The sender fulfilled the obligation of sending a card, and you have proof. I’d wait a few days and if it still doesn’t show I’d just register it. They have no control over what happens to it after it leaves their hands. Unless, Postcrossing also uses that ever popular legal disclaimer “not responsible for items lost, damaged, or misdirected”…or you put that in your profile, meaning non-receipt is just as good as “never mailed” .
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I use that possibility also, when I was taken in the hospital last year I was glad to be able to register the received postcards. I explained in the message that I couldn’t see the picture yet but didn’t want to delay the registration. In every day life at home I don’t register postcard this way.
Till now it hasn’t happened that I didn’t receive a postcard that was in the information. Sometimes there is a delay and it will take a few days before the cards arrives.
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A few years ago when my mailbox was broken into, I was set to receive three postcards. I looked on informed delivery and luckily it showed the Postcrossing ID. Through no fault of their own I never received those postcards so I registered them so that the sender would not have them expired as traveling. This is a rather rare occurrence and I don’t foresee ever having to do this again. Informed delivery is a great service provided by the USPS but sometimes there are some inaccuracies.
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I am sad I didn’t get the physical card, but yes I still enjoyed reading the message very much!
I will give it a couple days and hope the card shows up, but if not, I will go ahead and register. Like you said, the sender wasn’t cheating or asking me to cheat, which is what the rule is geared towards. They did what they are supposed to and the only reason I don’t have the card is a tiny slip-up by the post office right at the finish line.
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I agree - it is rare. I mean, a couple people here have experienced the same. But it’s unlikely to happen to us again. I think this is the only time I haven’t received something shown in Informed Delivery.
I registered a card once that failed to show up in my postbox but was visible in the post app, but only because it took a some time to arrive. After a couple of days the card did arrive. Normally I wait for the card to arrive in my postbox.
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Unfortunately, something showing up in Informed Delivery but not my mailbox is not such a rare occurrence for me. I’ve had it happen at least 3 times in the past 7 months or so, especially recently.
Once in about September 2020 was a check from my insurance company, which they eventually resent, and I never received the first. Once a few weeks ago was a random piece of advertisement, I don’t mind that I missed it but I did notice that I never received it. Around the same time, a postcard appeared on ID (10 days ago as I write this), and I still haven’t received it. Sometimes there is a few day lag, but 10 is more than I’ve experienced so far. Fingers crossed that I do receive it.
Informed Delivery has not been so reliable for me.
As always, complaining helps and I received the missing postcard yesterday! I have lost 2 other mail pieces that showed up on ID though.
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Maybe, should that happen again, try contacting the post office within a day or two, or talking to your mail carrier. Explain that your delivery service showed these items as delivered but they never arrived. Maybe they can help you find your cards sooner than just waiting.
I definetly would register it! The rule shall prevent cheating (not sending it at all) but you have the scan and can see the code so I actually think there is no reason to no register it. As clearly it is the posts fail that you don‘t have it, not the sender‘s. Of course without the scan you would not know about it, but you have it. So why not use it and be kind to the person waiting for it to be registered?
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That’s unfortunate to hear 
! I guess I’ve been lucky with nearly everything I see on informed delivery arriving to me on the correct day, or one day after.
I did end up registering this postcard because, as mentioned, it was obviously not an attempt to cheat the system, just a misfortune at the post office. I don’t recall if I ever came back here to update, but eventually the card DID actually arrive to me, some weeks after I got the image on Informed Delivery. I’m guessing that it was misdelivered, and the recipient gave it back to the postal worker for re-delivery.
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It’s been 2 days and I’m still waiting for my postcard that shows on Informed Delivery… Hope I will get the card soon 
Reading this post I’m starting to understand why I (and many others) have so many expired cards to the US… I’m sorry your mail delivery service is passing through a difficult time…
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Informed delivery service just sounds like a system to ruin a good surprise! Kind of like emailing the postcard recipient before they get their postcard from you. I think I’d hate that service, and if they didn’t have it, the mail would come maybe a day earlier due to more efficiency?!
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Well, we don’t see the picture side, but only the address side, so there is still that surprise. I can understand why some people might not like it though, but they don’t have to sign up for the service, it’s an option, not automatic.
I like the service overall - I didn’t sign up for the purpose of seeing postcards, but for my other mail. People find it handy to watch for important documents. Like if you see that a check is arriving in that day’s mail, maybe you’ll make sure to have someone watching the box to pick it up right away. Or, it can’t prevent mail theft technically, but if your mailbox is empty one day, even though informed delivery listed multiple items you might realize your mail has been stolen and if it included any credit cards or checks, you can contact the bank, etc. Or if missing items are frequent, you can contact the post office for investigation, that sort of thing.
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The picture is taken when the mail goes through the sorting machine. So it’s not an extra step in the process, only making information available that’s already there.
We have it in The Netherlands as well, I did not opt in, because for me it ruins the surprise.
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Hello! I am fairly new to the site and loving it so far. I think I joined about six weeks ago so my first post cards are just starting to arrive. It’s so exciting!
Having said that, I received a notification via “Informed Delivery” from the USPS that I have a post card that was supposed to arrive in my PO Box but didn’t. I am wondering what the etiquette is for this. Since I have the back side of the card available to me with the registration number, should I go ahead and mark it as received in the system so the other Postcrosser can send and receive other cards or wait to see if the USPS delivers it to the correct box? Thanks in advance for your advice.
Hi Daniel, welcome to the forum! 
I’ve moved your post here, since other postcrossers were discussing this same issue earlier this year. If you read through the topic, you’ll see it happens now and then. Hopefully your postcard is just a little bit delayed and will arrive to your PO box very soon… but if it does not, we’d recommend contacting your post office about this situation. Maybe it landed in the wrong PO box by mistake?
Fingers crossed you’ll be able to receive it! 