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Post by kiera on Jul 24, 2021 4:56:04 GMT
I mentioned Postcrossing in another thread, and CardBoxer had some questions - I don't want to derail that thread so let's talk about it here! Are you a Postcrosser? Are you curious about it? Do you not know what the hell I'm talking about and would like to learn more? Postcrossing is an online community that I've been a part of since January 2012. I can assure you that it's super secure - in the 9 1/2+ years I've been a member, not once have I had any issues with creeps or anything weird being sent to me. Not once. But.... what is it, you're wondering? You sign up (it's free), create a profile, and enter your address. After that, you fill out your first postcards! When you click the link to send a card, the generator will pull an address of another user who is waiting to receive a card. You will see their name, their address, and whatever they wrote in their profile - generally it's a place where people will tell you a little about themselves and what kinds of postcards they'd like to receive. The only time an address is shown is when you pull the profile - it's not there all the time, for anybody to see. You will also receive a code that you'll need to write on your postcard. This will be a country abbreviation followed by a number. For example, if I send a card from here in the US, I will need to write US-1234567 somewhere on the postcard for the recipient to see. When they receive the card, they will register it on the Postcrossing site using that identification code. Once the card is registered, you will get an email telling you that your postcard has made it to its destination, and you'll see a note from the person you sent it to. After that, you will now be in the pool to have a card sent to you! You will be mailing all over the world, so if postage is a concern for you, keep that in mind when you decide how many cards you want to send at once. I have small collection of postcard sets that I use for this, but having a collection isn't necessary. I have "tourist" cards from my city (I'm in NYC, our cards are always a hit), postcards with fun patterns, outer space/astronomy cards, literary themed cards, cards with animals on them, etc. As you participate, you'll learn what people like, and you'll know what the most popular requests are. Of course, most people will be happy no matter what you send! I tend to stay away from homemade cards because a lot of users do not want them... I love receiving them, but many others prefer a store bought card. This is my profile if you want to get an idea of what the site looks like - go ahead and laugh at the song title I chose as my username, but remember I was 20 when I made the account www.postcrossing.com/user/lunchfortheskyWho else is a Postcrosser? I'd love to share stories!
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Post by disneypal on Jul 24, 2021 11:21:42 GMT
That is pretty cool. Thanks for the info
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J u l e e
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,531
Location: Cincinnati
Jun 28, 2014 2:50:47 GMT
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Post by J u l e e on Jul 24, 2021 12:37:51 GMT
That sounds fun!
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Post by kiera on Jul 24, 2021 12:55:23 GMT
It's a lot of fun! The first card I received was from a user in Australia who sent me a vintage card she'd found at an estate sale. I thought that was pretty cool.
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Post by ShesaRenegade on Jul 24, 2021 12:57:21 GMT
I am a Postcrosser and have been since 2018. I love it! My favorite part of Postcrossing is picking out the cards to send. I have never had any problems at all with fellow Postcrossers. I have a YouTube channel where I share my weekly postcards, too. Here's my profile: www.postcrossing.com/user/Shesa-Renegade
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Post by olbrwneyedgirl on Jul 24, 2021 13:00:23 GMT
That sounds really interesting. I am having some time free up this fall. This may be a fun thing to pick up in my "second act." 😀
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nicolep
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,080
Member is Online
Jan 26, 2016 16:10:43 GMT
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Post by nicolep on Jul 24, 2021 13:15:10 GMT
This sounds really neat! TFS!
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Post by peano on Jul 24, 2021 13:47:11 GMT
I had joined Postcrossing a couple of years ago but never went the next step. It still interests me.
By the way, your postcards are amazing! Some of them are so quirky and funny!
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,736
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Jul 24, 2021 14:18:47 GMT
This sounds really cool. How does postage work for other countries? Just wondering how I would know how much postage to use and if it would require trips to the post office which is not convenient for me. ETA: I just found the global forever stamp which I’d never heard of! So is that what you are using to send postcards to other countries? If so, that’s great and then I could participate and avoid trips to the PO.
