I joined PC earlier this year and have sent 12 cards. I joined because I’m learning to paint and have been sending personalized cards and I enjoy the challenge of making something for a stranger. I usually try and find something in the recipient’s profile that they are interested in and then I paint for them. So I’ve sent a squirrel, guinea pig, Harry Potter themed, flowers for gardeners etc I even just made and sent a round card and a homemade envelope to fit it because it was requested. It takes more effort and often more cost than a cheap postcard of my home town as I buy cotton watercolor cards, expensive paint and then varnish to protect them during travel.
I was under the impression that the point was to connect with people, not for people to build your postcard collection for you. If it isn’t about building a collection, then the card shouldn’t matter.
If it is because people send lame homemade cards, well there are plenty of dreadful commercially produced ones too. If it is about low effort, well you can be just as low effort with a commercial card, probably even more so. I’ve seen profiles of people who have sent the same card over and over to multiple people.
I always try to send a chatty card and fill the space and tell why I painted what I did and about who I am and not just write a couple of words.It feels kind of insulting honestly when someone doesn’t want me to connect with them that way and would prefer a lame photo of a place they could print off the internet.
I have some random postcards left over from old vacations and I’ll send one of those, but I really don’t feel good about this interaction.
How common is this? If this is normal I’m not sure how much I want to continue.
(I don’t know how to add images otherwise I’d include some)
Hi, welcome to Postcrossing and to the forum.
I moved your question to this topic where similar questions were discussed before.
That helps to keep the forum a bit more “tidy”. Hope it’s okay for you.
Your cards are wonderful!
There are a number of people who don’t want handmade cards. You still can send them one of if you like to - your only obligation is to send a postcard, you don’t have to fulfill any wishes.
Just do whatever you like to.
(I wouldn’t invest the effort to make a card for those people. They’d just get some card from my stock and I’d look forward to more enjoyable connections with other people. There are many nice connections on Postcrossing - everyone has to learn to cope with those they don’t like-)
Hello @Lunavan
Your hand drawn cards look beautiful! Congratulations for being so creative!!
I would be very happy to receive one of your own creations!
You will see that people will also read your post in this topic if they are interested in discussing handmade cards. It’s how we try to keep the forum a little bit tidy - by putting messages that discuss similar themes into the same topic.
It doesn’t mean your post isn’t appreciated.
I think your cards are lovely . I’m sure a lot of people will appreciate them. And for those who don’t want any hand-made cards, just send them cheap ones. You can always decorate them on the back.
It’s not a 2 year old post - it just started 2 years ago - if you scroll up, you’ll see there have been a number of posts from this year.
Postcrossing collects posts with the same issue on one thread because otherwise there’d be 10’s of 1000’s of lone posts plus the previous answers & collective experience of others is quite useful to most people.
Most questions you might have as someone new have been answered 100’s of times already & seeing that others have those same questions can help build the community
There are many, many ways to participate in Postcrossing. There is no one way to participate.
There is a groups of folks on Postcrossing not interested in handmade cards & that’s their choice, but there are lots of people who do enjoy them, so I’d save your lovely cards for those who do. Enjoy exploring the community!
@Lunavan …people join PostCrossing for different reasons. When people express unhappiness or dissatisfaction with PostCrossing, 90% of the time they haven’t carefully read the Guidelines. My own viewpoint is that it is much better to consider what interests, or does not interest, other members. Their preferences are valid too. Problems ensue when people want to do this strictly on their own terms.
People collect postcards for a variety of reasons. I have been buying/selling/trading etc. picture postcards for 40+ years. In the strict sense of the term, postcard collecting involves the picture side of the card, although the message side can be interesting too. I periodically go through my Viewcards, Official and Forum cards, to look at them. Last night, I picked out a card that an Italian member sent me in 2017. So, in sum, as others have said, keep an open mind about the Project. You will have a nice time here. After 11 years, I know I have.
I understand what you are saying, but at the same time PC is pretty explicit that “the goal of this project is not for collectors to complete their collections.”
And at the same time PC is also pretty explicit that “You’re welcome to describe what you’re interested in via your profile, which we show to the members selected to send postcards to you, but the sender doesn’t have to comply.”
You just have to accept that people are different. You can’t ask 800k members to like your handmade.
These are just 3 that I have made so if you would like to swap one of your handmade postcards let me know
Congratulations for being so creative!!
. I’m sure a lot of people will appreciate them. And for those who don’t want any hand-made cards, just send them cheap ones. You can always decorate them on the back.
