There are instructions at the top of any Tag thread, so read that. Then look at how people are responding - that should help you see what to do. And if you make a mistake, don’t worry, we were all beginners at one time or another 
To me, it depends on the circumstances. If there is some kind of connection to the recipient, his favorite themes or to me, then it’s okay. But mostly I try to avoid sending images I can’t relate to.
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I find my self travelling a lot, both domestically (USA) and internationally. Inevitably, I find myself with numerous tourist cards from around the world. As far as sharing them on Postcrossing with people requesting them, my philosophy is simple.
If I’m sending a card to someone in the United States, then I sometimes share a card from my foreign travels, and describe the trip in the message. Besides, most Americans probably wouldn’t care much for a card from New Jersey.
If I’m sending a card to a foreign address, then any card from the US, even if from the other side of the country, would work.
Would I sent a tourist card from a place I never visited… Well, I guess there’s always exceptions…
I just ordered 30 postcards from a company that specialises in Australian postcards & am excited to get the chance to send them if the five currently travelling ever reach their destinations (46 days for two of them). I ordered cards from places I have visited & enjoyed so I can add some personalised info when I send them, but I am wondering about buying cards from places I have not been but would really like to visit…is this something people are OK with or should I stick to only sending cards from places I can say something personal about?
Welcome to Postcrossing!
You will encounter both preferences here - some people really want to have something specific to you and your area, and some people are more interested in non-tourist/area-specific themes (cats, trains, royals, particular series or boxes).
The most important thing to remember is that you are only required to send a postcard, beyond that, it’s nice to meet people’s preferences, but not essential. We don’t all have the same access to buy cards, or don’t have touristy cards in our areas, and that is fine.
To answer your question a little more exactly - I send tourist cards of other parts of Australia. Sometimes it’s a place I’ve been to and I describe what I did there or my connection, other times it’s not. I think ‘from within Australia’ is accurate enough. If I stuck to only tourist cards of Melbourne, people would quickly discover how disappointing those card are!
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Also, there’s a thread over in the Oceania section with a list of Australian postcard stores (online and IRL) - check it out if you haven’t seen it yet.
There is already a thread talking about sending card of place you never visit
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Welcome to PostCrossing. Your question is a valid one. I can give you some observations from my own experience and a suggestion or two.
My viewpoint is that I enjoyed getting cards from the country of the sender - not other countries. Besides the typical tourist cards, most nations have distinct cultures and sometimes you find postcards that reflect these things. Also Natural Scenery is reflected on postcards. I was usually disappointed in getting generic cards; those are the ones that could be from anywhere. Ditto with cards that had Fauna that don’t exist in that particular country. Of course, if a member collects postcards of Birds, then okay send it.
Many people put a lot of stock in preference lists on profiles. Sometimes I did, more often I didn’t. I would usually send an attractive US viewcard if I didn’t have anything that was a close match on their list.
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I send postcards of all parts of my country, regardless if I’ve been there or not. I only send cards of other countries if it’s specifically mentioned on the profile as many others have stated before.
I really never thought that it might be an issue. I just like pretty postcards, no matter where they come from. I buy some postcards when I visit places and I very rarely send in travel mode. I send them later from home. So, basically, those are the places I’ve been to.
I’d prefer to receive cute postcards from a place the sender has never been to (but for some reason they liked this particular card and it tells more about the person) rather than an ugly generic tourist postcard (just because it’s appropriate). Well, but if a person tells a story behind the selection, then both options are great.
Ok, my point is I don’t follow or impose any rules as to what is right and wrong in Postcrossing.
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In my opinion that makes no sense, because you have not been there. What would you tell about that place? I rather get cards of places where the sender is or was.
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just my two cents: I like all cards, even if the sender has no connection to them.
A while ago I got a 70s card of a Swiss skiing resort from someone in Texas,
which I found highly amusing…
He had found the card somewhere and sent it to me because I love vintage cards.
He had never been to Switzerland 
Randomness makes me smile.
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Later this year, I’m going to visit my uncle who lives in Germany and I’ll set my account to Travel Mode. Since sending cards internationally are actually much cheaper there than here in the US and I worry that German Postcrossers might be disappointed by German postcards, I might take a small stack of American postcards for any German addresses I pull while I’m there. Everyone else, except German Postcrossers, will get German cards since I know where to find them. I visited my uncle last year.
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Oh… Heck, this is first time news (I just probably mistranslated a native idiom, so if the sentence seems weird, there’s that).
How far does that dislike for those postcards from not-local-nor-visited places go? Because, for example, I love ukiyo-e art and Japanese prints, but have never been to Japan. Would this art form be disliked by the receiver due to it not being native to my place? And what about postcards that show places in paintings - like a painting of Egypt by a French, English or Spanish artist? Of course, I wouldn’t send a card that I don’t think would be appreciated by the receiver, but I didn’t expect a postcard to be disliked just because it shows something other than a local or visited place…
Sorry for the questioning, it’s honest curiosity from a very rookie postcrosser!
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We’re talking mostly about view cards here - if people list card preferences on their profile like Japanese art or any other kind of preferences, art or otherwise, then that’s fine to send them those cards.
What we’re mostly talking about is if I started sending cards from Italy when I’m in Canada for example - most folks aren’t keen on that unless I was travelling there & sent the cards while there.
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It’s about tourist-type cards: the London Eye, Empire State Building, etc. Even those might be okay if you mention why you sent it. I send Asian art cards at times, too. Art of Japan was one of my favorite university courses.
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Of course, I would not send a postcard with a characteristic picture of something from the receiver’s country (i.e. the Colosseum to an Italian), but I have some cards from places I visited long ago and that I kept with me because I loved them but now that I started postcrossing I have decided to send them to adequate receivers.
Now I might have to send a direct message to one person explaining why they are getting a “foreign” postcard from Spain 
(Oh, and Japanese classic art rules!)
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I personally love all cards, and don’t care at all if the person has never been to the place on the card!
As a fan of all things Japanese, for instance, I would love to receive a card featuring anything even vaguely Japanese, and especially Japanese art…
The act of sending a card (and the message) are what this project is about, for me.
I’m sure you will find appreciative recipients for all your art cards 
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That’s exactly what it is for me too! Cards are just beautiful and giving the sender the freedom to send whatever they feel that will make you (the sender) happy opens the door to receiving so many cards that you wouldn’t have imagined you’d love.
But I am just glad that the whole ordeal was just about tourist-y cards and not just about any card that does not belong to your place, because as of right now, I have the most random stock one could imagine!
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Me too! I have been collecting cards for so long, art cards, tourist cards, vintage cards,
hotel self-promotion cards… 
My stock is also unbelievably random - it makes me so happy when someone particularly loves,
say, dinosaur cards from museums, and I actually have one to send them!
Postcrossing really is a testament to
Life’s Rich Tapestry.
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