I always read the message first and look at the stamp(s) before I turn the postcard around and look at the picture. Then I scan all cards and stamps - sometimes at that stage I notice I hadn’t even looked at the picture side of a card, but only read its message. When my account isn’t inactive (as it is right now), I usually receive more than one card a day, often quite a few. When I’m done scanning (or even during the scanning process, as my scanner is very old and sometimes takes ages to scan), I sort the IDs by the date they were requested. The date that many people write on the card is only of very little help in this regard, as people often don’t write the card on the day they request the address and there can be a day or a month inbetween, so I check adjecent IDs for their sent dates. I know that this will seem crazy to a lot of people, but my OCD clearly asks me to register in chronological order. If possible, I will not register cards from one country in a row, but the date takes precedence.
During the registration itself, I will read the message again and in case it’s written in Russian, I may need the help of Google Translate to understand a passage or try to figure out a more challenging handwriting (“Did you mean ____?” - Ooh, possibly!). Then I write a thank you message, which can again take a while if I’m writing in Russian (I’m extremely slow typing in Russian, although I am slowly getting faster ). I always replace a pre-uploaded image with my own scan immediately and upload all other scans as well, of course.
Sometimes, when I receive only one card or if I’m short on time, I will leave the scanning for later and register straight away - but still I remove pre-existing images at once, because I am definitely going to replace them and I don’t want to have to remove comments and favoriters’ hearts along with the image. If time permits, I will then scan the cards for those cases, but it really doesn’t happen very often. The scanning process is a bit of a “me time” thing for me - I listen to audio plays or podcasts while I do it and quite enjoy this time, I don’t see it as a chore.
This tradition is also mentioned in the very old Soviet movie Devchata. Maybe you remember?
I’m curious, if that scene set starting this tradition or just illustrated the already existing one…
Our post usually arrives after lunch and comes through the letter box in the front door. My husband (who also does Postcrossing) or I shout out “Postcards” when we see some lying on the doormat. It’s usually me so I sort out his and mine.
First I look at the stamps to see which country they came from, read the message, check the date if they’ve written that on, check for an ID number, and only then remember to look at the picture.
I usually register the postcards straight away, commenting on the card, stamps, message decoration. If the sender hasn’t uploaded a picture, I take a picture with my phone and upload that before I move on to the next postcard. I also read a little bit about the sender - looking at their profile, at their wall etc.
I have M.E., so sometimes run out of energy. If there are several postcards to register, I might have to do some of them later in the day (or even the next day) when I can give them more attention. I LOVE registering the cards, so want to give each card proper attention.
After fetching postcards from our mailbox I usually show them first to my husband (we are both at home currently, so I like to share the joy). Then I take them to the kitchen table and sit down and start “exploring” - in no defined order. I try to register them immediately (I use my mobile phone for PC), but if I do not have the time to write a proper Thank You message I leave registration until the evening of the same day.
By the way, I noticed nobody has mentioned yet any “haptic” element of their ritual. I love to touch the surface of the postcard, slide my fingers over the different structures of stamps, stickers, tapes, writing and the card itself, sometime with “scars” from traveling. That is always an important part of my card exploring procedure.
Here is what I do:
I try to register postcards the day I receive them. I register in the evening when I have time
I get them out of the mailbox and leave them in that order. Than I read and watch them. They stay in that order until I register. I scan before registering. If I was asked any questions on the postcard I answer to them in my Hurray-Message.
In the weekend I upload all cards to my Flickr account also.
I am quite new at Postcrossing, so every postcard excites me deeply. I could not wait until I am at home, therefore I read them right in front of the mail box
Sometimes, if the sender has not uploaded a photo, I will add a photo with my cat, or if the card has especially nice stamps, I will add those to the photo wall for special memories.
Do you note on it the day received and from whom? Do you send them a message letting them know it’s arrived? How do you store your received postcards (when you don’t plan to display them)?
Yes I’m sending them a message letting them know it’s arrived.And I’m examine card what’s writing on it meaning of stamps etc.For example I received a card from China.So there was Chinese writing in stamps with help of Google Lens I translated Chinese writings.Then put it to my postcards box.
I read the writing side, look at the stamps and see if they have spelled my name right. Then (if I remember) I look at the picture side. For official cards, I then register the card and write a message. After this, if the card has not been scanned, I take a photo and upload it. The final steps are a quick look at the sender’s profile and then the card gets filed away. Most of the time I put cards in a big box of cards I’ve got. Every few months, I look at the cards and choose my favourites which I then put in an album.
I’ll pick up the postcards from where my family put them for me, I’ll have a quick look at the front and where the postcards are from, then I’ll start reading them, usually I keep the ones that are in an envelope (if there are cards in envelopes with my received cards) for last.