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Post by kiera on Jul 24, 2021 14:32:41 GMT
paget , sending a card from the US to another country currently costs $1.20 but will raise to $1.30 next month with the other USPS rate hikes. You can use a few domestic Forever stamps, or you can get these: store.usps.com/store/results/international-stamps/stamps/_/N-13o8s9pZ9y93lv. No trips to the PO required, you can order a sheet of stamps online! peano, thank you! One of these days I'm going to go through all of the cards I've received and scan them in. I should be better with uploading my sent cards as well... it's fun to look at the galleries!
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 24, 2021 16:12:43 GMT
This is just some of them. 😜 I wish I knew what to do with them. Lol. Also, I'm sure I first heard about Postcrossing here from the Peas.
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chendra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,859
Location: The 33rd State
Jun 27, 2014 16:58:50 GMT
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Post by chendra on Jul 24, 2021 16:16:39 GMT
I've been a Postcrosser for years, though I've been on a break due to work/life craziness. It's generally the only "real" mail I get any more. I know I've tried to recruit members here previously. 😊 I'm always amazed at how quickly the cards from Germany arrive, faster than mail from my sister in an adjacent state! And Russia has such beautiful stamps. I've received cards from people of all ages as well as families and even animals. For awhile, there was a famous cat that everyone was hoping to hear from ETA: one of the things I like about Postcrossing is the "one off" aspect. You don't have to form a committed pen pal relationship with anyone. You are sending to and receiving from different people each time, so if you need to stop or pause at any time, no one is left hanging.
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Post by CardBoxer on Jul 24, 2021 18:12:36 GMT
kiera thank you! This looks like such fun. Where do you buy your postcards? I’d like to get a variety since people have different likes, but don’t want to buy big packs of one type. Some sellers on Etsy have some. I guess you can pick up some here and there, not that I tend to go here much since the pandemic. I’m a little surprised people wouldn’t want hand made postcards - that’s what I’d love most of all - a bit like ATC’s - little pieces of art. But I’m a card maker, so no surprise. The Ray Bradbury quite postcard on your wall looks handmade but maybe it’s not - my eye went right to that one! As I said in the other thread, this reminds me of how ham radio operators used to (still do?) exchange postcards with people all over the world who they talked to. Their postcards had their call letters pre-printed on the card in a huge font, no picture. My brother did that - I still remember his call letters. It was loooong before email and the internet! ETA Just noticed a bunch of postcards on Etsy specially marked postcrossing. I don’t know if I’ll get any, but thought it was neat.
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Post by bothmykidsrbrats on Jul 24, 2021 18:27:05 GMT
I tried this years ago when my kids were younger. They were excited to see where we would get postcards from, but unfortunately 90% were from the same place (Braizil, I think) and we lost interest pretty quickly. I have no doubt I heard about it from 2Peas.
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,736
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Jul 24, 2021 23:18:04 GMT
kiera I signed up and have my first Recipient to send to in Germany. Thanks for telling us about it.
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Post by Zee on Jul 24, 2021 23:21:36 GMT
Thank you for starting a thread that's not about religion, influencers, or the vaccine! This sounds like a fun diversion. Love it.
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Post by kiera on Jul 25, 2021 1:09:12 GMT
kiera thank you! This looks like such fun. Where do you buy your postcards? I’d like to get a variety since people have different likes, but don’t want to buy big packs of one type. Some sellers on Etsy have some. I guess you can pick up some here and there, not that I tend to go here much since the pandemic. I’m a little surprised people wouldn’t want hand made postcards - that’s what I’d love most of all - a bit like ATC’s - little pieces of art. But I’m a card maker, so no surprise. The Ray Bradbury quite postcard on your wall looks handmade but maybe it’s not - my eye went right to that one! As I said in the other thread, this reminds me of how ham radio operators used to (still do?) exchange postcards with people all over the world who they talked to. Their postcards had their call letters pre-printed on the card in a huge font, no picture. My brother did that - I still remember his call letters. It was loooong before email and the internet! ETA Just noticed a bunch of postcards on Etsy specially marked postcrossing. I don’t know if I’ll get any, but thought it was neat. For my city cards, there are a ton of tourist gift shops near my job that sell them for 10/$1, 15/$1, or even 20/$1 depending on which shop you go to, so I pick them up there. The other sets I have came from bookstores or Amazon. Etsy is good too!
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Post by kiera on Jul 25, 2021 1:10:15 GMT
kiera I signed up and have my first Recipient to send to in Germany. Thanks for telling us about it. That's awesome, have fun! There are a lot of German Postcrossers, I've noticed a lot in Russia and China too - which I suppose makes sense, given how large both of those countries are, but it's still interesting to me!
