Sending postcards not from your own country

You blame me of having a notion of people should not say what they want? Really? I just referred to your posting, that some people just want cards from the place where you were born and live.

(I’m so sorry I don’t now understand fully what this means. I’m not blaming you of anything. I’m really sorry if you feel this way. I’m writing how this conversation makes me feel. )

My thoughts in short:

Yes, one can like card from where the sender is now, they are allowed to tell it, and it doesn’t make this member “bad” or picky (I think this is even the most typical type of postcard to get, so that’s why I’m surprised liking such is seemed as picky.)

No, we don’t have to send it. I also know it’s not easy to get such card in all places.

Yes, a person can be from an area that is not the same as the “known ones” defined by political borders.

Example: If a person lives in Rovaniemi, I like when they send card showing Rovaniemi.
I am not ungrateful or unhappy if they send a card from Kiiruna. :slight_smile:

I am unhappy if someone who doesn’t know me, thinks I’m this and that, because of that (that I tell what kind of cards I like).

And again, if indeed there is a profile that only demands of postcards from one type, it’s best to report it to the postcrossing team.

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Hi I was looking for some advice.
Can you help?

Do people like to get “greetings from” postal love cards like this

Written & stamped from countries that don’t match the front of the card (like would it bother you to get a written “greetings from the Taiwan” card from me in the USA?)

I have a bunch of these cards of countries that aren’t mine
And I don’t know if I should send them blank or write on them
What do you think?

Thank you
Mimi :heart:

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The general opinion among the collectors of these sort of “Series Cards” is that they prefer them to be sent from the “Origin”, meaning “sent from the place/county that the front of the postcard is depicting”.

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Thank you so much! I will send them unwritten then, maybe then they can find a postcrosser in that country to write on it for them :heart: (I’ll only write on the USA ones)

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I would not mind at all if someone sent me a card from a country they travelled to, or used to live in, or had cards from for some other reason. Most of my wishlist is more topic-specific anyway (horses, lighthouses, etc…) and I would be happy to receive them from any country.

I have not had the opportunity to travel much internationally, but I have cards from states I have travelled to that I’ve never lived in, and I will send those if they fit the profile (and explain the connection).

I guess I can understand the preference that the card, stamps, etc… match the location sent from, I just do not share that preference.

I also live somewhere where it can be difficult to find a nice variety of touristic cards at an affordable price, so I realize that those cards are not easily accessible in all places.

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I find it always helpful when such a ‘tolerance’ is mentioned in the profile too.

I myself, sending from a common-not-so-common-country (:austria: ranks 23 atm and has contributed a bit less than 1% to the soon to be 68 million registered cards (there’s a countdown/guessing game, btw), am always hesitating when sending non-AT-cards, esp. when it’s a more landscapy, viewcardy, geographic theme. Don’t want to make a recipient miss a nice specific Austrian card.
On the other side, I have cards from my travels both from even-less-active-countries (dunes, local animals, maps) or from bigger countries with maybe a specific sight (airport; soccer stadium; map), which sometimes really fit, and sometimes of course bring a nice story to tell on the card too. Then it’s really hard to decide for me, and I guess always will be (just like using a penultimate stamp ,-))

Conclusio, again: if you don’t mind the origin-stuff, please tell in your profile, helping at least me deciding faster

PS: of course I know I am free to send whatever I want

edit: to follow my own advice, I’ve added this line to my profile:
Feel free to send any card you want, also if it’s not from your present region/state/country.

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Most of the cards I send are not from my city or state – despite living in a big tourist area, different postcard designs are very limited here. I also have purchased a few big random postcard lots on ebay which contain many cool cards but from different places and many different themes. I also tend to purchase a lot of postcards as souvenirs when I travel so I have quite a stock from other countries I’ve visited.

In any case, I will send what I have and I hope people are happy with them. Most people seem to be.

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On the official postcrossing you can send of course whatever you like from wherever you like.

