Hi so I’ve a few already written postcards, but not been sent, so no address or postage on. Would you send a postcard to someone that already had a message on, that you did not write?
Also has anyone ever tried to contact family of an old postcard that was written and stamped? I’ve got some sent in 1972 and interested see if the person is alive or not…
Thanks all…
Ed
No, I wouldn’t send an already written postcard because the message isn’t meant for the person.
No…I would not do that.
No, I wouldn’t send a card written by somebody else. Not as Postcrossing card at least. I can only think of sending card like that if somebody collects old, written cards, but even then it would not go as Postcrossing card. I actually have one card like that. It came with a box of cards I bought from the second-hand shop, and it has “thank you for the trade!” written on it (in Swedish), which I find quite funny and fitting, but also sad because it would have been a great card to send.
Also for the second question, no I would not attempt to contact the family or person whose name is on card I found/bought. If the card ended up in second-hand shop, it probably did so for reason (the person died, wanted to get rid of stuff etc.) I feel like that seeking for somebody and stumbling into their life only to satisfy my curiosity is rude thing to do. Especially if I end up reminding them about something they wanted to forgot.
Hi Ed
I’m very new to Postcrossing so I wouldn’t send a card with writing on already but I completely understand your curiosity about who they originally belonged to. There was a great radio programme on BBC Radio 4 called The Wedding Detectives where someone found wedding photograph albums in charity shops and tracked the families down. As wedding albums are even more deeply personal than postcards you can imagine how complex the stories behind how they ended up in a charity shop were. It’s still on iplayer if you fancy a listen.
I agree with @Kompis-Ninna; attempting to contact the recipient of an old postcard seems jarringly invasive unless one has a very specific and legitimate reason to do so. I would be immensely creeped out.
…especially if you (the person related to the card) didn’t know that the postcard ended up in someone else’s possession… 
I agree, no, I wouldn’t send such a card except in very unusual circumstances for a swap, and probably never for an Official. Also I wouldn’t stick a label over the message and write a new one or anything like that. That said, if you don’t have another use for the postcards I would hang onto them, because if you’re here long enough you will certainly someday draw a profile that says something like “I love mysterious messages from long ago” and you can send the whole bunch of them to a good home!
There was an article recently about a postcard that was stuck in a post office in Maine for decades and finally delivered, and the person was very touched to receive it.
So I would come down on the side of trying to find out (Google?) if someone by that same last name still lived there and if they knew that person, would they be able to get it to them. Or if deceased, would they be interested in receiving it.
Best of luck, either way.
Nancy
I also wouldn’t track the persons involved with the card. In my view it’s hurting their privacy.
If I would use a card originally written (by me) for someone else but never send?
Maybe. It depends. Mainly if it feels fitting in the given circumstances.
Best
Elisa
Thanks all some great feedback. Thank you. 
I love used cards , some people sent it to me because I asked if they have some cards "needed new home " .
I kind of would like a card that is written but not sent, especially when it’s old.
And perhaps I wouldn’t mind someone contacting me about an old postcard . That might be something my father sent to his grandparents for example, and I would love to see such cards! Of course much depends on how people are contacted. I would first tell who I am, where from, where I got the card and why am I contacting them. I haven’t contacted, but I don’t think it’s only a bad idea. The card can have been thrown out by an ex partner, parents, or themselves, but they regretted afterwards (if the sender dies for example, and they have nothing from them anymore).
Yes, i would! That’s fun!