I’ve been a member since may 2023
Is 6 cards expired a lot? I keep seeing the same members getting cards from other people but not mine? Just wondered what everyone else’s experience was like?
I’ve been a member since may 2023
Is 6 cards expired a lot? I keep seeing the same members getting cards from other people but not mine? Just wondered what everyone else’s experience was like?
I think it depends a bit on how expired they are — with 128 cards sent as you have currently, 6 truly expired cards seems to me like quite a lot. But, if most of them are just going to slower destinations like Russia or China and are over 60 days but still under the expected travel times for those countries (let’s say, what, 70-150 days?), then I think they’ll still be registered and your 6 expired probably isn’t that strange.
I have sent almost 200 cards and I have had only one card actually fall off the system (and I have a second one GB>CN that’s currently at 110 days), but I have had 9 expire before they’re finally registered (and hopefully that China card will be a 10th ) which seems to align roughly with your stats.
So I recently found that I had 3 expired postcards and decided to reach out to the recipients. I explained that I wanted to double-check if they received the postcards and offered to resend them. Out of the three recipients, one registered the card immediately with the ID I provided, one requested that I send a second card, and the third recipient never replied at all. Just thought it was interesting and wanted to share. What would you do with the 3rd member? Would you resend the card anyway or let it be?
Where is it going? Is it an active member? What do you want?
No 3 might have not seen the message. Mine are sorted in a postcrossing map, so they are easy to miss.
Or, more negative, as you provided the ID, there is a fair chance that number 3 felt pressures and didn’t reply because of that. And 1 did not received the card either. Just registrated it out if kindness.
I just realised after 15+ years of postcrossing. I can’t remember the time I received a card that I was not able to registrate. And I have never received an answer like: oh… yeah I have your card but the ID doesn’t work. So I think there is no point to ask actually.
Netherlands. Active but I think hasn’t logged in yet recently, I can’t remember.
As previously stated, I wanted to see what others would do. I will likely wait for the answer and if nothing then I’ll probably just let it be.
I wonder why they would feel pressure? If I didn’t provide the ID idk how else they would identify the card if they received it. I’ve already resent the 2nd card for the member who responded that they hadn’t received it and wish for me to resend.
Perhaps by describing the card itself - what picture was on it, if you used stickers, what colour ink etc.
If I inquire after a card, I don’t provide the ID so that they will not feel the pressure to register.
It probably goes something along the lines of, Hello, sometime ago I sent you a card with an orange flower and a butterfly. It was dated xxxx and I used blue ink on it. Have you received it?
I generally don’t inquire after cards - after 100 days or so I’ll check if the member is active, and if they are, I send along a specially prepared replacement card
I normally describe the card, time when it’s sent, and how the id starts, like
I sent the card to you on January 1st, it’s an image of bird in snow, id starts with FI-12345…
I get these every now and then, now I got a card where I think was a sticker with the id, but it has gotten wet, and the sticker was lost.
Sometimes the id has been partly under the stamp, and I didn’t think to look there, sometimes no id at all, sometimes I’m not able to tell what numbers there are, I think at least once a month I receive a card that needs some more work
Now I have the one partial card and the one that got wet, that I don’t know those id’s. (But the wet one I just asked help, so I hope it will be solved. Edit, it is solved now
)
And when I asked after my expired, I didn’t tell the id (only in the beginning I did, because I didn’t know someone will register it even when they didn’t get it), and every time someone registered the card, and some others. I think for some it’s like a reminder to register the cards.
Also, some think it takes too much energy to ask the id help.
Maybe one could tell the id, but also tell, only register it if you really have the card?
Good points. For some it is a reminder.
But when something is wrong with the ID, the moderators were able to find it.
I haven’t gotten that particular answer either, but I did get “oh sorry, the card went straight on the fridge/I was so sure I’d already registered it” more than a few times, so in my experience it can help to ask. But of course, only a polite message, no request to register.
There’s no way I could remember what I sent 100 days ago and unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of it, as I don’t always remember to. Thanks for chiming in with your thoughts! I’ll keep in mind what the opinions here are on writing the ID and we’ll see if it happens again. I think it will be a case by case basis decision but I personally wouldn’t feel pressure.
Blockquote but I did get “oh sorry, the card went straight on the fridge/I was so sure I’d already registered it” more than a few times,
That’s what I am afraid of doing myself, that I somehow forget to register or accidentally mislay a received card. It’s also the reason why I would like to know if cards are on their way to me for an unusually long time. I’m happy to look through my received cards if I get a few hints on either the picture or the id.
I believe we are not supposed to provide ID numbers, to prevent the recipient from being able to register an un-received card.
I save time and energy and don’t think about it. As soon as the card is expired, I forget about it.
I tend to do that now, but I think it’s easier to do when we have a lot of slots available to us. But it’s different when you can send fewer cards. I know I wanted as many to arrive as possible so that I could move on to the next level and get those precious extra slots. So back then, I would send an extra card if an expired card was to someone who is still active in Postcrossing.
Of course, every person is different. And people behave very differently, even with the same thing. And often behave differently again after a longer period of time.
I think it’s important that everyone finds a solution that suits their situation and time and makes them happy.
But we should be careful not to feed our dissatisfaction rather than prepare the ground for our happiness.
I’m quite new here and this is my situation with expired cards…
I don’t lose hope, let’s see what will happen . I’ve sent 18 more postcards (successfully).
And… yep I’ve also sent a message to each one of those three postcrossing members, no one of them have answered me yet despite being logged few days or minutes ago. Patience.
Those are 3 countries that regularly show up in my expired card list. Currently 1 expired to Russia, 1 to Belarus and 2 to Taiwan among others. I think everything below 100 days is still reasonable. I would give cards sent in December an extra 20 days because of the volume around the holidays. I’ve got currently 4 expired cards that I sent last December.
The last three in my list are
The Netherlands one is a surprise, while Russia is not that surprising
24 only. 2 will drop of the list soon - if not registered. 2 candidates travelling at 55d to BR and BY.
Most cards XP to… DE.
By sending less cards the number of expired goes down as well!! (The percentage might stay the same at 7 to 12%). I do sent less from NL, but wish to go on high speed at TM.
Around 10% of my sent cards got registered after 60d. Around almost 10% of received cards travelled for 60+d. Corection, about 7%
I sent this user a postcard 180 days ago! 6 months traveling…
And she is inactive for 4 months
Please help me to register the postcard
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It is inappropriate to publish the user name.