We can help! Postcrossing has a handy tool to find missing or incorrect Postcard IDs!
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! :)
31 comments so far
The most important thing is "never to give up"! :)
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.
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!
I'm sure someone will be happy to translate for you!
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.
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"...
Last time when I left a Request for unknown ID it was found within 8 minutes! I was so impressed!
Good job.
But hey thumb up postcrossing team! You are the best!
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!
1. Address.
2. Stamp.
3. Priority sticker
4. Date.
5. The same ID twice.
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