My favorite thing about this hobby is trying to find the card in my stash that best fits the recipient. So, i want a big variety of cards but I can’t afford to pay too much.
I have found that i really like books of postcards. Because they get torn out, each card has at least one serrated edge. If its a large book with 4 postcards to a page they have 2 rough edges. A small few are glued so they have pretty smooth edges
Do you mind getting postcards like this? If i decorate the side i write on with stickers and washi will people consider that ‘homemade’? I know i cant please everyone but i dont want to send a card that someone won’t like.
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If a postcard has a serrated edge I use my paper cutter to carefully trim it so that it’s a smooth edge. A decorated back side of a postcard doesn’t make it “handmade” or “homemade.” Many people like stickers, washi tape, etc used as decorations on the written side 
If a profile says that they don’t like decorations I don’t add them (some people worry about adhesives ruining the postcards over time as many of them aren’t acid free or they worry that these extras might jam up postal sorting machines.)
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I’ve had a few postcards with a perforated edge and I wondered why. I didn’t know you could get books of cards. Receiving one wouldn’t bother me. I just googled it and you can get coloring books of postcards!!
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I certainly wouldn’t mind getting one with a perforated edge. It’s still a valid postcard.
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You could cut off the perforated edge/side, carefully.
But it would be a card anyway. So do as you like.
To me the picture itself really matters, and if I like it, I like it with perforation too. And if it doesn’t really speak to me, it doesn’t, though it might be one of the most expensive cards existing. That’s not really important. What would be important to me, is, what/how you write.
For example I just received a really cute card with 2 perforated sides, and I love the card. Because of the stamp placed quite close to the perforation, I can’t cut it off myself. But every time I look at it, I feel a bit joy, because it’s beautiful and very kindly written.
For me, it’s nice if someone decoreates the backside of a card. But please not the frontside (picture), unless it makes a better impression as a whole.
I use postcardbooks and calendars, too. Nowadays I usually cut off the perforated part. But I didn’t in the beginning of my postcrossing-life. And sometimes I still forget.
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I always cut away the serration with my paper scissors. I do it as careful as possible, so in the end you cannot see it.
In Germany we also do have some really beautiful postcard calendars, e.g. by Harenberg. Some of them could be interesting also for non-german postcrossers, e.g. there is one themed “New York”, another one “Norway”, etc. So if the shipping coasts are not too high, you can order them in internet.
Not all postcrossers enjoy receiving such calendar cards, or from a postcard book. As long as I like the motif shown, and the card is written friendly, I don’t mind if the card is from a book or separately bought in a shop. In Germany the mentioned Harenberg cards are seen controversial. Some love them, some hate them. I like, but I hate receiving a card with serrated edges. I always take my scissers and remove those little papper nibbles at the edges. Again: you don’t see it afterwards, really!
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You can also remove the perforation with fine sandpaper placed around a small wooden block.
Simply rub the edge carefully a few times from above and it is perfectly smooth.
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This was really a great technique. I am using a nail file to sand the edges.
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