I’ve always loved snail mail and had penpals when I was a kid. With Postcrossing, I like that feeling when I find the right card for someone or get a postcard or stamp of something I’ve never thought about before. It’s the randomness, variety, and brief connection with people that keep me coming back. I recently discovered round robins on the forum and that is scratching a different itch: matching postcards to a theme and then having ( sometimes) multiple conversations with others who are interested in the same thing. It’s like a hybrid of Postcrossing and penpals!
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I yet have to try this! Is there a post with rules?
If you search Round Robins in the forum there will be a list to choose from. They rules are usually in the first or second post of the thread. My favorite is Blast from the Past. Please join us!
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I am autistic and adhd, so interacting with people in real life or in more instantaneous platforms is overwhelming and painful (or non existent for months at the time).
Snail-mail it’s my preferred form of communication because the sensory input is minimal while at the same time it’s something it can be savoured calmly.
It makes me super sad to think that this will be over one day because then I will even be more isolated than ever. Sure, I can get e-mail penpals and I’ve been thinking of it; but at the same time I have no patience to stay in front of screens as a main source of communication (ironically I’m doing that now 
).
I don’t have irl friends nor acquaintances nor a social life of any sorts and that will never happen because it just doesn’t work for me, unfortunately, so I find in postcrossing a way to have a friend (my penpal) and interact with other nice people sometimes. 
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It’s called gameficatiin. Companies are using this as a motivation. I am an avid gamer must be why I love postcrossing!
I’ve watched this conversation for a while since I joined and have thought about it. The way I found postcrossing is I was looking to see if there were any penpal sites online. I had done that when I was young. Once I found this I thought it would so interesting to read profiles and think about each person going about living their day. Then i started enjoying receiving cards from so many people. I’m not a stamp person, but today I think I realized why I’m doing it. I deal with depression and everything that I see/hear going on around the world just makes it worse. There’s so much hatred and I want to be the reason someone reads a card, smiles and realizes that there is still love and acceptance in the world.
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I enjoy writing, decorating, and choosing stamps to send, in hopes people appreciate them but at the end of the day I’m having fun and people like seeing me how relaxed and smiley it makes me to just sit in silence and make the postcards like a maniac 
My favorite part of receiving is when people write actual messages… It makes my whole day. I don’t want to hear that you’re 45 years old from some town. I don’t actually learn anything about you… Tell me how you got your pet snake, or your addiction to chocolate (my personal favorites!) I feel like I am their friend when they talk about such things-
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Hi Everyone! What a fascinating thread to read!
I would say I’m 50% Socialiser and 30% Achiever (I know that doesn’t add to 100 but there wasn’t a category for those who do actually like the game. I had no interest in postcards and stamps before Postcrossing. Now, I get super excited by postcards, stamps, and washi tape so that deserves at least 20%). I love the badges for making a good post and visiting so many days in a row. I am sad I can’t make member status. I’m on the site hours a day, comment, make posts, host an RR, etc. so at this point I’ve given up. I’ve learned to accept it’s not happening so PC helps in that way too 
As for the other questions:
I love sending much more. I try my hardest to match cards to profiles. I still struggle with one-way communication if a prompt isn’t offered, but I always fill the card because connection is the point for me.
The message will always be most important to me, but as someone with a disability of my own, I understand that connection and communication comes in multiple ways. Not everyone can write long and/or unique messages. Sometimes sending a card they think is perfect is you is the best and only message a person can send.
No, I’m not a collector though I do put my favorite cards in photo paper in binders.
Oh yes! I host a RR (join us in happy mail RR). I participate in them. I do private swaps. I love posting on the food and baking pages, etc. I’m always here. Just this year, I made sending 100 cards on the main page a goal because I felt my official numbers were pitiful 
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When I first moved to the countryside, I embraced the slower pace of life by diving into postcrossing. With more time to relax and soak in the tranquility of my surroundings, I found joy in connecting with others through postcards. It’s the perfect way to share a slice of my peaceful rural life with the world.
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I started postcrossing because I was looking for a way to find penpals and love to send and receive mail. Postcrossing has fulfilled that wish and much more! After 3 years I have found extra joy in how his hobby has given me a creative outlet.
I experiment with painting, photography, stamping, penmanship etc. all focused to make my little piece of cardboard a tiny art offering and try to write something I hope will convey that I care about the person I am sending to. I put a lit lot of energy into what I send and really want the receiver to be happy. I look forward to each card in my mailbox because it feels like a link to someone new and special however brief the acquaintance. I change my profile ALL the time and it’s been a great social experiment. I love when senders play along with my silly profile questions or requests and am rarely disappointed. Most of all I love when I really make someone’s day better with my little efforts.
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I started postcrossing after a friend told me about it. I’ve been dealing with medical issues for the better part of 2 years now that almost completely took away my ability to travel outside of Canada. I’m in a very conservative rural area that isn’t very open minded to other cultures and ways of life. It is not me at all but due to my medical situation being reliant on family I have to stay here for the time being.
Postcrossing has offered me the ability to see the world from my laptop and create friendships I never dreamed possible. Also it allowed me to connect with front line victims in Ukraine, other than just hearing what is told in media I also get it directly from the people most impacted.
