to paper only.
| Part of the letter | What to do |
|---|---|
| Envelope front | Pen pal's full name, street address, city, state or province, postal code, country in capitals |
| Return address | Your full name and address, top left or on the back flap |
| Postage | Domestic rate for same-country pals; international rate for pals abroad |
| Inside the letter | Your first name, a few questions, and one or two personal details |
| What to avoid | Home address for children, bank details, passwords, travel plans |
International letters need international postage, which costs more than a domestic stamp and is sold by weight. A one-page letter in a standard envelope usually falls in the lightest weight band, but a letter with photos or several pages can cross into the next band. Weigh the sealed envelope at a post office counter the first time, so you learn what your usual letters cost.
Address format changes by country. In much of Europe, the postal code comes before the city name. In Japan, addresses run from large to small, starting with the prefecture. Copy the address exactly as your pen pal writes it, even if the order looks backwards to you. Their local post office reads it in their own format, and changing the order to match yours can slow it down.
Domestic pen pal letters usually take a few business days each way. International letters can take one to three weeks each way, and longer around holidays or during postal disruptions. A good rule: wait at least twice the expected delivery time before assuming a letter went missing. Pen pal friendships run on a slower clock than email, and that is part of the appeal. If a reply never comes after a month or two, a short follow-up letter is fine. People move, get busy, or lose letters, and one gentle nudge is not pushy.
LetterAgent mails letters to recipients in the United States and Canada, with the recipient address showing through a window envelope. That covers pen pals in those two countries. Pen pals elsewhere need a letter posted through your own post office, since LetterAgent does not mail internationally. For US and Canadian pen pals, describe the letter to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed, with no account or signup.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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