Welcome to Postcrossing!
This hobby is wonderful and I’m sure you will get lots of wonderful experiences through this PC journey.
Most people on PC are lovely and kind people.
I hope you get back the spirit and the joy in sending and receiving postcards!
Every now and then you might have a bad experience but it will be blown away by all the positive ones!
Happy Postcrossing!
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@outlawedpipes
Welcome to postcrossing and the forum 
I have moved your post and the answers you received here to the Welcome topic.
Please just read here in the forum and you will certainly find answers to your questions or you can continue discussing in existing topics.
You will also find out that there are many nice people here who will allay your concerns about your new hobby and who will probably want to get in touch with you.
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Hi there, Renee, @outlawedpipes (what an intriguing ID name; bet there’s a story!), and WELCOME to Postcrossing!
I was new 2 1/2 years ago, and felt some similar feelings.
Hope these thoughts help:
- Have fun; do your thing. While profiles include ‘wish’ lists, these are not demands; just suggestions. Most Postcrossers seem to like the note written as much as anything because we are interested in other people/places
- This is a community of communicators; not a facilitator of collections. If you have something that matches the ‘wish’ of a collector (stamps, postcard series, etc.), great. If not, send your card from your creative heart.
- To save money, you can set your settings (at the bottom of Edit profile) to ‘most popular’ countries; you’ll likely get a lot of US addresses;
- Do you want my list of oopsies from my early days and weeks?
We all make mistakes, learn from them, move on, then have even more fun. 
- If you break a rule, don’t feel bad. I’ve broken one or two, in error; someone redirected me and we all moved on. Nobody lost an eye!
- Budget your time and resources. Not everyone likes washi or decoration on their card, so I save the time and creative effort for those who indicate a like for it.
- One of my favourite Forum activities is Month of Letters. But maybe one card a day will be a bit much for you, given how busy you are?
As others have noted: participate and give what you can, when you can. No rush. No deadlines. No hassle.
Have a jolly wonderful time!
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That is so true! 
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Hello Renee,
I really can’t add all that much to what the other members have said. Postcrossing brings together people of many different tastes and interests. We can’t really know what impels people to join PostCrossing. Yes, the concept of getting mail from interesting places is one draw. Another is the collectible thrust of postcards and stamps. And so on…
While we can’t, as you stated, please everybody, it is important take into consideration what others like/don’t like. Sounds reasonable, right? I can tell you that some pay lip service to that. Moreover, there are some who want to do PostCrossing on their terms. When things don’t pan out, you can guess who they blame.
I’ve been a member for 13 years now, though I no longer do Official Postcrossing. I keep my expectations reasonable. I’ve acquired a large number of cards for my collection. I’ve also given away hundreds of postcards too. I commend you for your desire to make others happy. We need more of that!
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If the worst thing that happens to a person that day , is they receive a postcard, with GASP, washi tape, i think they are doing ok. Read profiles, try to send something on their wish list, if you don’t have it, no big deal, send what you do have. lots of different stamp combos can be used for international mail. i don’t collect stamps, but suddenly i collect stamps lol . i tend to order stamps from usps site, new releases , and have a drawer full. so i “collect” stamps to be used for mailing. Sometimes, due to time or availability i use just an international stamp. Sometimes if someone has a specific like, and i don’t have a card to match, i will put on a sticker or washi that does reflect what they like. The hobby starts slow, waiting on getting your first few cards, but it does gain momentum. You can not please everyone. If sending postcards with washi bring you joy, and its not offensive washi , washi away. The whole point is to connect. sometimes you get amazing cards, sometimes you get not so amazing cards. its all part of it. i’ve sent some cards that i put a lot of thought into and the receiver didn’t like them, and i’ve had the opposite where it made someone’s day. take it in stride. You are in my state, happy to send you a card 
pm your address and ill pop some washi, stickerbombed paper love in the mail to you:)
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You are definitely over-thinking this. The only negative comment I can recall getting was one where they didn’t like where I put the ID number!
Most Hurray messages received are along the lines of “Thank you for the beautiful card!”
