And I remember comments saying the system tries to make up for cards that might be lost on the way, and the fact that a lot of people don’t do “repeated countries” so Germans and Americans and Russians are skipped until they find another country so you go into the pool more often.
A lot of it is addressed in this thread really. Though we were mostly talking of receive more than you send without being inactive.
I once was inactive for 4 months and received 52 back (I don’t remember how much above I was, maybe around 40), I hate the way that spike looks in my stats but what can you do. As I said before, without being inactive, my address seems to be given out 10-12 times in a day, and then never again for the 2-3 months it takes me to catch up
Hey everyone! Right now I have a gap between my sent and received cards of 15 cards. Sent: 1,091. Received: 1,076. It’s interesting to me, because for the longest time I had nearly matching Sent and Received. I am registering cards the day I receive them.
Do you have a gap between your sent and received? How big or small? Do you think it’s normal? When (if ever) should I expect the gap to close?
Love to hear any thoughts! This is not a complaint. I just find it intriguing.
Edit to add: I wonder if my local post has anything to do with it. I seem to get 5-7 cards in one day, then go a whole week without receiving any cards!
It’s quite logical to have more sent that recieved cards, as your cards have to arrive before your address is given out so you’ll finally recieve a card too.
If you use your free slots at once to send new cards, you’ll most probably have a gap between sent and recieved, with more sent cards. Mine is 26 cards (2.362 sent, 2.336 recieved).
I am at 241 sent and 241 received
Today I found 12 cards in my PO Box
No, they are not expired cards. The were sent in the end of June and mid of July.
Give me time to register. Most of them are written in non-English (because I asked to ). I need time to translate.
Sent: 27. Received: 33. I guess some got lost on their way or were never registered I don’t know why. Or, as someone said above, my address has been given a couple of extra times for there were not enough addresses to be given in that moment
Do you have any cards that experired or that have been traveling for quite a while? Your cards didn’t necessarily get lost, sometimes it just takes a bit longer and that’s completely normal. You receiving more cards than you sent is no indicator that yours that are still traveling must have gotten lost
Today I’ve registered my 8th postcard. Only 7 have been received. I thought your name went in the hopper only when someone registered the card you received.
I also have 5 traveling, 3 have been traveling for more than a month.
So how did my name go into the hopper 8 times when I’ve only had 7 postcards that have been received?
My impression is that the algorithm approximates the travel time of cards to countries & puts your name in circulation based on that, not on the actual time it takes.
It makes sense given how big Postcrossing is - I can’t imagine a program that could be written or managed to really respond in real time to the arrival of your postcards for 800,000+ members given that the time it takes cards to travel changes all the time - I think it would likely really screw things up eh?
It’s quite normal for there to be an imbalance at times & it often sorts itself out eventually for a while & then gets imbalanced again - it’s just a normal part of Postcrossing.
I don’t draw addresses on a regular base, therefore I noted that my address is given at any moment between me drawing an address and my card being registered.
The algorithm for selecting addresses is complex and there are instances when your address will be selected a bit more often than you expect. Count it as an early bonus — your sent/received numbers will even out in the long run.
I am new to postcrossing and am not sure if this a bug or something, but I’ve sent 8 cards by now. I even recieved 8 cards back which feels amazing. Now a couple days ago i recieved 3 more cards, which puts me at 8 send but 11 recieved. Postcrossing said it will cancel out in the long run, but like 30% more recieved card seems like a lot. Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining, just curious ;D
I am actually curious about the biggest imbalance allowed when inactive. I am about to move apartment. So I have set my account to inactive but I still send cards. Now I have ~30 more cards sent than received. Just want to know how far this can go.
It depends on how many cards you sent so far! I always have 30-50 more sent than received, but on the other hand I can spot the 4,000th sent card already. my guess would be that you’re probably already rather close to the limit.
). I need time to translate.
