my thoughts exactly
Please don’t register something like that in the future, but report it to the Postcrossing team. It’s forbidden to send cards that have been sent already on the Postcrossing site.
It happened once about 8-9 years ago, and I did report it before registration. Back then postcrossing team said it was technically a card, and should be registered, so I did. I requested explanation from the sender before registration too, she was like “if you don’t like it, glued it over again and send to somebody else”. Maybe the rule was not there yet.
I think though each case even if it’s “against the rules” should be viewed individually, like with children’s drawings. Here is an example:
Technically, not a card - too thin, too big, but 8 year old drew it especially for you, because he thought you’d enjoy vehicle handmade from the wishlist more than cityview he sent to everybody else. It’s complicated
Sorry to write in separate message.
You mean this rule (guidelines are not strict rules btw): “Be respectful of postcards written by others. Don’t re-use/recycle already used postcards to send in Postcrossing.”
Haven’t you see many handmade “frankensteins” obviously made from received cards and many postcrossers eager to receive one of these handmade in other topics? Should all these handmade, shown on the forum be reported too? Also I clearly remember handmade cards on official postcrossing blog spotlight also made with recycled cards.
I really dislike Tausendschön cards (and most other glittery cards) and as they’re quite expensive I mention it on my profile. I always feel bad when I receive one, they are so popular and I would have been a lot happier with a way cheaper tourist card
I’ve talked to the team about this some time. By now, you can’t send cards that have been sent already as official cards. I received one such card and was told not to register it. They also pointed out the rules to the member. I think it refers to a complete card that was glued over and then simply sent again. On the forum however, you can send whatever you like.
Seems rules have changed. Back then I even found the card on the sender’s received wall, it was so weird. But since sender sometimes sends printed photos of herself too as postcards, my case was least of evil
I think with my time of doing postcrossing, I just eventually started to consider sent cards as full property of receivers once received (some people rip stamps out for charity, use them for handmade etc.), just to save myself from being upset. Also when you have received too many cards, the utilization problem is serious and you need to become Dr. Frankenstein to give the boring cityviews with no message a new life, but that’s off topic.
I also don’t like underpostaged cards - but just inside my own country (Germany in that case) as I have to pay postage due. And it happened a lot to me. Infact since about two years I simply refuse such mail as I am not Uncle $crooge. So this is totally understandable for me.
But in more than seven years of Postcrossing I never cared about the postage on cards from foreign countries. Why should I? I’ve never heard about somebody who has to pay postage due for a underpostaged card from outside of Germany. Also I don’t know the current postage of other countries. And before I spend time on investigation for the postage from each and every country I rather put this effort in writing cards to nice people.
To each his own - but this always leaves a big question mark in my mind when I stumble about it 🤷🏻
BTT I appreciate almost every card I receive.
I have my likes and dislikes but as long as it is a postcard everything’s fine for me.
There are such a few little things:
- Folded cards (but even that is just a short moment of “
”, because there are also beautiful cards)
- a bad cut-out thin piece of paper with no meaning, no text, just ID
And one thing I really hate (yes, hate!):
a so-called card sent via Touchnote, MyPostcard et al - this makes me absolutely angry because I don’t want my address to be given to third party.
Why should you?
(Of course, this is only my opinion.)
I feel like getting a stolen item. I don’t appreciate it. If you don’t have money, wait until you do. It’s disrespectful to send something with too little postage, like I weren’t worth a proper card and enoughly paid postage.
Also, the guidelines tell to use enough postage. Of course.
I don’t have to investigate the postage, I have learned what it is. Maybe I’m more aware of things around me than someone else, and often I get a feeling something is wrong.
And still I have time to write cards.
And, maybe I’m a little happy if the cheater sends less cards maybe someone else gets a card with enough postage, if I don’t have to register the cheater’s card and she/he can’t send a new one. Often these are the ones that look like written while running, made out of floppy note card or something like that, it’s not a big loss if they leave
. Or maybe they even find how fun it’s to buy stamps, admire them, put them in card, and no conscience nagging on their shoulder.