To help you with realstic expectations, here are my average recent travel times from USA …
Germany and U.K = 7 - 10 days. Canada = 10 - 14 days.
Most of Europe and Japan allow two weeks. Some European countries without direct USA flights, allow 30 days.
Taiwan and Hong Kong anywhere from 2 - 4 weeks, China … 30 - 60 days (Australia also).
Due to current circumstances, Ukraine and Israel are slower than usual, patience necessary.
I believe anywhere else would not come up often.
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Please keep in mind that this is our Welcome topic - it’s not a discussion topic.
@outlawedpipes got a lot of answers here and I am sure that if they have any more questions or will get more answers, they will ask in the relevant topics.
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Hello all, I’m not new on Postcrossing, but I never entered the forum. So I’m new here. I’m not very busy in writing postcards and I don’t really collect them. Maybe that will change sometimes. I enjoy to get postcards and I keep them for a while. I don’t have special wishes. I have fun with postcrossing!
I didn’t find the function where to write a new post, so I have to reply here. If it’s wrong…sorry!
Kind regards
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Corinna, you did brilliantly! Welcome to the forum, a little corner of Postcrossing where people chat and play games. Feel free to poke around and explore the different sections — I’m sure you’ll quickly find something you like!
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Hello! I’m Spencer. Very new to Postcrossing and just sent out a few postcards this morning actually. I live in Idaho, United States of America (known for potatoes mostly!). I love to read, write, and connect with others. Looking forward to getting to know more of you!
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Hello everyone!
I’m a returnee who hasn’t sent postcards for several years. I used to be active on the old forum(Ann123) and seemed to have served as a host for some RR, but I can’t remember clearly due to the long time passed, and I can’t log in to the old forum anymore. I don’t know if anyone still remembers me.XD
However, it doesn’t matter at all. What matters is that I want to reconnect with you guys and also I want to make some new friends! =D
Time really flies. I remember when I first sent postcards, I was still a middle school student. Now I have graduated from university and worked for several years. I think it’s time to start sending postcards again, especially after going through a difficult time.
Oh right,I would like to ask you, how long does it usually take for postcards sent from China to arrive in your mailbox? Does it take around 25-40 days or longer? Considering that I haven’t sent postcards for a long time, I’m not sure if the current mailing method is smooth. I hope you guys can give me some feedback.
Thank you so much,
Have a nice day!
Ruonan
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Welcome back! My last two cards from China were in the 25 - 40 day range, not expired.
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Hi there, Ruonan,Yes it takes 30 to 40 days to arrive a card fromChina in Holland
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Welcome back @Sangria2333!
I’m in Canada.
Cards that I receive from China average about 51 days travel. I report cards same day they arrive.
Cards sent to China average 79 days.
Currently, I have five expired from China.
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Welcome back! I live in Japan and cards to/from China take 12-24 days on average (to send or receive). I had one take 48 days, but I’d consider that one to be an outlier.
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Hi everyone 
I’m Anna from Germany and so happy to be here.
Using stickers, washi-tape or old collected stamps to decorate my postcards is a given for me. And as I have so much stationary, I’m so glad to have found this community and now am able to use it all. 
My hobbies are: reading (I also have a bookstagram), going to the cinema, fooood, visiting cozy cafes or bookshops and being creative. If you want to swap sometime, feel free to ask.
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Welcome to the forum and to Postcrossing in general. You have a lovely profile text, I am sure you will enjoy our community. Happy Postcrossing!
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Welcome @melon_coffee! This is a wonderful community! 
As you poke around the Forum, you’ll find all sorts of interesting groups to join: round robins, tags, your country, etc.
If you’re looking to connect with more Postcrossers as well as to send out more happy mail, consider joining in the Month of Letters challenge, which takes place each February.
Have fun!
@melon_coffee
Hi Anna,.
Welcome to this fantastic community.
We started a challenge to pair up with a Postcrosser to send weekly, 2-weekly or monthly Postcards
So much fun. You are welcome to join us.
https://community.postcrossing.com/t/2024-year-of-postcard-challenge-join-us
If you would like to post a request for a challenge partner, you can click on the link in the first post and write a request in the penpals wanted topic of the challenge.
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