I am new to postcrossing. In the beginning, I hesitated for a long time to take the first address and send a postcard. But after my postcard arrived. I realized that this hobby suits me. And I always try to send several postcards at the same time. Although my relatives do not really believe that I will do this for a long time. But the very fact that my postcard lives in somewhere is very warm.
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I’m a member since 2017, and just get off in the pandemic… Oh, and I log almost everyday.
I feel you 
I’ve taken some long breaks. Sometimes because funds were tight, sometimes because I didn’t have the time (I was in graduate school from 2014-2016, for example). I love that I can come back and pick up the hobby as time allows.
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I have been part of Postcrossing for almost two years. I joined because I was unable to travel due to the pandemic–so it was a way for me to connect with other people in other Countries.
Sometimes I get discouraged when reading a profile–it is rare but it always stings. They just want a postcard for their collection–an entire hand’s length of what they would like to receive. No interest knowing me. Then I get another profile that gives me hope and they want to know something about me, they are interested in getting to know me in a few sentences. Today I received a three page letter (front and back) from a 16 year old young woman from Russia (yes, Russia–took 49 days!). It was wonderful and put all my enthusiam back into Postcrossing for me. The wonderful messages that tell me about the sender makes my day—there are more of those than the others. As there are more profiles that tell me about themselves and what they want to know about me rather than what postcard they want. 
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Maybe some people decide to leave this entertainment because of the high cost of post in their country.
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Hi I’m wondering what is the average length of time people stay or number of postcards people send on Postcrossing before closing their account.
I’ve wondered the same thing. It seems the majority of my cards that go unregistered were sent to people who only sent/received a handful of cards, and apparently lost interest quickly. I’ve often thought that would be a good statistic for Postcrossing to track/write about. But because of the negative connotation attached to it, I don’t think that will ever happen.
Postcrossing is more than the Official Postcrossing site. About a year ago, I stopped that activity completely. Now I just concentrate on the Forum side; much more enjoyable.
Can you speak more on this? What exactly do you enjoy about the forum? I am a novice.
In the Forum, you have Tags, Round Robins and other ways (private swaps) of getting postcards. More specifically, I like it because I can get the types of cards I am most interested in (or my collecting preferences). In the Forum, you have traders/members who are like-minded about collecting postcards. That gives you an idea. Thanks for the question!
Interesting observations. I have always thought it would be the cost that drives people out of the program. I really enjoy it but have contemplated leaving due to the accumulation of received postcards. I have limited wall space to display my favorites.
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I don’t know about the average, but this postcrosser’s lifetime will be as long as this postcrosser’s life. This hobby can be many things to many people, but for me it is about sending hope. I can’t stop doing that.
As I reviewed this thread, I found it interesting that most folks focused on what caused them to diminish their activity. What got in the way. Very few spoke of what drew them to it initially, or drew them back when they came back to it.
I, too, would have thought that cost would be a driver. While my country has some of the cheapest postage costs, they have been going up steadily over time. They will rise again this coming January. But I’ll have to keep going.
I feel like there is a risk/reward and personal relationship with one’s own patience involved in this question as well. Early on, one can only have a few cards in transit, and many folks supplement that by participating in other activities in the forums (round robins, etc.). I think some folks also activate getting cards from their own country, as the turn around time is quicker. This both provides a reward sooner, and increases the number you can have in transit more quickly, both a benefit.
I took a short break this summer, as I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with it. I intentionally let the number in transit drop to zero, and then slowly worked it back up. I kept wondering about the people who weren’t getting cards I wasn’t sending. I’ve crossed into being allowed forty in transit at a time, and I’ve found that at this stage, if I send every time that I have a slot available, I more often than not receive cards every day mail is delivered (which is six days a week in America). Thus the reward comes, but it took four years to get here.
But aside from all of that, I know that I will keep coming back to it. While I’ve been typing I got a “hurray message.” That means that as soon as I am done with this forum entry, I will have an open slot. I can click on “send a postcard,” and a stranger’s address will come. Then I get to read their bio, and look up on a map where they live, and learn a little more about geography. I get to rifle through my boxes of cards to find the one I think they will enjoy the most, carefully copy their address on the card, and pick some stamps to send/decorate it with. Maybe some washi tape. Stamp it with my signature rubber stamp. All the while I’ll be composing a message in my head thinking about what I can say that might bring a smile, a small bit of joy, some wisdom to this stranger a few weeks from now. Then I’ll pick the best set of pens to write that message, trying to be careful to make my terrible hand writing as legible as I can as it spills out of my head through my hand onto the card. This ritual, this simple act of sending love to a stranger is what will always bring me back.
I already have more cards than I will ever send, but I will continue to collect them in case someone needs just that one. As long as I can breathe, and think, and write, I will keep sending love to strangers. How can I not? One of those little gifts might make all the difference for someone on a very bad day. Might bring them back from the brink, might inspire them to have courage and ask someone out on a date, might give them a suggestion for a new book to read, or a new movie to watch, or a new song to listen to that leads them down a path that makes their life better. How can I risk not sending that card?
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Very well put.
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In my experience, it seems that people quit as soon as I draw their name!
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There are many reasons people stop sending cards (sometimes just temporarily - people may pause for months or years & then come back), it might be money, especially with inflation now but also lack of time & attention, life crises, new hobbies etc
Take a look at this thread, it may be helpful around managing your postcards:
I stoped about 10 years ago, I moved and was worried that some postcards might get lost during that period. And then life happened, I was busy and I simply forgot about this hobbie. A few months ago, after coming back from a trip I was sorting out the postcards I bought and I remembered about Postcrossing. And I’m so glad to be back! 
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The answer to this is going to be hard to determine, because yes, many people do stop and start the hobby for various reasons; it’s a common theme in many posts.
Myself, I have been here since 2011, and have taken several breaks over that time. Several moves, two mental health emergencies, some physical health emergencies, a couple of job changes, a divorce, a new relationship, some financial troubles… In reality, I can look at each of those points on my graph and remember what happened, and I know that I always missed PC and wanted to participate but sometimes just couldn’t. But to an outsider it probably just looks like I lost interest.
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I’ve gotten some of the most thoughtful postcards and letters from Postcrossers in Russia. I treasure them.
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I’m really curious and I’ll bet that I’m not the first to ask this question.
Is there a way to determine how many postcrosser members are “active” members and how many are “inactive?” One generally wonders how large their community is.
I ask this question because last night, I used the search function to see how many others are in the same area as me. I was really surprised to see that the huge majority have not logged on in years.
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