After I’ve read all of them I’ll open the postcrossing website, then I’ll enter the ID and read the message again, before writing the Hurray message, after I’ve done that with all my received postcards I’ll sort the postcards in the order of the ones that were sent later and first and put them in that order in my ‘received postcards box.’
When I receive postcards I do these steps in order: Read the card, take a little time to admire the stamps or decorations, look at actual image of the card, decide if I want it on my bookshelf for a while. If it is a Postcrossing official card, I will register it and write my Thank you and answer any questions in the card. If it’s for the forum, I will let the person know it has arrived; if they remembered to include their username. If not, then I spend some time searching. All postcards go into my singular postcard box; I have not devised a way to sort them yet.
No, it’s literally just a box on top of the bookcase. I slip them in and when I can’t fit any more in I sort them into three categories: album, bin and keep in box.
I pick them up at my PO Box, then I first make sure they’re all addressed to me before I leave the building (I once had one for another postcrosser in my box). I usually also just glance at the IDs to see what countries they’re from.
Once I get home I read the backs. I set them aside to register them.
I read the backs again before sending the thank-you messages. Then I often remember that I didn’t look at the front of them yet.
I send the messages, then scan fronts and backs of cards. Set them aside again to be stored when there are more than just a few.
I store them in plastic boxes which I’ve shown here before:
They’re sorted by what’s on the card, rather than by country. So animals, art, etc.
I wait a little before opening my envelopes or reading my cards. I want peace and a cup ofcoffee or tea.
Sometimes I send a PM to the person who sent me what I’ve received, sometimes I do nothing on internet and I write him/her back.
IE: I had a swap, but this girl impressed me so much and I wrote her back instead of stopping after the swap.
And now we’re penpals
Bring cards to a place in the house that I want to sit down and really read them without distractions or interruptions. I always bring the cards into the house from the mailbox written side up.
Favorite locations are the couch in the den, or at my desk. I’ve also gone outside on nice days on our back porch.
I take my time and read each one, sometimes more than once. I look at the stamps, too, and see if I can read the cancellation. I also like to read any pre-printed info on the card as well.
I then examine the defects or marks that the card endured on it’s way to me. It’s just so amazing to me that these cards are traveling thousands of miles between two homes for a little bit of communication with a personal touch! I like the dings, scrapes, and wrong cancellations, most of the time. I once received just the bottom corner of a postcard from Singapore. I was able to register the card and let the sender know what happened, but didn’t want another sent, and yet she sent another anyway, so that was a surprise!
Then I look at the back of the card. I do love the back of the cards as well. That’s like the icing on the cake. Sometimes they fit my tastes more than others, but each card is special. While I do have a lot of themed collections, I ultimately feel this is about the connection made - the act of taking time out of one’s life to write a kind message to a random person and to brighten their day a little more.
Then I sort the cards into piles by which - official, by RR, or by Bingo, etc. Then I register the officials and write a little note based on the info they gave me. Sometimes I will look at a profile, others I won’t. If the card isn’t uploaded yet, I will wait until I scan all the cards and then upload them.
After I read them, I put them on my desk (I have a roll top desk, so they sit above me, on the lip of the roll top.)
When the pile gets big enough, I then scan them all on my scanner.
I upload them to Flickr and sort into their albums. I always put them in a country album, but then some will fall into 1, 2, or even 3 collection categories.
After scanning and sorting online, I then move the images form the “waiting to be sorted” folders into my own digital collections on my computer.
After that, they go into another pile on my roll top to then wait to be filed into my physical collections/countries.
I have a lot of cards and haven’t quite figured out the best display solution for them yet. I appreciate both sides of the card, so it’s been difficult to come up with a solution that will fit my want/need to be able to see both sides. So, for now, the cards are filed by most prominent collection first (i.e. Christmas Inge Look card would file under Inge Look), and if the card doesn’t fit into one of my collections, it’s filed by country. I file them by using 5x8 sized manila envelopes with the country name on the front, then in alphabetical order. These are stored in plastic storage bins to protect from elements. The collections are currently in large regular white envelopes with the names of the collections on the flaps, which stick up, also in alphabetical order, and also stored in plastic storage bins.
When my account isn’t inactive (as it is right now), I usually receive more than one card a day, often quite a few. When I’m done scanning (or even during the scanning process, as my scanner is very old and sometimes takes ages to scan), I sort the IDs by the date they were requested. The date that many people write on the card is only of very little help in this regard, as people often don’t write the card on the day they request the address and there can be a day or a month inbetween, so I check adjecent IDs for their sent dates. I know that this will seem crazy to a lot of people, but my OCD clearly asks me to register in chronological order. If possible, I will not register cards from one country in a row, but the date takes precedence. 
