Today I got an address of member whose profile is only talking about one specific country. All they like is everything from country X. All they wish for is everything from country X. They listed all country X cartoon, artist, culture, etc.
I know that we don’t have to fulfill wishlist. I know that we can send any card we want. But this kind of profile is kind of let down. There are 248 countries listed in Postcrossing. You should be more open to other cultures, not only for one specific country. I don’t even know what card I should send and what I should write
Talk about your country. This person already knows a lot about country x, you can be a reason for he/she fall in love with other countries and find the beauty in diversity. I’m sure you can tell him/her an unknown fact about Indonesia.
Actually, I’ve drawn a few profiles like that, almost all from Japanophiles, but also once from an Anglophile and also once from someone who more specifically just wanted Paris-Paris-Paris. Personally I don’t mind mind because so far anyway these requests have been clearly wish lists and I didn’t feel like the person would be unhappy with my card just because it didn’t have to do with their place of interest.
If a profile said something like, “Please save your cards about anything other than Country X for someone who will appreciate them” that would be another matter! In that case I might ask the admins to look at the profile and possibly send a friendly message reminding them to be more open.
As for what to write? Well, if I have visited or want to visit the place they are in love with I have mentioned that, or I might do what @bom_dia said and say “I’m as crazy about Place Y as you are about Country X! I especially like…”
I’d write “What’s Paris/Japan/xyz if you can have Monschau?!” and send a card showin the small but cute town Monschau in the Eifel, which is quite close to me. I think people who only wish certain cards or cards from certain places just do not know how pretty other places are.
Reading all these comments, I’m afraid that my profile may come across as pushy or something like that. Could somebody check my profile and advice whether I should change anything?
I’m generally happy with any cards, but there are some cards that would make me extra happy. I’m trying to get that across in my profile…
I don’t think it’s pushy, as you give lots of different themes.
Although I miss something like an introduction, some information about you at the beginning.
(If you prefer to keep things private, that’s ok as well, maybe a simple “Hello” or another greeting will do the trick)
But that is against the rules. You agreed when you signed up that you would send a postcard. You can’t just decide to not do that, based on a profile you pull.
YES! I would add those who have a Flickr album and ask to check there first to avoid repeats… and the album has hundreds of unsorted/unlabeled cards so you end up spending half an hour browsing through them.
I don’t ever follow external links to people’s collections, websites, instagram accounts or whatever. When I see such requests I just do my best to pick something that I think they won’t have and leave it at that. If I send a duplicate and they take it badly, that’s their loss and not mine, I think.
I’ve just drawn a profile like that. The main issue is not even the postcards she wants to receive, althought she asks in capital letters to people look her collection and avoid duplicates and for specific series cards she doesn’t have in her collection yet. But the problem is that she specified exactly how she wants the postcards: her address must be handwritten because glued papers doesn’t look pretty, and she doesn’t like any decorations but washi tape. That’s not all. She also wants you to write about specific things and to draw something…she also states she wants to know more about the person who’s writing the postcard, but I kept asking myself how she would know anything about me if she wants to control every aspect of the postcard I’ll send?!
What a pity that you drew that address instead of me. I’d write the address by hand and I would not decorate it very much, but these two wishs might be the only ones I’d fulfil. I am no online shop and you are not an online shop either!
Yeah, right?! In the end I selected a postcard that was in her wishlist, wrote her address by hand, used mainly washi tape (and one sticker ) to decorate it. I only hope I didn’t anything she doesn’t like.
I prefer a longer wishlist too because you get to find something to write about and there is more likelihood of finding a good postcard for them. I also like it if they have a ‘but I like every card I get’ statement in case you have nothing at all that fits their list. I always hope that my postcard brings a spot of cheer into the receivers day so I try to make it work to their liking.
I have to admit the shorter the profile the more I think they are just a stamp collector and I am not wasting my money (expensive here) on a nice card for someone with no interest in the postcard.
Today I got a profile of someone who stated that she really enjoys reading a wishlist and finding the right card. But she had no wishlist and 0 favorites. That really does not inspire me at all. Sent her a message and the answer was:all cards are welcome. It takes all the fun out of sending cards.
Something like that shouldn’t take the fun away from you. Just send that person a card that you’d like to get. Add a kind message and the recipient will be happy. I wouldn’t have sent a message though, takes the surprise away…
When I started out, I felt the opposite - wishlists almost took the fun out for me. I thought I could choose a postcard and then find a recipient, and had to get used to the other way round and pre-buy different cards to keep in a stash, like most postcrossers do. I guess I like an excuse to buy cards, but it was unexpected.
I’m sure you can tell him/her an unknown fact about Indonesia. 
your profile doesn’t seem pushy to me
so you end up spending half an hour browsing through them.
I am no online shop and you are not an online shop either!
) to decorate it. I only hope I didn’t anything she doesn’t like. 