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Blog > Got a wrong or missing Postcard ID?

We can help! Postcrossing has a handy tool to find missing or incorrect Postcard IDs!

Keep calm and...

Many people don’t seem to realize this, and instead post their requests for help on their profiles or Facebook/Twitter, in hopes of reaching the sender… but it’s much quicker and efficient if you ask us! Vicki, our fantastic forum administrator, is an ace at tracking lost postcard IDs, and can usually fix you up in no time! :)

So, what do you need to do to get some help? Just fill up this handy form with as much information as you can and wait. That’s it! The form is linked on the page where you go to register a postcard, on the right side column.

Before you do that though, please note the following:

  • Make sure that the postcard is an official Postcrossing postcard and not a thank you postcard or a direct swap.
  • You can try to enter the correct Postcard ID many times without consequence. So, why not try a different combination? For instance, sometimes 1's can look like 7's, 3's and 5's can look like 8's, etc. Don’t worry, the Postcrossing system will not let you register a postcard that does not belong to you.
  • Note that postcards with postcard IDs over one year old cannot be registered.

If that didn’t fix the problem, then feel free to submit a Unknown ID request. You only need to do this once for each postcard. If you make a mistake, just delete the request on your Received postcards’ page and enter a new one.

Additionally, if you find the Postcard ID and register the postcard before you receive a response, please delete the request. You can delete any request by clicking the delete button for the request on your received postcards list.

By following all the items above, most postcards with missing or unknown Postcard IDs can be registered. Oh, by the way, to reduce the chances that a postcard that you have sent has these problems, be sure to check out our recommendations on where to write the Postcard ID on postcards.

That’s it! Have fun, and pass the word! :)

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31 comments so far

manbol, India
Yes, I have asked for help many a times and received quick response. Thank you Postcrossing team !
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phuleshouse, Canada
Thank-you for this...I notice lots of members put messages on their profile page for missing ID's and hopefully members will read this. You may also make it more plain for members where the link is so they can request an ID#
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Geminiscp, Portugal
The Forum also has a special place to trace cards:http://forum.postcrossing.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=79

The most important thing is "never to give up"! :)
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tediousandbrief, United States of America
This is an amazingly helpful service which has helped me find at least one card when the sender forgot to put the ID number on it.

I've even started shooting a private message to people when I see they have this issue mentioned on their profile page to let them know about how they can find the ID out through this service.
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brelin5011, United States of America
where can I find help for a translation? I'm only an English speaking postcrosser and someone sent me a postcard in Russian ? I emailed postcrossing a couple of weeks ago with no reply yet.
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kugusch, Germany
brelin, check the russian forum, maybe there's a thread for "english". I know in the German forum we have a pinned thread "english - visitors forum" where english speaking PCers can come and ask for help such as with your card.

As for the ID-finding-service: It's awesome! In 4 years I've received quite a few cards with no ID at all or wrong IDs. Even the cards with very minimal information have all been found but one single one! GREAT service!
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kugusch, Germany
Brelin, I just checked, and as I thought, the russian forum also has a thread for non-russian speakers to come for help: http://forum.postcrossing.com/viewthread.php?tid=79973
I'm sure someone will be happy to translate for you!
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Luziaceleste, Brazil
This is really efficient and I was always wondering why people post on their profiles or ever that are not able to register a postcard...
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Augenstern, Austria
Yes, that's a really handy tool - I've used it many times and usually the correct ID was found very quickly. Thank you for this great service!
Just wanted to add though that posting a note on the profile doesn't automatically mean that the user is unaware of the ID search service: I always post a note in addition to filling out the ID request form, and have several times received a response from the sender before the PC team had found the correct ID, thus I could delete the request and (hopefully) spare the team some work. Maybe it was only a coincidence, but it doesn't hurt.
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batangai, Germany
Thank you for this great special service. Until now you always found the missing ID for my received postcards.
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Paperinik, Italy
Thank you, it's very useful, I used it sometimes and it works superbly! I recommend to write clearly also the username on the postcard - I do so. In additional, when I receive a postcard without or with incorrect ID, and I can't find it, I upload the card temporarily in place of another received by a user who doesn't participate in PC anymore (for example, this: http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/US-758032) and I put the link on my profile, so everyone can see the mysterious card! This kind of cards don't bother me, I find them funny!! By the way, I sent a card to Vicki, with its perfect ID ! http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/IT-134238
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mundoo, Australia
brelin5011 Postcrossing replied to your translation query on 1 April
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nugget, United States of America
Thanks for the reminder about postcard ID numbers. I also have had great success when I have a problem with the ID--sent and received postcards. Thanks for going the extra mile to provide this service.
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rosenbusch, Germany
The system of postcrossing searched for the right ID.-numbers
and so I can register the cards without or with wrong ID...
Great service!
Sometimes I am sad, when the users sent no message with "Sorry for my mistake"...
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Sisko1, Finland
Thank you for great service. I've had to fill the form a few times. And got the right ID even when there was hardly any information on the card!
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pucky, Netherlands
O yes, it is a great service and very fast! I used it many times with succes all the time! Thanks a lot!
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YiliLoh, Malaysia
Thanx for sharing!
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Irina7654, Russia
I want to Thank Postcrossing team, too!

Last time when I left a Request for unknown ID it was found within 8 minutes! I was so impressed!

Good job.
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aberline, Australia
Yes well done, I always get fast responses too!
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delenn_mir, Poland
I got a missing ID just today, the sender completely forgot to put it on the card and the Postcrossing team found it really quickly :)
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isagv, Germany
a lot of new users also mark the "travel to the same country button" on the profile side and wonder because they only send to Germany or Russia. Maybe it should be explained clearer??? Some quitt postcrossing because of that because they didn't understand why. (Non native english speakers)

But hey thumb up postcrossing team! You are the best!
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Sprinkledonut, Canada
Some Tips:
If possible, write your Username somewhere on the card.
If it's a direct swap, I like to draw a little Direct Swap symbol. : )

It's so great that you offer help when we can't read the I.D. Thank you, awesome Postcrossing Team!
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fisherman, Ireland
I have used the system many times to find an ID where someone forgot to put one on the card. The system works excellently and gives a rapid response. Congratulations to the team for all the unseen work they do on behalf of all of us.
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bungaalangalang, Indonesia
It's very helpful. The code for Indonesia is ID so sometimes people mistaken as wrong ID because we wrote ID-XXXXX :)
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giacatalan, Philippines
Yep, this is a useful tool indeed. I've used it once and the Postcrossing staff didn't fail me. Kudos to the entire team!
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kiikari, Finland
I write the postcard ID (twice, sometimes boxed), date when I got ID, location (Greetings from Tampere, Finland) and my username (kiikari) on the card. Finally before taking the cards to the mail box, I double-check that they have the following:
1. Address.
2. Stamp.
3. Priority sticker
4. Date.
5. The same ID twice.
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tulipan7, Croatia
I never understood people who start their profile with announcement about mising ID - I never go back to the profile of a person I already sent postcard to... But the service Postcrossing offers is reliable, easy to manage and right next to ID box, exactly where I need it... I've used it several times, sometimes reply was quick sometimes it took time but the right number was always found... I'm sure I'll be needing your help in the future as well so...keep up the good work & thanks...
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meiadeleite, Portugal
@isagv: good tip! I think I'll make a post about that too. :)
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Nagissimo, Germany
really helpful, thank you!
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Herchelle, Canada
Postcrossing support do us a wonderful service and we can't thank them enough. BRAVO!!
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browntrout, Germany
I like to thank you too. I Needed it several times - zero failures. You´re really, really good.
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