What do you mean by “show the cards you got?” I agree about writing a message! Some messages further the connection and recognize the effort spent in choosing, sending and decorating a card!
Thanks for your suggestions!
2 Likes
I mean use the “Tags received” thread and show your received cards there:
https://community.postcrossing.com/t/tag-cards-received-tag-chat/132806/710
2 Likes
Oh! Thank you for the link!
1 Like
Exactly! 
Have fun!
4 Likes
Hi! If someone is still reading this thread, I’d love some advide. I am new to Postcrossing (I joined a couple days ago) but I’m not near new to sending postcards and letters.
I’ve read all your do’s and don’ts, those were REALLY helpful, thank you. 
Here’s something I think I haven’t fully undestood:
When you get a number, you write it on a postcard and send it (with everything else). But I’ve read about people complaining other people don’t “register” their postcards.
Ok, the question is, who has to register the postcard?
*Note: this is register in terms of photo, I know the receiver is responsibl to register the postcard as “received” otherwise I’ll be “lost”.
As far as I know when you register one you scan (or take a photo) of the postcard that is associated with the number you’ve got, and that allows other people from this community to see the image and like it and add it to their boards, which is amazing.
BUT.
Is the sender the one who has to do this or the receiver? The way I see it, if I now attach my scaned postcard and upload it on PC, the person who’s my recipient will be able to see the image, so it’ll be a spoiler. I always thought part of the idea of receiving postcards is the suprise when you don’t know what you’re going to get before opening the letter box.
Besides, a postcard is not really a postcard until it has finished its trip and is a little bumoy, ruged or stained… that’s part of the journey.
I have just sent my first 2 postcards and I have them scanned in advance just in case but, am I supossed to upload the photos right now?
Is the recipient supossed to do it?
I will have no problem uploading the photo once I know it has arrived to its destination, that’s no problem.
I am only concerned maybe my partnered postcrossers are waiting for me to upload the photo right away. And I find it a little bit weird to know how’s going to look like before you receive it.
Sorry, this was very long, I tend to write a lot.
What’s the proper ettiquete in this case? Or, what would you usually do/expect/prefer?
Thank you.
1 Like
Hi, welcome to postcrossing!
There’s not a real etiquette for this as (as you said) both sender and receiver can upload a picture.
Don’t worry that you spoil the surprise by uploading the picture as a sender. The receiver cannot see it until they register the card on the website by typing the postcard ID number. They will see the picture you uploaded after that and/or get the opportunity to upload their own version.
Some people like their card scanned in good quality and will scan all incoming cards and replace earlier pictures. Or they like to see the travel scars on a postcard. Others don’t have the ability to scan or photograph cards, so are happy that the sender has done that for them.
For me, I like to add a picture to my sent cards, so I can see what I sent even if the recipient doesn’t have the opportunity to add a picture.
However, please be aware that the recipient can always remove a picture.
You can find a discussion on that over here:
PS note that as a sender you can only upload a picture while it is traveling. Once it is registered, only the recipient can add or change the image
3 Likes
In addition to @ScubaET ‘s answer, my advice would be to start by reading the PC guidelines and the F.A.Q. section (Help > F.A.Q. > Postcards wall).
3 Likes
Thank you, that was really useful!
Specially because I didn’t know I could only upload them while it is traveling.
As @Violet2022 said, I should have read more carefully the instructions. I started with them but the website is quite intuitive and the wall is easy to manage so I just started messing woth it because it was more interesting. 
i’ll see if there’s something else in the guidelines that I’ll be missing.
Also, just in case it helps anybody. I don’t have a scanner and there’s no way I can get one right now. But instead of taking photos I use an app called: SwiftScan.
Any app to scan documents work, really. Some of them scan and save either on .jgp or .pdf.
This one only works on .pdf but I like how it works. If you put the postcard over a flat “blank” urface, it detects the border and scans what’s inside.
Then you convert the .pdf to image (ILovePDF.com) and voilà. It os quite a good quality for scanned postcards and better than the standard phone photo that you have to crop.
3 Likes
I may correct myself: You can save in .pdf and then upload or send it to your e-mail, drive, etc. as .pdf or image .jpg.
3 Likes
Sure you can change your choice there👍
1 Like
This is a very useful thread. Thanks so much for asking Violet2022!
