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Reviews For: Octavia Company

Category: QSL printers; callsign badge engravers; etc.

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Review Summary For : Octavia Company
Reviews: 122MSRP:
Description:
Russian printer with custom graphic art - 5 Stars. NOTE: Long delivery times to be expected for foreign shipments.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.octavia.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001223.5
AA5CH Rating: 2001-02-16
Very Pleased Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have to admit I was somewhat anxious about ordering my QSL cards from Russia via the internet, but I figured that if 20 amateur radio ops agreed on something...or anything, there must be something good going on!

I received my cards today and I am very pleased with the appearance, quality, and price. Valery was very prompt in returning my emails during the approval process, as well as patient...I changed my mind a few times!

The only difficulty was the wait, which was 11 weeks from the date of approval for my cards, but I understand that problems with a stateside credit card company resulted in some orders taking longer than is customary.

In the event that I need additional cards, I'll be ordering them from Octavia.

Brad Johnson
AA5CH


W2PA Rating: 2001-02-16
Great quality, amazing selection of designs Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Overall I'm very pleased with this company, certainly with the quality of the QSLs, the price, and with the responsive ordering process. Although the complete turn around time from order to delivery (5 weeks and 4 days) was not fast, it wasn't nearly as slow as some have experienced recently, so my guess is that their backlog is shrinking and they've improved their process.

After looking at a dozen or so QSL companies, I selected Octavia primarily because of their astounding on-line catalog of design choices, and the positive reviews I read here.

I placed the order on January 8, 2001 via their Web site and received an email confirmation the following day saying that I'd get proofs in an email by January 10. On the 9th, one day early, I got the proofs in a note from Valery, RA6YR. On my order I had asked for two variations of the design I was considering and the proofs came through with both variations worked out. I was impressed with the fact that although I was somewhat vague in specifying what I wanted, they came out looking pretty good (design wise). I asked for some additional changes and received new proofs on the 12th. I sent back a minor final change and got confirmation on the 15th.

On the 28th I received an apologetic eMail from Valery saying that my order would be delayed two weeks because they were experiencing a very high number of orders - "This season has been the busiest of our life.", he said.

Today (Feb 16) my order arrived in a wrapped box with lots and lots of Russian stamps (on two sides) and in great condition. The cards are excellent quality (I ordered the full color photo card, glossy stock, report form on back) and exactly as shown in the proofs.

I highly recommend Octavia and will use them again myself. Valery and Olga are doing a great job and apparently are dealing with the "problems" of success. Ordering and reviewing QSLs on-line is the only way to go.

Chris, W2PA
N9VH Rating: 2001-02-13
Very satisfied with the cards and service. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just received my cards and they were great. The design was created from a color photo with printing on the back. (Full color custom). The printing and card stock was excellent. And the color reproduction was too. Valery e-mailed a proof before they were printed so I could check for corrections. He was very prompt about answering my e-mails also. I never had the feeling I was being neglected as you do with some long distance businesses. The only problem was with the business to which the payment was sent.(a firm in Indiana.) They developed some financial problems and didn't send the payment to Octavia. However, I was able to obtain a refund from them. Valery sent me the cards, and after I received them he sent instructions about payment which included a link to 2checkout.com. I never felt that this was the fault of Valery or his company, and I would not hesitate to place another order except for the fact that I don't need any more cards for a while.
KA2UUP Rating: 2001-02-09
Excelleny Work Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I waited four months but finally got my package full of Russian stamps on the outside. I was very surprised that the quality of the stock was much better than what I expected. The design was exactly what I asked for. Valery, excellent work! You got a repeat customer!
W8OB Rating: 2001-02-07
excellant printing worth the wait Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
the other day i received my qsl cards via parcel post mail. the quality of printing is great
in fact it looks so life like you would swear the image will jump right off the card background.
it has been a pleasure dealing with val, who will go thru many lengths to insure the order
is correct and arrives to your location. my next order for qsl cards will again be thru this
company. well worth the wait
AE5X Rating: 2001-02-02
Good quality - slow service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After 4 months, I finally received my cards. The slow service is the only gripe I have. Ordering was easy and Octavia was responsive to several iterations of "change this" or "add that" email requests. The autoresponder worked well and kept me updated. And the quality of the cards is better than I hoped, even after reading all the positive comments posted here by others.

Everything was done via email: designing the card, ordering it and even paying for it online. The cards arrived after 4 months in a well-packed box covered with Russian stamps! A jpeg of them is at:
http://www.qsl.net/ae5x

I'll order from Octavia again when I need new cards.
KM5N Rating: 2001-01-27
Great product, terrible order experience Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I must admit that I had some trouble figuring out whether to rate this a 3 or 4. Ultimately, the quality of the product wins out, so I use the 4. The only caveat is that it could have been a 5 if the order and tracking process were less appallingly painful.

The cards themselves are beautiful, and I am extremely well pleased with them. I cannot fault the quality of the printing, or the materials. Allowing the customer to give feedback on the final design is great, and ensures you get what you are ordering . . . it just takes a very long time to get them.

To make a long story short, the online ordering system does not work, and I had to send the particulars in an email. The delays between sending messages and responses were quite lengthy initially (about a week). A "smart" autoresponder never worked, and the shipping date was missed by a month. After shipping, it took another 3 weeks for the cards to arrive. All in all, it was 13 weeks from approval of proofs to reciept of the cards. The advertised delivery time is 4 to 6 weeks.

I understand that there were problems with the stateside clearinghouse, but I would much rather have been told up front that it would take 3 months, rather than 6 weeks. Then I wouldn't have had several increasingly upleasant rounds of email with Valery.

The cards are very well done, and I can (with some qualification) recommend ordering from Octavia. Just make sure that you expect a 3 month delivery cycle, and you won't be disappointed.
AC0X Rating: 2001-01-15
Superb work Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just received my batch of 2000 full color cards from Octavia. Absolutely superb looking. Plus, where can you get 2000 custom full color cards for $150? Valery was also very helpful every step of the way with the order. As far as people's comments about it taking a good deal of time of the orders to come back, I say that you have delays with EVERYONE, printing/shipping takes time. Plus not everyone has an e-mail auto-responder to tell you at what stage your order is at.

Great quality, great service, low price. Why order anywhere else?
W4WB Rating: 2001-01-15
Excellent Quality QSL Cards Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Valery at Octavia worked with me to produce an excellent QSL card (full-color custom layout on front-side and black text only on back side) at an outstanding price of about 7-1/2 cents each (air mail charges included). The batch was 2,000 cards. Not only is the quality of their work excellent, but also their integrity.

Take a look at the card by looking up W4WB on qrz.com call sign lookup. Valery and his team will do my next batch of QSLs too. Check them out and I think you will be pleased if you give them a try.

Oh yes, the cards were shipped from Russia on January 8 and arived on the 13th.

73 de Barry - W4WB
KC8OEG Rating: 2000-10-19
Beautiful full color QSL cards. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Octavia does a great job with full color. Prices are very reasonable, and although there was a bit of a wait (7 weeks), it was worth it. Valery, the owner, is very quick to respond to questions and to offer helpful suggestions.