Country Post Particularities to be Aware of

Postcrossing General Topics
#1

What tips do you have for sending to and from different countries?
What is the BEST way to set up the backside of your card to prevent any important text being covered?
In the US and some other countries, I know a long sticker is put on the bottom (or a bar code thingy).
I’ve been informed that France stamps the top and it covers a lot of my message and postcard ID when sending cards out…
I also often have little marks on the front of the card, looks like they got caught in a sorting machine- is it a sorting machine in my country or in the US?

When sending to China or Russia, if the address is given in the native language I ALWAYS print it, much high chance of it arriving.
What other tips do you have?

2 Likes
#2

Within, to or from the US, you should avoid the bottom half-inch or centimeter of a card, especially the address and postcard ID. I also avoid writing the postcard ID withing the top inch or two centimeters of the top as the postmark can cover that area making the PC ID hard to read.

Talking about hard to read PC IDs, I use a Dymo label maker to print the postcard ID on a 1/4 inch wide tape. This helps my PC IDs to be easily read even if numbers are written differently in another country or if the recipient can’t read my handwriting, he can at least read the PC ID.

I also use the same label maker to print tiny return address labels, about 1/4 inch by 1/3 inch big. Return addresses aren’t customary on postcards of course, so they may not get noticed, but I have had undeliverable cards returned and been able to try again successfully the second time (instead of them being permanently lost and expired). I state on my profile that the return address is not a request for the receiver to send a postcard back.

I’ve never had an issue with writing addresses in only Latin script. The official language of the Universal Postal Union is French, so all postal services are able to read Latin script.

3 Likes
#3

Sometimes the US post office places a white long sticker on the bottom of cards. These can be peeled off with no damage to the card.

1 Like
#4

The orange/peach marks on the front of the card are from the USA. The machines put a black barcode on the back and the peach one on the front. The machines then can read the barcode quickly. The barcode is the location of where the item is going and carriers might have to scan it when delivering the mail.

It’s how the USPS tests if all the mail is getting to the right office and if it getting out same day. The barcode let’s them see they have between 95.25-96.8 percent success rate on first class mail.

#5

When I received a postcard from Lithuania, there was a barcode sticker just below my address. I wonder if they place it to incoming mail too? I’d also like to know these things so I can avoid writing/decorating on that part. My postcards have still been delivered even though I didn’t know these things before :sweat_smile:

1 Like
#6

About lithuanua. Same with The Postcard i received. And The German Post Put a German Sticker onto The Picture side. (Not even so easy to Peel off…i took Care and still some of The cards Picture came off…) That was for registered Mail. But The Sender Said, it was Not registered Mail.

1 Like
#7

About the baracode sticker on cards from Lithuania - there was a thread about it a while ago: Got mail from Lithuania lately?, with an explanation from a Lithuanian user. I know German postcrossers are still receiving cards with “registered mail” stickers added by our own post, sometimes covering the stamps, sometimes the text, sometimes the picture - it’s not really something to be aware of since the senders can’t do anything about it, but we as receivers should keep complaining - and explaining! - to Deutsche Post so they’ll stop adding these useless stickers.

2 Likes