Blog > Census 2020, part 2: Sending
Here it is, another post in which we do our best to extract some juicy statistics from the 2020 census! But before we dive in, a quick note to remind everyone that these are results based on a survey of about 30,000 replies. Although we expect the data to be somewhat representative of the Postcrossing community, we can’t quite extrapolate that these portray an accurate sample of all postcrossers. For instance, children may be less likely to reply to questionnaires and Google Forms is blocked in some countries, to mention just a couple of factors that might skew the results. So, please take them with a grain of salt. Ok, let’s do this then!
First off, how happy are postcrossers with their country’s postal service?

Reasonably happy, it turns out! The majority of respondents seem to have a positive impression of their postal service’s work. You might remember we’ve run this same poll back in 2017, and the results were somewhat similar. We’re curious to track this sentiment in the next few years, and check how it changes over time.
And where do you usually mail your postcards?

Street mailboxes continue to reign supreme, with post office alternatives being popular as well. A good number of you (almost exclusively in the USA) mentioned also sending postcard from home, and though we don’t mind our ride to the post office for the chance to stretch our legs, we are a bit jealous of those of you who only have to walk a few steps to send your mail. How convenient is that?! This is another question we had previously polled in 2017, and street mailboxes seem to have gained a bit of terrain since then. Interesting!
Next, where do postcrossers get their postcards from? This was a question where you could choose several options, and here are the top results:

Isn’t that interesting? Online shops are used nearly as much as local postcard shops these days, which is perhaps no surprise with the pandemic. Tourist centers and museums also seem to be popular options, with post offices and supermarkets coming after that. This was also an open-ended question, so many of you typed in other options, like artists, airports, auctions, fairs, gas stations, postcard shows or even drugstores and pharmacies! It’s amazing to see this kind of variety — postcards are everywhere!
Turning to Postcrossing specifically, we asked how many postcards (with Postcard IDs) members send through Postcrossing every month on average, and these were the results:

So the majority of the postcrossers who replied to the survey sends less than 5 postcards per month, with a further 30% sending about double of that. Although the interval between these numbers isn’t always the same, the more you move up the numbers, the less people there are at each level, as one would expect.
And given these numbers, are postcrossers happy with how many postcards they can send at the moment?

Looks like most members are happy with their current limits, with about a quarter wishing they could send more, and a few noting that they’d like to send less. Some of you wrote that you would enjoy sending more postcards, but cannot do so as international mail is becoming quite expensive in your country, which we definitely understand. 😔
And finally, how many other postcards (for direct swaps, forum trades, friends and family, etc) do postcrossers send per month, on average?

It seems that most of you send just a few extra postcards every month. This matches our own experience as well, sending a few birthday postcards or swap postcards throughout the year, when the fancy strikes.
So… what do you think? Where do you sit in these statistics? Do the averages more or less match your experience, or are you more of an outlier in some of these graphs?
For us, it’s definitely been an interesting process to parse this data, and slowly discover more about the Postcrossing community. There are still plenty of spreadsheet rows to go through, and we look forward to sharing more census results with you in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Tags: census, statistics
52 comments so far
I'm one one of those who'd love to be able to send more officials 😁 than the current max .
Keep up the good work 😍
I think you should interview those sending >100 postcards a month. OMG, can you imagine! :-) If the price isn't the issue, how do you find the time! :-)
Looking forward to another year.
I´m retired so have time to write ~200 cards a month.
Ok, I´m also a passionate collector !
Like " Cherie_ " , I mail my cards at the post office counter , to get a nice and good-looking cancellation mark on them.
We all have a place in this great community !
Let us be happy together !
@ Grayslate: I always write to free my brain from thinks that would otherwise stop me from sleeping. It is a relaxing normality in the evening to me.
I live for Postcrossing"!
Reasons for wanting to send more cards are obvious : lack of money, too busy with work or children, having more interesting pass times,... On the other hand some people mentioned to want to send less cards. What is the reason these people want to send less ? The only thing I can think of, is they see Postcrossing as an addiction. Anybody can elaborate on that ?
Thank you Postcrossing!
Basically, I simply enjoy getting to know the receivers/senders and learn more about where my cards are going to/coming from...so, quality over quantity, maybe? I'd love to have advice from those that send/receive thousands, however, as to how they manage to do it, and are also able to afford it.
I use the post box in the wall of the local Post Office. More and later collections than nearer pillar boxes.
Thank you for the analysis of usage.
Waldo.
Also, lots of US households have stickers on their mailboxes thanking mail carriers. That makes my day :-)
At our previous house, the post came through the cat flap in the back door - very handy for small parcels.
Maybe that could be a topic of the month - how does your mail reach you/where will you post this card? I am lucky - there is a post box about 100m from my house at the corner of the square I live in.
Thank you!
:) :D
Thank you for analyzing the data. I’m curious about part three. 😃
↑ Back to top ↑
Leave a reply