I need a bit of advice. I sent a card to Belarus back in February. About 2 days later, the US stopped sending cards there. I just received the card back (Undeliverable) yesterday!!! And it looks like it sat in a river bed. In any event, I cannot send another card to the person because the US still isn’t sending to Belarus. Should I contact the person? Do nothing?
I would maybe contact postcrossing and see if they would be able to give some advice- especially since it was sent back to you due to not being able to send mail to that country. It won’t be registered if it can’t make it there at all.
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I’d let it expire, and then re-send when service re-opens. Definitely would not contact them about it.
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if you are very serious about the belarussian postcrosser getting a postcard from you, maybe contact a postcrosser on this forum that can send cards to belarus and ask if they could send a card in your behalf. germany is one open to send post to belarus and their postage is cheaper than many other postal services and make a deal of an gift exchange to the postcrosser who would be willing to do so.
as the 60 days expire has already happen, do not need to worry. you can hold on to the card and when (if ever) the usa starts post back to belarus, can forward the card inside an envelope (you said it look as it was sitting in a river bed).
you can apply for a refund for the postage. there should been instruction on how to apply for a refund on the card/envelope. or contact your local post office for instructions.
good luck
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Hi, I‘m from Germany and we can send mail to Belarus. If you want you can send me the card and I‘ll send it to Belarus.
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Wouldn’t mind it at all. Go for it! 
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I can also help. My card to Belarus reached just yesterday.
If this is an official card, I would contact Postcrossing for their recommendation on what to do.
If this is from a tag/RR/private swap, then I would contact the person/RR host and see what they want me to do.
If you decide on the route of using a third party, you may want to check if it’s ok with the receiving user for you to share their address with someone else.
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Please don’t give someone’s address to another person without asking for permission first!
If you want to and someone in another country can help you send the card, you need permission from the receiver first.
If you sent an official card to Belarus, please use the contact form on the main site to ask for advise.
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This is turning out to be much more difficult than I imagined. The original cards I sent (there were 2 in an envelope as an official card) came back to me with mold growing on them, so I destroyed the envelope and the cards. I thought I was supposed to go to the forum rather than email the main site. However, that is what I’ll do.
No…I don’t think it’s appropriate to find ways around laws or rules just because people don’t like them or find them inconvenient. It also could harm Postcrossing’s legitimacy.
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Just some observations about your post and some who have replied to it. First, if you still have the returned card, bring it to your post office branch. You may get your mailing postage refunded.
Second, like @Izzy2018 I think it’s repugnant to skate around laws that countries have put in place to restrict mail. Those of you who have suggested doing this should think again. We are talking about a piece of paper here.
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I had a similar situation where a postcard was returned to me because mail to that country was stopped. (Mine wasnt in damaged condition though).
It was over a year until the mail opened up to that country again, but i decided to still send the card to the person. I knew it was far too late for it to ever be registered but considering I’d taken the time to write in the first place figured it was still worth it. Popped card in envelope explaining what had happened and sent it off. Received a lovely message back from recipient.
Maybe just set aside a card for them and wait till mail opens again?
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I have a question to ask:
If my card is returned, and the postage stamps were canceled, should I peel them off and put new postage stamps on it when resending it?
I’m sorry, I have to ask. Are we supposed to put return addresses on post cards? I hardly have space to write a message!
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I think normally not. But in case the mailway is blocked your mail carrier can send the card back to you with an explanation.
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A very small number of people here do so, the vast majority do not.
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This is my idea as well. I have 2 cards to Belarus that were issued and sent right before the July 22, 2022 US stoppage (apparently there was a brief open window after the February one). I already have a way that I like to deal with expired cards that includes contacting the person the cards are addressed to and, in most cases, sending a second card. In these cases, I told the addressee that I wished for a rapid resolution to the political situation and that I would still send a second card when I can. I have 300+ days before they’re deleted and, even still, I will send a card. I know that I am not required to do any of that - it is my choice and, to date, I’ve been very happy with the results.
i dont include my return adresss all the time, but here are some ways to do this without sacrificing writing space!
- sometimes i will affix a small piece of paper with my return address (wrapped in clear tape) with washi tape or magic tape, so the addressee can take the address off to read the whole message but can be returned if something happens!
- you can send in an envelope if thats ok with the addressee.
- you can send in a clear plastic sleeve with your return address on the sleeve and stamps still visible (stamps might need to be hand-cancelled)
so many ways to do it! just got to get creative lol
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I also had a card returned from Belarus yesterday.
I contacted the PC support team, and according to them “the US suspended mail to Belarus recently without warning, leading to this return. We have seen that USPS have been holding mail to there well before they notified the stoppage. We would suggest you ask for the postage refund, and wait until service is restored so you can send the card again.”
The frustrating thing is I followed the directions on the card and the USPS post office refused to refund the postage! Were’s my $1.40? :-p