It’s allowed me to create friendships from all over the world I likely never would’ve otherwise. I certainly love receiving more than sending, mostly due to Canadian postage rates, but I know that somewhere else in the world there is some who is as excited to receive what I send as much as I am to receive what is sent to me.
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I started sending potscrossing because I was bored with life, I couldn’t practice some of my hobbies because of the various reasons, I found life boring, I preferred to send, I also enjoyed picking cards and writing messages, they were an escapist for me,My dad was amazed at the fact that I liked to go to the post office on weekends at my teenage age, and he thought that the post was something that only older people would use, but it was the case, and postcrossing provided me with a temporary escape from reality
I’m a history buff, so when I extract a country of interest, I write something I know on a postcard, and at the same time, I can spread culture or fun with the help of this postcard, and a small postcard can connect the world with a little less postage than travel, how amazing it is,I love to travel and have been to Europe a long time ago, but I haven’t been abroad for a long time because of my busy studies, and if it weren’t for postcrossing, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to receive postcards from all over the world at all
I’m a philatelist, I like to collect stamps from all over the world, I think it’s an art, but I don’t have any requirements for stamps, I like to keep the surprise, so I only write on the introduction page that I like philately
I didn’t use the forum directly after I started postcrossing, I started using it about three months later, and I was happy to see a lot of people on the forum who had the same hobbies as me, so I liked to socialize
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When I was a kid my mom showed me this form for penpals. I forgot what it was called, I think it was International Pen Friends. You pay 3USD and will get some address based on your enquiry. My mom had a lot of penpals growing up and she wanted the same for me, but at that time we didn’t have much money.
The moment I got what little allowance she could give, i would buy stamps and send letter to my classmates, because it was cheaper. Then, I finally got a job of my own and could afford many more things my heart desires, so I joined postcrossing, after I found it from google search.
I couldn’t be as active as I wanted because of life hehe. So, even though I joined for a bit over 9 years, I have less than 200 postcards registered and sent. Nevertheless, it’s truly a dream come true for me.
I witnessed how I’ve changed as a person, based on what my profile says. I used to be more particular about the cards and stamps, and wrote a lengthy paragraphs about myself. Over time, I found that what I really do enjoy the most are the messages, because I can re read them and they take me away every time, so I started asking more for messages.
I noticed that I enjoyed finding the best postcards for people, so long their profile doesn’t have the tone of overly demanding haha, like how my profile used to be lol. So, I then changed my profile again to list some ideas of what kind of cards I like. But honestly, I really love reading all the messages on the postcards, and looking at the stamps. They make me feel like I talk to that person, and I love to think that forever I have this little fragment of that person. They may change and go places over time but this tiny little fragment of themselves stay with me and connect with me, and all I need is to open the album and re read the message. I thought it’s a wonderful thing. How much we share ourselves with the world, how much of us change over time, and yet a miniscule part of it, is forever captured in these tiny cardstocks. All the thoughts, the feelings, the care, the touch. I thought it’s remarkable.
P.s: I just started to join in the forum recently, reading a bunch and also replying to topics that interest me like this one, also posted a penpal ad.
Thank you for starting this thread, and thank you for reading.
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I’m lonely and I’ve had enough of the internet. I have plenty of stories to tell, but, to whom?
This platform gives me sweetness and joy, I appreciate life more and believe there are people who still care for you even strangers.
And when they’re happy receiving my cards, I feel happy too!
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Hello,
I dont know if that question was asked before, but here it comes
If you had to choose one of this 3 things, which one is the most exciting for you (and why)?
- Get Hurray! message
- Taking postcards out of your mailbox and register it
- “And your postcard goes to…”- checking profile of your next postcrossing friends and choosing a postcard for them
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I will choose 2. I get excited when I receive postcard with beautiful stamps! I love all kind of stamps 
For me, every postcrossing activity brings so much joy, but if I had to pick, I’d rank them like this:
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Getting a ‘Hurray!’ message – there’s nothing quite like that burst of happiness when someone loves your card!
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Checking out the profile of my next postcrossing friend and selecting the perfect postcard for them – the thrill of making someone’s day is unbeatable.
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Taking postcards out of my mailbox and registering them – it’s like unwrapping little surprises from around the world.
Each of these moments makes postcrossing a true delight for me!.
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Welcome to postcrossing!
It’s an excellent question why I started. Honestly, my experience with my country’s postal service hasn’t been the best. Ever since I was little (around 6 years old) when they had pen pal programs between schools, my letters were never answered.
For the past 3 years, I’ve been interested in Postcrossing, as I had seen some posts about it in forums where I was active. Even during a Swedish course I took, I mentioned that there was a website for exchanging postcards, as we were learning about writing different types of texts. When the teacher asked me if I used it, I said no… It wasn’t until I found myself alone in the world, without friends or much family since they passed away during Covid, only taking care of my elderly mother, and longing for some human contact, that I decided to send my first postcard.
I think Postcrossing helps me with many things, mainly focusing and managing my anxiety. I really enjoy sending postcards, writing something after reading the person’s profile, practicing the languages I’ve learned, and being able to find little things that are different from my everyday life is a breath of fresh air. Although coming home and seeing a postcard on my table is very exciting, the only one that has arrived at my door made me scream with excitement, and I showed it to my mother with great enthusiasm.
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socializer and explorer!
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