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Post by kiera on Jul 25, 2021 1:11:15 GMT
Thank you for starting a thread that's not about religion, influencers, or the vaccine! This sounds like a fun diversion. Love it. You're welcome! I'm an atheist who tries not to get involved with influencers so you won't see those from me maybe just some comments about vaccines though lol
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on Jul 25, 2021 1:35:08 GMT
Oh man, I haven't done this in years. I used to be reasonably active and loved getting the happy mail and seeing where my mystery senders were located. And I really loved the low obligation part of it, as I dipped in and out depending on what was going on in my life. I didn't realise this was still around!
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chendra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,859
Location: The 33rd State
Jun 27, 2014 16:58:50 GMT
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Post by chendra on Jul 25, 2021 2:00:31 GMT
For anyone not sure where to find postcards (it's not always easy), I'll throw out that Pomegranate publishing sells a 100 postcard mystery mix selection for $14.95. It's hard to beat the price. www.pomegranate.com/pc100.html(I'm not affiliated with Pomegranate; I just happened to discover them when I started Postcrossing. I believe they create postcards for museums, so they have a range of interesting art and photography cards. I have gotten some really remarkable ones that I am reluctant to send). Other places to find cards are museums, tourist attractions, airports, train/bus stations, bookstores, gift shops, stationery stores, thrift/creative reuse stores, estate/garage sales and sometimes grocery/drug stores if you live some place touristy. (My local Kroger stores have a tiny tourist end cap in all of their stores here). Of course, you can also buy postcard boxes, books, and singles at other online shops. Happy Postcrossing! P.S. Some people do like handmade cards and will note that on their profile. I've had people request cards made from food packaging, so for the 2017 eclipse, I made one from a Moonpie box and used the heat sensitive solar eclipse stamps for postage. 😊
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,390
Location: Lost in my supplies...
Oct 26, 2014 17:02:56 GMT
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Post by kelly8875 on Jul 25, 2021 2:49:36 GMT
Sounds fun! Do you write on the postcard? Or do you send them blank? Am I missing that in the descriptions?
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Post by kiera on Jul 25, 2021 2:55:38 GMT
Not blank! You write a message on the postcard.
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 25, 2021 10:08:32 GMT
I tried this years ago when my kids were younger. They were excited to see where we would get postcards from, but unfortunately 90% were from the same place (Braizil, I think) and we lost interest pretty quickly. I have no doubt I heard about it from 2Peas. That's odd...I don't think I've had more than a couple from Brazil. You might try again if it still interests you.
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 25, 2021 10:11:57 GMT
kiera thank you! This looks like such fun. Where do you buy your postcards? I’d like to get a variety since people have different likes, but don’t want to buy big packs of one type. Some sellers on Etsy have some. I guess you can pick up some here and there, not that I tend to go here much since the pandemic. I’m a little surprised people wouldn’t want hand made postcards - that’s what I’d love most of all - a bit like ATC’s - little pieces of art. But I’m a card maker, so no surprise. The Ray Bradbury quite postcard on your wall looks handmade but maybe it’s not - my eye went right to that one! As I said in the other thread, this reminds me of how ham radio operators used to (still do?) exchange postcards with people all over the world who they talked to. Their postcards had their call letters pre-printed on the card in a huge font, no picture. My brother did that - I still remember his call letters. It was loooong before email and the internet! ETA Just noticed a bunch of postcards on Etsy specially marked postcrossing. I don’t know if I’ll get any, but thought it was neat. I live in the shadow of Washington, DC so i do buy a lot of mine at the tourist displays at shops in the mall. I also always pick up some when I go anywhere. But Amazon is my biggest source....they have packs of cards on various themes -- animals, books, bridges, scenic, etc. I rarely ever have trouble finding a card that fits something the recipient has put in their profile. Every once in awhile I'll get someone who has a long list of specific demands that I don't have so I just send them a DC tourist card.
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Post by ShesaRenegade on Jul 25, 2021 11:40:29 GMT
A couple of other places I have found postcards - check your local drugstores. I was just out in California and found tons of cards in CVS and Rite Aid. Also, gas truck stops, like Loves, have local postcards. They are usually on an end cap across from the register.