Like many others here I have come to prefer if the stamp of the card matches the country the card is from (when it is a country related card). These are the cards I put in my album so my collection. Every other card I say thank you but I do not collect. This was different when I first started but now since I have received so many cards I found this is what I like most.

But again: For the official Postcrossing whatever postcard you send is OK and if I receive a card from country A sent from country B I would still write a friendly thank you note.

As mentioned above: Travel mode also is a great way to send out cards when travelling. I have used this a few times and I love it.

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I was in the small town of Liechtenstein a few weeks ago and i was so happy to send 6 card from that rare country:)
All the people who recieved my Liechtenstein cards, were soo happy about it and it is much better then the 800th card from germany i think🤪
I think everybody is happy about a card from your trip or your holiday🥰

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I got a card from Liechtenstein a few weeks ago and was very jazzed to get it. Once I get one from Luxembourg and Vatican City, it will round out my “rarity” collection very nicely!

When I started postcrossing, I loved getting view cards with a matching stamp from the country of origin. After I while, I realised that if everyone just sent cards from their own country, chances of ever receiving a card from the African continent or other very rare countries were really small. So now I would love to receive a Namibian card, for example, sent from Australia. I bet the sender has a story to tell, either that they have been on holiday there or that they long to travel to Africa, but have never been able to leave their own country so far.

My absolute dream card to receive is a beautiful card (be it view card or illustration) with one or more commemorative stamps and a lovely message, preferably even nicely decorated by the sender. The country of origin does not matter so much to me any longer and is only the icing on the cake.

When sending tourist cards, I usually stick to the country of origin rule though, as this seems to be what makes most people happy.

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I have emigrated and I still have cards from my previous country.
I don’t use them, because I think people will like a postcard from my current country more.

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To me it depends on whether you think of your card coming from a country or specifically from the sender. If you want a postcard from country X that has a picture of country X on it, then I can see being disappointed if it’s a picture of country Y instead. However If you think of the postcard as coming from the sender, the implied message becomes “I went to country Y and had fun, and here’s a postcard about it!” then I don’t mind at all. In fact, I rather like it.

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I’m fine with it as long as you use a sentence or two to explain the card.

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I’m not a friend of country related postcards sent from different country, but I rarely receive that kinds of cards so it’s not a problem for me if I sometimes receive them. I also avoid sending them myself unless the member specifically requests them.

I have sent postcards with a code that doesn’t match the country from which I sent. I did it a few times by accident when I used travel mode but I didn’t remember to use the local WiFi. I sent postcards from abroad but there was a Finnish code. I was so sorry. Since then I have been more attentive.

Hello,

I would like to know your thoughts on sending/receiving cards not from origin?

Personally I find that they are good cards, and would like to send them out, but I see some profiles asking for cards to be sent from origin only :sweat_smile:

I’m happy to send/receive cards not from origin!
Reasons being:

  1. They are good cards
  2. It’s an extra bonus in the surprise department (I thought I would have gotten a X card from country X, but it turned out to be country Y!)
    We are not the only well travelled ones, so are our postcards :wink:

Any thoughts and discussion welcome!

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I like them, if the sender was at the shown place and tells a bit about their visit there.
I do not like them very much, if the sender never was there.

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I just use that kind of cards like any other: if I have the impression the user will like it, I send it. If I have the feeling they don’t enjoy it too much, I choose another card for them :slight_smile:

Personally I don’t like it, but I have seen quite a few profiles that were!

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In my opinion, everything’s fine. You send what you like, or can. It’s your postcard, part of you.

Having said that, I think it’s really nice when people read the recipient’s profile, to learn who they are and what they like.

So, let’s say you’re sending a card to someone who likes postcards depicting the place where you live (or are writing from), if you have the chance, it would be neet to send them that, rather than a card from somewhere else. BUT, it’s OK if you send whatever it is you feel or can at the moment. The sole act of sending them something is a nice gesture in and of itself.

Also, consider that there might be people asking for postcards of places you have visited, or of things those cards depict (buildings, beaches, etc.). So you could save those cards for those people.

Happy Postcrossing!

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