Hello! I received postcrossing mail today. It was a thin piece of cut out journal paper. It was ripped and definitely does not meet the definition of a postcard. I would have no problem with a homemade postcard. But this is just a piece of paper. What do I do? Do I register it? I don’t think people should be receiving this as a postcard swap. Picture is attached
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If it’s an official card, you should report it to the Postcrossing team before you register. If they agree with you, they will contact the sender and ask them to send a proper card.
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Did it come with an official postcrossing ID?
Yes it does have a number. I was trying to figure out how to report it.
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I think it is interesting from a strange point of view. Believe it or not there are people that like pantone postcards. I think you should register this postcard and don’t worry something better will come.
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It would be fine if it was a patone postcard or homemade postcard or some other postcard. But it is a piece of scrapbooking paper cut into the size of a postcard with very little effort put into it. I’m surprised it actually arrived mostly intact.
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Well that would qualify as a homemade postcard.
There are many, many ways people participate in Postcrossing - not everyone has the means or ability to buy postcards or make fancy homemade ones.
We don’t always get cards we like, but mostly we’re lucky that we do. I’d take it for what it is & move on.
You can contact admin here: Contact us
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I would not register this as it is not a postcard. Let admins deal with it…go to the help tab
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Thanks to all. I sent a message to admin. I will let them decide if it qualifies as a postcard.
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Maybe it had something attached to it and it got off on the way? It does look like a base of a handmade postcard and there are children on postcrossing. A child could think it’s beautiful, even a work of art. I would register it just out of curiosity ro read the sender’s profile. Is there a message on the back?
I once received an official postcard that was a very thin (office paper thin) cut out from a newspaper. I was very surprised as well, by the quality. For me, it’s just a curious side of postcrossing that gently reminds us that it is not really about postcards.
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I think it’s also good to remember, that it’s perfectly ok to want to have a postcard. This is about postcards.
If it’s a child’s account, an adult should look that the child uses Postcrossing as is supposed, not to send just anything. There are places to swap other items and crafts. These can also be swapped after the postcard exchange part 
But, the admins are always checking who the sender is; if it’s new member, more “errors” are allowed, which is good.
If it’s a child, maybe they remind that an adult should be responsible.
It’s very good that they will know if someone is sending pieces of paper.
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Well I looked at that and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that the dots are different sizes. I really don’t like the color. I don’t like the optical illusion effect it causes in my eyes where I see shadowy “Xs” between the rows. I haven’t gotten to feel how flimsy it is like you, but I likely wouldn’t like that either. But then i thought about it some.
Perhaps you did not get what you wanted, but maybe, just maybe, you got something you could use.
I’d be curious to hear about what the message was like. For me, there is a whole package, the card, the stamps chosen, the message, the decorations. It is the combination of all of these that are the gift from the stranger you received. While it is easy to judge, there is so much I do not know about the stranger who has sent me a gift. They could be anyone, of any economic status, emotionally or intellectually or physically disabled, of any age. I find a charitable outlook serves me better than frustration and anger (I would note that it is often a bit of a struggle for me to figure that out!).
In the end, it is just that: someone took some measure of time, effort, and money to put together a gift for me and send it, when they don’t know me at all. If someone sent you the tiniest bit of love, perhaps that could be enough. The miracle of a single sheet of paper, not cardboard, making it across whatever distance it travelled to your door is quite something when you think about it.
So after some consideration, I decided I like this gift you got. All the things I didn’t like in the first place I still don’t like, but it reminded me of the joy I get from this hobby, and why I enjoy it so much and therein lies the true gift. And that, for me, weighs in the balance.
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It has few words of where they are from. I would have had no problem if they had written a couple of sentences, a quote, stickers, doodle…but there was no real effort. I have received homemade postcards, kid’s postcards…and enjoy receiving them. For me, this is not about what I like but about sending what is in the spirit of postcrossing…
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I can perfectly understand how you feel - and would appreciate if you get an official answer from admins, if or if not this counts as postcard. And I would be very happy if you let us know the answer.
Maybe I would appreciate most if there would be a real (online) contact between the sender and you, and some neutral witness(es) and both of you expressing how you feel. That would really make a diffrence. And if there was one more thing I could wish for, than it would be that you are free after exchange of feelings, to decide to register or not.
Best for a beautiful solution satisfying for everyone!
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Good that you have reported it. I have received bookmarks, cardboard pieces, and other trash items. I wish these people would find another hobby.
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Fellow Postcrosser from Poland recently received a poor quality “postcard” printed at home on a thin piece of paper. The support team’s response was to register but kindly mentioned her concerns in the message to the sender (“thank you” message).
Unfortunately, some people like to get nice postcards, nice messages, unique stamps and so on, but are not willing to give the same in return. I understand that not everyone can spend a lot of money on this hobby, but as @rainwatcher1 mentioned, you can see who put their heart and effort into what they’ve sent.
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I would register it, thank them kindly, and move on. We never know the situation.
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I try to have a drama-free approach and ignore a lot of things that should bother me. I would register this postcard. Esp. since I have info on my profile that I appreciate handmade postcards, even if someone doesn’t consider themselves an artist. And I like polka dots and patterns so I actually like how this card looks 
. But postcards have a higher grammage for a reason. Stick this to the sturdy backing and it would be so much better.
Many times on this forum it has been raised about what people consider to be “real postcards”.
Some would be embarrassed to send a thin piece of paper, and some think it’s ok. I don’t think the situation requires a request for a second postcard. However, such thin paper may not have survived the journey (postal machines). I’d write about that to the sender in the “thank you” message.
Some stores sell postcards that are also bookmarks. Eg Postallove. I always thought they are okay to send, even to people who has on their profile “only real postcards please”.
I would be ok with that. I have received some beautiful homemade cards, postcards made from food boxes, recycled greeting cards and calendars. I love receiving different types of cards and “meeting” people through postcards.
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