The station also evaluates a reception report in light of the listener's receiver and antenna.
One aspect of DXing is collecting QSL cards and letters from stations heard (similar to a birdwatcher's "life list").
Since QSLing is a voluntary act on the station's part, several techniques are used to improve a listener's success rate.
[1] International shortwave broadcasters are familiar with the SINPO code: Each letter receives a value between 5 and 1, where 5 is the best and 1 the worst.
[2] While major international broadcasters have not required return postage for a QSL, the growing popularity of e-mailed reception reports and e-QSLs has largely eliminated the necessity for international reply coupons (IRCs), mint stamps from the verifying station's country or "green stamps" (US dollar bills).