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Post by kluski on Jul 25, 2021 12:07:39 GMT
This sounds so interesting but I don’t think I could share my real address online.😩😩
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Post by CardBoxer on Jul 25, 2021 14:01:15 GMT
kiera thank you! This looks like such fun. Where do you buy your postcards? I’d like to get a variety since people have different likes, but don’t want to buy big packs of one type. Some sellers on Etsy have some. I guess you can pick up some here and there, not that I tend to go here much since the pandemic. I’m a little surprised people wouldn’t want hand made postcards - that’s what I’d love most of all - a bit like ATC’s - little pieces of art. But I’m a card maker, so no surprise. The Ray Bradbury quite postcard on your wall looks handmade but maybe it’s not - my eye went right to that one! As I said in the other thread, this reminds me of how ham radio operators used to (still do?) exchange postcards with people all over the world who they talked to. Their postcards had their call letters pre-printed on the card in a huge font, no picture. My brother did that - I still remember his call letters. It was loooong before email and the internet! ETA Just noticed a bunch of postcards on Etsy specially marked postcrossing. I don’t know if I’ll get any, but thought it was neat. I live in the shadow of Washington, DC so i do buy a lot of mine at the tourist displays at shops in the mall. I also always pick up some when I go anywhere. But Amazon is my biggest source....they have packs of cards on various themes -- animals, books, bridges, scenic, etc. I rarely ever have trouble finding a card that fits something the recipient has put in their profile. Every once in awhile I'll get someone who has a long list of specific demands that I don't have so I just send them a DC tourist card. I’ll just follow you around where you shop then, since I live in NoVA. I bet now that postcards are on my radar, I’ll see them everywhere, not that I’ve been in a shop more than a couple times in the last year+. (I don’t think I’ve been in a mall for way longer than that?!) Maybe the local farmers markets have some. 😉 It does look like fun and quirky and pretty and touristy postcards are readily available, plus I’ll see about making a few for those who do like handmade. chendra for your Moonpie postcard with heat sensitive stamp (wow - some are available on amazon and etsy!), did you cut a post-card size piece out of the Moonpie box chipboard? What a neat idea - wish you had a photo to share! ETA A search on Etsy for postcrossing brought up everything from stickers (for i.d./temp/weather huh?) to i.d. # rubber stamps to postcards to a template to make postcards.
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 25, 2021 14:06:38 GMT
I live in the shadow of Washington, DC so i do buy a lot of mine at the tourist displays at shops in the mall. I also always pick up some when I go anywhere. But Amazon is my biggest source....they have packs of cards on various themes -- animals, books, bridges, scenic, etc. I rarely ever have trouble finding a card that fits something the recipient has put in their profile. Every once in awhile I'll get someone who has a long list of specific demands that I don't have so I just send them a DC tourist card. I’ll just follow you around where you shop then, since I live in NoVA. I bet now that postcards are on my radar, I’ll see them everywhere, not that I’ve been in a shop more than a couple times in the last year+. (I don’t think I’ve been in a mall for way longer than that?!) Maybe the local farmers markets have some. 😉 It does look like fun and quirky and pretty and touristy postcards are readily available, plus I’ll see about making a few for those who do like handmade. chendra for your Moonpie postcard with heat sensitive stamp (wow - some are available on amazon and etsy!), did you cut a post-card size piece out of the Moonpie box chipboard? What a neat idea - wish you had a photo to share! Pentagon City Mall! At least pre-covid... There used to be a newsstand type place down on the food court level, and then up on an upper level there's the "Americana" store -- not sure what its real name is...it's the one that sells all the presidential items and other tourist stuff. Both of these stores have racks of postcards. And of course if you're even in DC there are racks and racks of them wherever there's a tourist truck...the ones that sell tee-shirts and all the other junk with images of DC on them.
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Post by ebbie on Jul 25, 2021 14:06:52 GMT
Hi kiera! Thanks for the post. I am a member of Postcrossing, and always enjoy reading through their forum. Although I am a member, I have yet to send a postcard. I do have a few postcards via Amazon, however, they seem to be a bit smaller than the typical gift shop postcard. Do you think these postcards would be okay to send? If they are, I might try and participate once or twice a month. It's nice to get happy mail every now and then
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