Trade question

What do you think when people ask for blank cards for their collection to use for themselves?
Do you think its odd or is that something youll do to gather more unique cards?

I usually assume they are a collector of unused?
Or maybe they have the card in mind for something specific, as it doesn’t cost me that much extra (just cost of envelope) I don’t really think about it…
I put a little thank you note in with then usually?
It’s a little awkward for me to send unwritten cards.
I feel bad somehow, like I am being unfair by not writing :sweat_smile:

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This sounds like an above-and-beyond request for normal Postcrossing. I certainly would not send an unused postcard in an envelope instead of a written one.

I may send an unused card in addition to a written card, if perhaps the recipient was searching for a particular card that I had and was willing to share. And of course, if it’s part of a swap in which I have agreed to exchange blank cards, I might happily include an extra “freebie.”

However, I am not a stationery store, so if someone’s profile requested pristine, unwritten cards sent in an envelope for their personal use, I would decline and send a written postcard as usual. Joining Postcrossing with the expectation of receiving a steady supply of free postcards delivered to one’s mailbox is generally frowned upon. :wink:

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This question has been posed before. I send out my Official cards Stamped and Written. I usually collect US postcards Unwritten; I usually trade for those in the Forum, as well as International cards I want Unwritten.

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I think it is part of life’s rich pageant: it costs me exactly the same ($1.20) to send in an envelope or not, so I’m happy to send blank in envelope if it makes a Postcrosser happy.

I don’t ask for blank cards because I have soooo many of my own. Also, I enjoy reading what someone has written.

Sometimes I will do a swap for blank cards, but it’s mostly because I like sending cards. Receiving blank cards in return is lagniappe.

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If it is an official Postcrossing card or “A card for a card” type of trade, then I always ask them written.

If I am trading something else, like stamps or candy wrappers or such, then I sometimes ask for blank postcard(s) back if the trade partner doesn’t have anything else that I find interesting. In that case I feel it is normal to ask something useful back for sending something the partner wants. So both gets something out of the trade. If I send , let’s say 20 stamps specifically picked for the trade partner’s collection, but they don’t have the kind of stamps I am looking for, I think it is fair that I ask for 2 or 3 blank cards (that I can use for postcrossing or sending greetings for family) back instead of one written card (that I don’t collect). Of course I am not demanding, but making an offer and if the trade partner doesn’t like that then we don’t need to trade or they can make another offer back.

I am also all okay with sending blank cards so long that I feel that the trade is fair. Sometimes you just want to increase your card pile variation by trading the cards with others, or maybe just want to collect the cards unused. I see nothing wrong with that.

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As letters became more expensive than postcards at the beginning of July 2019 I don’t send unwritten cards in envelopes anymore.

I don’t see anything wrong with that, except that I will not partake in it. I will continue to send my written postcard without an envelope, for the simple reason that it costs twice as much for me to send it in an envelope.

Requests like this are beyond what Postcrossing is about, and no one is obliged to accede to all requests if it is beyond their means.

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I usually do send a blank postcard in an envelope if that’s what people really want. (Doesn’t cost me all that much more) It just makes me feel a bit empty inside because I love writing on the back of the postcard.

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I think the question here is about trades. Not official postcrossing. A trade is a place where there are set rules by “us” as community, which might include, or not, if the cards are to be sent naked or written.
I dont think it is bad to exchange blank cards or as @Kompis-Ninna said, it is sometimes blank card in exchange for something else.

For example i dont like to send maximum cards in envelope. They cost too much in first place and having to pay extra postage for a card that has postage prepaid is crazy. Plus that in my opinion maximum cards are worth written and sent from the country of origin.

But if in a private or forum trade i send a maximum card, there might be a person who doesnt have a maxi to send back so he/she might send 2-3 unwritten in an envelope etc.

In any case, agreement of both parts is needed. In official postcrossing it is up to the sender if he/she will follow a request for blanks (i dont usually) because official postcrossing is not a way to build your stash… In the forum tho, things are fluid.

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For official cards I only sent without envelope. For swaps it depends, sometimes I even ask for unwritten - whenever I see THE perfect card for a close Postcrossing friend.

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I often ask for unwritten because I like having things to send. When people ask me for unwritten I usually add another card with a message like, “something tag” or “direct swap”. Just to keep things tidy lol

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In the official website, I do not send blank cards, however, in the forum I am a regular on unwritten postcard swaps. There are many themes that aren’t offered domestically that I have been gifted via a blank swap. It has helped give my available card album a great variety. I don’t keep them for myself though. I put them back into my offers, so I can send them to other members. There are very few cards that I have kept blank.