I know mistakes happen, years ago I have sent a letter and forgot to put postage at all.
But shortly, if you don’t feel good about the way you are treated, and don’t want it to happen to some other postcrosser, then you should care, at the least.
Well, maybe you got me wrong or I explained it wrong :
If I get to know (somehow) that, for example, you sent me an underpostaged card then of course I care about it. Even though I don’t have to pay postage due. And if I find out that you did it on purpose, well…of course I’ll report you (if it’s an official card) to the support.
But I really don’t know all the postages of other countries. I know our own, of course, and I know from Austria, the Netherlands and Norway. I cannot know from each and every country on this planet, just if I look every now and then. I don’t count the value of the stamps on my received cards from Brazil, Spain, Italy, Malaysia, France or any other country I received from so far and receive day by day. Infact I don’t have the time for it.
To make it clear:
I don’t support people who underpostage their cards. I also get angry when I read things like (“Oh well, I use of course lower postage. It works and if not, well, not my problem” --> Yes, just look at some Facebook groups…) and I give them a clear statement (though I think they don’t care and go on with their business). And as I’ve written before I refuse to pay for underpostaged cards. I leave them at the postman or post office. Further I think it is not asked too much to inform about the right postage before sending out a postcard or a letter. Above all when I do Postcrossing.
I personally use rather too much postage (if I don’t have the matching stamps or I want to make a stamp freak smile) than too little.
I am just wondering if someone really puts the effort to control each and every card for the right postage.
Maybe I should have written “I don’t check every card I receive for the right postage” instead of “I don’t care”.
Yes I think I got you wrong. I thought you don’t care if someone uses too little postage and you were wondering why should you
Maybe, if people like reading and looking the message side too, looking at the stamps and postmarks, there is not extra effort needed to see that there is for example Polish stamp in a German card (with way too little value).
Of course I don’t know all the postages, and I’m sure I haven’t noticed all of the cards sent with wrong value stamps.
People also receive many cards from one country (e.g. germany, US, UK, russia which are quite active here) and so you just remember that there was a different amount on the other cards you already received… So you might just wonder about it because it’s a small irregularity and check it online out of curiousity.
I notice cards from the U.S. because I am an ex-pat American so I know the postage right away. Also, there are certain other countries that I have noticed oh, I got a very-low-value stamp from there, is it really so inexpensive to send a card? And then I look it up, usually here in the Forum (especially now that there is a wiki for this, it is very easy!) and sometimes online. If I am sure the card was underpostaged or if I am not sure I will ask the admins before registering and send them a scan of the card. I’m not playing “postage police” and diligently checking each card, but I think after 3000 received cards I probably do notice the majority of them.
Edit to add: I have never once gotten an underpostaged card from Germany! Not when I lived in the U.S. and not here. I am sorry that others have.
In Belgium we are allowed to use old stamps in belgian franks, as long as the amount is correct. Once a german postcrosser made the remark when registering my card, that I was lucky that it had arrived because I didn’t use euro stamps. He or she clearly thought I had done something illegal
I just want a postcard! I have sent out 8, and have not received my first one yet. Fingers crossed, when I get home, there will be one waiting for me. So… I would take homemade, multi view etc.
Wow. I had no idea this underpostage thing was such a big deal. I assumed that if someone didn’t put enough postage on that it wouldn’t be delivered.
No postcards today. I will say that the US postal system has been really lacking lately.
Concur completely. The USPS has taken a serious nosedive in the last year or so.
I am an avid penpal enthusiast! It took 27 days for a letter to travel from Texas to Kentucky. That’s ridiculous. I’ve have never in my life seen the post office decline so rapidly as in the past year.
I also only learned recently that in other European countries, it’s not illegal! Guess the person thought Belgium had the same rules about it as Germany. We can’t use Mark stamps, sadly.
Actually I received a card sent inside Germany with an ATM stamp of just €0.01. Also was a free card, so the person spent a whole Cent for me. Reported it to the admins and never got a replacement.
Most other underpaid cards come from the US. Very often, they’ll only use a “Postcard” stamp and then I assume they just don’t know that international postage costs more.