I definitely agree with the recommendations to send to own country and repeated countries. This is what my travelling list looks like currently, and it’s been like that for the last month or so, so much so that I’ve been able to send many more cards due to the difference in price.
Sometimes I do wish I could opt to send only to USA, but I assume I’m in the minority and that would be an undertaking on the back end that may not serve most users.
I’ve seen that you don’t need any more replies @yobriannas, but I find the discussion interesting and as the thread will be read by more members, I want to add a thought.
There were and are always complaints that users get too many German addresses, as Germany is a very active country. If there was an option to only send within your own country, I’m afraid that people voicing complaints that they don’t want to get German addresses would expect German members to activate this option to keep their non-desired addresses out of the address pool. 
That wouldn’t be nice for us German members.
I use old-school book with handwritten notes of everyone’s address with what is exchange for:) and i keep track of everyday))
In my eyes, this option wouldn’t be fair to all those postcrossers who doesn’t live in a big country with many active members. They have to sent international if they want to send and receive postcards.
You got lots of advices what you can do if you want to send more domestic mail.
I always wonder this too, how is it that the mail in USA is so cheap! (Is it still normal to send bills, cheques etc. so could this affect, that people can afford sending things that must be sent?)
In Finland domestic letter/postcard is 2.30€ and international either 2.30€ in economy class, 2,50€ in priority.
It must be the super cheap domestic mail in USA makes the international feel expensive.
I think it would be like the “send within your country” now. If you send in your country, you receive.
So if you would only send within your country, you would only receive from your country.
But I think the money, or cost of stamps, can’t be the reason. It will never be equal from this point, simply because we have different amounts of money in our use.
And of course this could function only in some countries.
But, did Russia do their own postcard exchange, where it’s only for people in Russia? (edit. like their own “postcrossing” page even, where you sign, I think this was mentioned sometimes?)
@yobriannas you could also like swap-bot. There are swaps arranged, and nowadays is a lot of USA only swaps.
This is not bad idea.
Sending cards from Australia I have to say that it’s not only the cost that becomes a problem (1.20$ Aud vs 3.60 $ AUD) but also the travelling times…
Average travelling time from and to Australia is 30 days at best.
I’ve already opted into sending and receiving cards to and from Australia and so far I’ve only received 2 cards in one year.
I wouldn’t mind increasing this number…
As for the international character of postcrossing I don’t think there will be a problem if an additional option is added or not.
The key word here is optional
Just because someone can share their opinion, it doesn’t mean they have to be rude about it.
In countries where the postage is both expensive and varies by the region you’re sending to, it definitely takes some consideration about how many addresses to pull. When I was living in Italy, I used to hope I wouldn’t get addresses in Asia because they were the most expensive, at the time over 3 euro. But there was nothing I could do about it except making sure I still had enough for an Asian/Oceanic address should I pull one.
I honestly don’t perceive the rudeness your mentioning anywhere. But I’m German, so maybe I’ve just got a different perception. 
And I have to admit that Germanys postage for international cards is quite cheap (0.95€; domestic it’s 0.85€).
Still cheap.
But you’re right of course. I haven’t sent any postcards within Germany recently, just letters.
It’s just an idea…
I’m sure if Paolo wanted to do it he could add something on the secret sauce of postcrossing algorithm to increase a bit the percentage of cards coming from the same country, if that is what the individual post-crosser wants.
I guess the Lichtensteinian post-crosser wouldn’t opt for receiving cards from Lichtenstein and if he/she would, the algorithm could keep things slow, like now…
Sending an international postcard is getting more expensive more often, and now it costs 75 rubles and 85 rubles. (except for Belarus and Kazakhstan, there are 65 and 75 rubles). In Russia, sending a postcard costs 19 rubles. The difference has become very large. And returning now to Postcrossing, I will think about whether it is worth putting a mark for sending, including to my own country. In general, when the price of postage rises, I simply reduce the number of postcards and letters sent a little. Of course, this is a pity, but it’s not only the mail that really gets more expensive, so you have to count and try not to give up your favorite hobby. 
When I draw an addy in Germany I am always especially happy! (Only an addy in Austria makes me more happy, haha)! Relatively short travelling time, relatively reliable postal service, relatively reliable Postcrossers. 
Of course there are exceptions and cards get lost or users “vanish”, but, in my very long experience, fewer than elsewhere.
So I am always especially happy to send to Germany.
As far as I am concerned, users would be welcome to choose to send to their own country only, but then they might not be able to draw an addy, if they so desire, if none is available, in a small country.
And in the next topic about “I want more variety of addresses, so many German addresses suck” there would be demands that users of countries with small activity shouldn’t be allowed to activate the option “only my own country”, because their addresses must go to the pool for other countries. 
My view on this is if a hobby is important to you, you invest in it for the enjoyment it gives you. You can control the extent of the expenditure. As with other things I have seen posted here, some “suggestions” fly in the face of the PostCrossing project. I have smiled several times while reading some of the replies here. Several members in this thread have traded with me recently; and some many years ago. Both US and International members.
Just to balance out the complaints about Germany, I love sending to Germany and I have the repeated countries option on as well. So I get many German addresses and that’s fine with me 
I love sending cards to Germany too. Every time I request a new address, I hope really hard for a USA or Germany address 
80% of my sent cards are to the USA or Germany, and I’m happy! Some of my cards to Germany are registered even quicker than my domestic cards.
I was coming here just to see if others wanted this and I am a bit surprised that so few were interested in this option. I would personally love to have the option! Part of it is the cost, and part of it is the amount of time it takes. (Especially when you are starting out!) I would still want to send some internationally but I would like to be able to have more in motion in my home country if I could have the choice.
By going to your profile and choosing to send to repeated country, you will get a lot of USAn addresses.
So, check you have this option chosen, as to me, looking at your sent cards going to so many countries, I think you have not chosen this.
and not to forget send/receive within own country (it’s settings-profile-options)
I think that is a great idea. It is really expensive to send internationally. And sometimes you just don’t have the money to do so.
