Hello everyone!
I’d like to get your opinion on something! How do you guys feel about receiving postcards from MyPostcard? I read that some people really dislike it, they think cards like that aren’t personal enough!
So I must confess that I have used MyPostcard many times to send out cards! I was dabbling in amateur photography and photo editing back then, and I made sure that every card I sent was carefully edited and personalized, and made sure to write the country and city name in front of each card!
Would you be okay with getting such a card? Please let me know, because I don’t want to send postcrossers cards that they might be sad or angry to receive!
Here are some samples of the cards I sent through MyPostcard:
I don’t want that my address is shared with a 3rd party service without my consent. And I don’t keep any postcards where the stamp + card don’t match… so when there is some scenery from Singapore shown, I want it only with a stamp from Singapore…
Recently I received my first card sent with one of these services (it was mypostcard) and I was so disappointed… I don’t mind longer waiting times.
I personally love all kinds of postcards. If I got a card from other person it is a real holiday for me:)
I think that the card is a small part of emotions, feeling and thoughts from other person. That’s why I am always happy to get ANY sort of cards:)
But we are all different, so when I read the profile and see that this person don’t like some kind of cards I don’t send them
Yeah, that is a good point! I also do my best to look at people’s profiles! If they say they don’t like printed or handmade cards, then I send them a card that I bought. Thanks so much!
Although some of them have very professional photos, I agree with @Cassiopheia about privacy. I agree to give my address to postcrossing and individuals. Not another company. Also I dont know what kind of stamps are on those “mypostcard” cards but i love the classic ones.
I am guilty btw for sending cards from my country, showing another place (card n stamp dont match) mostly because they showed something the receiver liked or because their profile specified nothing.
For what I understood, MyPostcard implies you share the other Postcrosser’s address to MyPostcard, it isn’t only a print service (please correct me if I’m wrong). For me the problem isn’t receive a printed photo that you took (if it’s a postcard), is my address in other service/web page that I didn’t agree.
I would like you take a bit of attention to Postcrossing Guidelines, where it’s written that you shouldn’t share others’ addresses with 3rd parties without their consent:
The addresses given to you are private information and can only be used for Postcrossing purposes. Do not share them with anyone or make them public on the internet. This also applies to what is written on the postcards you have received, so please do not scan it.
Thanks for referring me to the guidelines! I didn’t notice them before, especially because MyPostcard once advertised its services as great for postcrossing. I appreciate the lesson very much and will take care to follow the privacy guidelines in the future!
from my country is actually quite ugly! It comes printed from a machine and there is no variation in them.
Heh i am also guilty of sending other country’s cards from my country, but only when the profile of the postcrosser seems to not mind that! For example I just sent one from Korea out to someone who specified that she loves cards from Korea, Japan and China!
Regarding MyPostcard, though, as others have said — I would not like my address given to a third party without my consent.
Singapore is such a lovely and unique country, it would be a delight to receive a postcard from there. I’m glad you’re part of the Postcrossing community.
I totally agree with Cassiopheia! I don’t want my address shared with a third party without my consent. I don’t mind cards printed from photographs taken by the sender - if they’re good quality - but I dislike printed messages. I once recieved a “normal” postcard but with the message printed and glued to the back. I have to admit that I was immensely disappointed because it’s so impersonal. I’d much rather recieve a card with illegible handwriting.
Yes, for me also the big issue here is sharing my address with a 3rd party provider without my consent.
I mention already on my profile that I don’t want to receive such cards but so far I have only added Touchnote by name. Maybe it’s time to expand the list
Like others have said, I do not want my address shared to a third party without my consent.
Frankly, I’m surprised this isn’t treated as a direct violation of the Postcrossing guidelines, and that Postcrossing has not taken up the issue of these companies advertising themselves as “great for Postcrossing.”
Aside from what others have said about privacy, to me, these cards just don’t feel complete - a postcard has three elements - a card, a stamp and a message - which the sender has put together. When this has been managed by a company, it feels off.
@flecksofdust: As others have said, there are several things to consider then it comes to postcard services. Thank you very much for checking the Postcrossing profiles before deciding which card to send!
Data protection: The laws differ greatly between countries. You should check your own country’s legislation - giving another person’s address without their prior consent to anyone else, including such services, may be illegal. It definitely is illegal in the European Union. Postcrossing rules are clear that you are not allowed to give an address obtained through Postcrossing to anyone else, so using postcard services where you have to give them the recipient address violates the Postcrossing rules.
Impersonal message: Most Postcrossers prefer handwritten postcards.
Mailed from country of origin: These services don’t make it clear where the postcard will actually be mailed. I checked your example www.mypostcard.com, it seems to be a German compay, but they say in their data protection information that they transfer data to other countries (only their USA company is named), so it looks like your card will in most cases be mailed in the country of the recipient to save the company postage. Many Postcrossers will be disappointed by this, but as you said, others will be fine.
Stamps used: You don’t know what stamps, or even if any stamps are used by such services - I once got a card (not through Postcrossing) that didn’t have any stamp, just a “postage paid” imprint. Very disappointing for me as stamp collector. No all Postcrossers are interested in nice stamps, but many are. As others said, you can order Singaporean stamps online, and I’ve been told that there is a nice philatelic store in the General Post Office (not sure if it is open in the current pandemic situation). By the way, I would be happy about your automate stamp, but I collect automate stamps, what many stamp collectors don’t do.
Real postcard: There are postcard collectors (like me), who prefer “real” postcards, meaning those that were bought in an actual store. Those collectors don’t like self-printed cards or cards printed on your order at a printing service. Personally I make exceptions for Postcrossing meet-up cards (I just love them, and I’ve created about 10 already myself) and cards from small towns where no real postcards exist. Other Postcrossers are fine with self-designed cards (note that handmade and self-designed are two different things, handmade is hand-drawn).
Bottom line: To stay on the safe side, you should not use services for Postcrossing where you need to give them the recipient’s address.
There are printing services where you can get your own card designs printed, and the postcards are then sent to you, then you put stamps on them and write the address and message. The printing service I use requires a minimum of 25 cards of the same design, but there may be some with a lower minimum. Some copyshops also offer postcard printing, but check the quality first (including wetting the card and see if the colours stay intact!). Some photo printing machines also offer postcard-sized photos, but their paper is too thin for postcards. You created some really beautiful postcards, so I’m sure there will be many Postcrossers who will enjoy them. They will most likely enjoy them even more with a nice Singapore stamp and handwritten address and message.
I live and I learn even new things about my own country! Thanks so much for the link, I browsed the website and saw tt the post office has free delivery on very pretty stamps! I’m really excited now
If you’d like a card from Singapore, drop me a PM! I’d be more than happy to send you one from here!
Thanks for the solid advice on looking for printing shops. I did look into this before, but local printers often only do bulk printing and I don’t want to send many postcrossers the same card over and over. The ones that do single sheet printing for quality postcards (not photos) are often exorbitantly expensive. But thank you for taking the time to write out these suggestions all the same
Have a look at Moo.com to see if they deliver to Singapore. They let you include as many designs as you want for the same price. They’re based in Europe, but I get orders sent to Australia, as far as I can tell they can send to you as well.
