I’ve been wanting to get back into postcrossing and just bought two boxes of greeting cards because they were on sale. Now I know postcards are preferred over greeting cards, but i was thinking of using my father’s guillotine paper cutter to seperate the front and the back of the cards, so i could use the fronts as postcards and the backs to draw on or make notes on and stuff, since I can’t find many postcards where I live. Would this be a good idea? I’ve checked how the cardstock feels and it seems to me the same sort of sturdiness as the few postcards I already had, so I don’t think that’d be an issue. Still, I’d love to hear the community’s opinion on these kinds of solutions.
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Just do it. If you cut them off neatly and precisely nobody will notice. But… pssst… don’t tell anybody. 
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Haha, thank you for the encouraging reply! I feel more excited than ever to mail out cards 
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I have no problem with this when they are cut precisely. I have received some very badly cut and that’s not so nice to receive. Some would say that technically it are not postcards, but in my opinion stamps are already expensive enough.
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Well, luckily I should be able to get some nice results with the paper cutter. I just tried one and I’d say you can’t even tell it was cut 
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I prefer real postcards.
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That’s understandable May I know why so I can better keep in mind the potential wishes of other people?
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It’s my understanding of what a postcard is.
A cut-off half of a folded card is not a postcard in my opinion, I wouldn’t be satisfied with it.
I received a lot of these “halfs”, poorly cut, and they all looked like they came from a folding card that had already been used once.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind if I received a complete folded card.
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I think that’s fine as long as they’re cut off cleanly. I have never used greeting cards as postcards but I have been thinking about it. Especially for people who like birthday postcards
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I see, well, it’s unfortunate you’ve had a bad experience with people who use this method 
If I do end up doing this, I’ll be sure to put a great deal of care into clean cutting and making it look as nice as possible and if I ever end up getting to mail you a card, I’ll be sure to get a proper postcard
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Thank you for your input! It would indeed be fun to use this method for birthday cards, since most of those do seem to be in a greeting card format
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There are a lot of fantastic greeting cards but…they are greeting cards…
So I would really appreciate it if someone sends me a repurposed greeting card as I don’t like folded cards. Infact I got some repurposed and they were all beautiful and cut out proper.
If you use a guillotine paper cutter with a sharp knife it works fantastic.
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I took the plunge and did this with a card when I first started Postcrossing… because I had the perfect (in my mind) thing to send this person from their wish list but it was a greeting card. So I used a paper cutter like you have and made sure to make it look professional. And they really liked it!
Honestly, if you do it well and take the care to write a very thoughtful message it will probably be received well. Postcrssers are a pretty nice group of people 
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More good advice from @Speicher3! 
Unfortunately, a lot of “postcard police” will tell you that these aren’t “real” postcards. But if what you send is within the postcard dimension parameters set by your mail service, consists of an image on the front and a nice message on the back, and bears the appropriate postage and ID number, then I cannot find any justification for classifying it as “not a postcard.” 
Of course, everyone has their own preferences and opinions regarding postcards, but @Applewasp, it seems that you have found a great way to give new life to old greeting cards, spread some joy around the world, and also save some money! I know that you’ll make them into beautiful postcards, so don’t give a second thought to the not-a-postcard police!
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Thank you so very much for this lovely reply It’s really encouraging to hear your and everyone’s else’s positive feedback and advice!
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I own a lot of “real” postcards with a completely blank side to write on. Therefore I have to add everything by hand. Dividers, lines to write down the address properly etc… So far no one has accused me of secretly reusing greeting cards.
Long story short, if you cut your greeting cards properly no one can distinguish them from “real” postcards.
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I agree with this. The technical definition of a postcard is that it’s a single card that you can send without an envelope. How the postcard got that way–whether you repurposed it from a folded card, hand made it or bought it from a publisher that makes professional postcards–doesn’t matter.
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Me as well, some of the cards from smaller artists (Etsy etc) are printed on postcard quality stock with a blank backing. They are made and sold as postcards and in some cases are more expensive than the cheap tourist viewcards that are produced in quantity. To my eye, these cards would not be any different than a sturdy, carefully repurposed greeting card.
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When you use a paper cutting machine no one can tell it was a greeting card. There are quite a few real postcards around that have nothing at all on the backside. The problem with repuposing is when people take their old scissors and just cut it. That’s ugly and not nice.
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The only issue I have about the front of a greeting card is that it may not appropriately credit the illustrator / photographer (because this is usually printed on the back of the greeting card message part, which would be cut off). These people deserve credit for their work! I would rather have the sender “fess up” and tell me who the artist is than have them just send a nice but uncredited work. Of course, I also welcome handmade…
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