I’m a new Postcrosser (one week), and so far I’ve sent two postcards. I wish I’d seen these tips first. I did read something on the Postcrossing site before sending my postcards…but I don’t remember these tips (but I could have just forgotten 
).
I don’t think the pen I used was waterproof, and I only wrote the ID once…and I put it right near the stamps!!! What was I thinking? It is obvious that I haven’t written or received a postcard in a very, very long time time. I hope that the ID on my cards does not get completely covered by the postmark.I also did not provide my username so they won’t be able to look me up that way.
Not a great start, but it’s better that I have seen these tips now, rather than after twenty postcards.
Thanks so much for the generous advice everyone. 
Sam.
3 Likes
@Tinkatutu G’day Sam and welcome to the Postcrossing community! 
Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated. I am glad to hear you find this thread useful as well.
Needless to say: I very much recommend to always start by reading both the PC and Forum Guidelines, which are the official rules of the game and as such to be followed from A to Z, of course.
Additionally, I can definitely recommend to read the full F.A.Q. section on the PC website (Help > F.A.Q.), which is quite comprehensive and specific (including the ID related tips you mention).
I started this thread to get some additional practical insights / main advices / tips from more seasoned Postcrossers on the basis of their personal experience. Several of them have been very generous with their useful remarks indeed. 
The combination of PC knowledge and experience (‘learning by doing’) also allows to better navigate the Forum, where a lot of info / perspectives / opinions can be found on many PC topics in different specific threads.
2 Likes
I might be better off sending out my first two cards again from scratch…this time with all of my gained knowledge!
I did not see the Help/FAQ section…or if I did (on my first day on the site) my eyes glazed over with information overload. So I’ve pretty much broken every rule in the FAQ ID ‘Don’t Do’ section 
.
2 Likes
@Tinkatutu Don’t worry, your first cards will reach their destinations. You are motivated and eager to learn, that’s a very good start! 
5 Likes
Thank you Violet2022.
I’m simply busting to receive a postcard. My first two are travelling to Germany and Russia so they have a long while to go yet.
I’m trying hard to source postcards because we’re in lockdown here and many shops are closed. I’ve had to resort to Etsy and online stores to buy my cards…so that’s more waiting for those to arrive. With so many people in various stages of lockdown in Easter Australia, our postal service is struggling a bit with the volume of mail.
I’m having to work on my patience skills very, very hard right now 
!
4 Likes
Most things have been covered, but I’d like to reinforce that you should not send ‘other things’ in envelopes to countries that have strict quarantine laws.
I’ve had plant seeds sent to me… with the best of intentions … but that contravenes Australia’s quarantine laws in so many ways! Sadly, I’ve had to burn those seeds.
4 Likes
Don’t worry, normal pens are enoughly waterproof. Most of the mail survives dry, and the use of waterproof pen is just an extra thing. Many people write the id only once, in fact majority of the cards I get have the id only once. And more often that I would think, the postmark is not next to the postage stamps, it can be on the lower part, or on the image side, so there is no safe place.
I never write my username, it’s very rare that someone writes their username in their card.
I think the most useful thing is to write the id twice, and if you upload the image of the card, at that point again check the number is correct.
5 Likes
Thank you!
1 Like
I don’t think that is necessary. It’s just a couple of cards, they will get there and you now have more experience for your next cards.
And yes, I never write my username either (unless it’s a private swap). Even when people do, I rarely look them up before registering the card. If the system is set the way it is, there is a reason for that, and I don’t find it so important (for me) to do it another way.
I know I am pedantic, but I really don’t know how people don’t read FAQs, I read all in order to decide whether I wanted to sign up or not, as I had so many questions popping in my mind about how this would work. The fact that a lot of my questions were addressed there (e.g. what if I move houses? Is this for collectors?) gave me a lot of confidence in wanting to join. I’m certainly not someone that acts on enthusiasm alone…
6 Likes
Thanks elikoa.
I did try and read some of the FAQs. But I’m very much a person who learns through doing, not reading mountains of rules beforehand. I find that stuff dry and meaningless to me unless I can actually picture what it means (and why it’s important) through having had some basic experience with it first. So yeah…. my bad.
1 Like