| W1JQ |
Rating:      |
2004-07-15 | |
| Great cards, slow service, but I haven't had big problems |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've gotten cards from Octavia twice. Both times, they took about 15 weeks to arrive. That's certainly not quick, but I think it's tolerable.
The quality of the cards has been excellent. And the second time, I received a "surprise" of about 50 additional cards a week later. (Probably surplus--I'm sure they have to print a few extras to guarantee 1000 good ones.)
I'd be pretty unhappy if I had the 8 month/12 month/never delivery times that others are complaining about, but I haven't seen that. They have (with one or two exceptions) replied to my email. I'd certainly do business with them again. |
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| W3ACO |
Rating:     |
2004-07-15 | |
| Finally!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I ordered 1000 cards on Jan 10, 2004. After waiting three months I wrote an earlier review giving Octavia a low score. Today they arrived. Was it worth the wait? I think so. The card stock is high quality, the print quality is excellent, they look just how I expected. After approving the proofs via e-mail, I waited until Mid May to contact Valery. I informed her that I had not received them yet. I was told that they were already printed, yet I was given a full refund. I asked that they not be destroyed and to ship them to me. Valery agreed to ship and I would pay when they arrived. I gave a "4" rating because of the 6 month delay. If you don't mind waiting, they are a good value. I would buy again expecting the delay.
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Earlier 0-star review posted by W3ACO on 2004-04-07
Ordered my cards from Octavia in mid January. Now it's April 7, still no cards. Several e-mails to Octavia. One e-mail returned in late March, " We will check your order" Still no response when I will get my QSL cards. Octavia charges your Visa through "2CO.com" so check your card statement. I paid for my cards on my February Visa bill, but now I will attempt to have Visa back charge Octavia through 2CO.com. Don't use this QSL printing service, you will just be throwing your money away
W3ACO |
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| K5FDH |
Rating:   |
2004-06-26 | |
| Octavia |
Time Owned: N.A. |
Ordered my QSL's the second time (first time delivery was acceptable two years ago.)and approved proofs and paid on February 23, 2004. Still no cards or response to emails on June 26th. Four months is not acceptable. In July I will try to get a refund on credit card account.
Dean |
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| KA2WXU |
Rating:  |
2004-06-05 | |
| FINALLY RECEIVED THE CARDS |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have posted twice before. After much effort, I finally received the cards after an 8 month wait. The cards do look good, but no QSL card is worth this aggravation. I wish Valery and Olga all the best in improving their business practices(God knows they need to!), but they have lost my business. This long of a wait is simply unacceptable. If I was thinking of ordering from Octavia, I would wait until every review of their business is 5/5 and not before. Bob, KH6LDO |
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| K5RIK |
Rating:  |
2004-05-26 | |
| Don't Waste Your Money $$$ |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I ordered cards 10/8/2003 based upon Octavia's attractive web site. Scores of emails later (most were not answered), and multiple excuses (from the few that were), still NO Cards were ever delivered. After enough pressure, I got a refund after seven + months.
Life to too short to do business with people like this. I suggest you use local printers or reputable internet services with a proven interest in customer satisfaction. This does not include Octavia. Please note: the time shown was the wait period!
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Earlier 0-star review posted by K5RIK on 2004-03-10
Placed order 10/8/2003, NO cards yet! E-mails are not responded to unless I send them to the payment agent who then forwards them to Octavia. Payment agent does not want to refund money. If cards ever come, the truly awful service provided offsets any potential quality/price gain in the cards. I suggest that we all should consider using local printers and getting products in a timely manner. I have learned my lesson. I put 3-6 months for the time waited, not the time owned. |
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| N3WF |
Rating:  |
2004-05-24 | |
| Slow, poorly executed service |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I ordered cards from them. After going through several iterations for content (not a problem) it took 15 weeks for the cards to arrive. They were incorrect, having produced one of the earlier images. They blamed this on a 'move' their company made.
I complained, we worked out a partial refund and they would send me a CDROM with the final proofed images. They did partially refund me but after several emails asking for the CDROM I've given up.
I would not do business with them again and will gladly spend extra $$ to work with a company that can deliver. |
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| WA4OBJ |
Rating:    |
2004-05-12 | |
| Good quality QSLs, slow 6 month delivery |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just got my cards yesterday (May 11, 2004) via registered mail after a 6 month wait. The cards are excellent as far as quality of printing goes and they look exactly like the proof sets I approved many months ago. The only downside is the delivery. I started the process on November 7th, 2003. After a couple of changes, everything was approved on November 17th.
On December 11th, I received an email that the order would be ready to ship in 3-4 weeks. That was December, 2003.
March 15,2004, I sent an email to Valery asking about delivery and the following email was sent:
"Watch for the package at your doorstep within approximately 12-14 days.
It should be delivered soon.
Best Regards,
Val Kharchenko
Octavia Company, Ltd.
St.-Petersburg"
Days must be counted differently in Russia than here in the US.
Other than the long delivery, the cards are great. If Valery is able to fix the delivery issues, I would recommend their cards.
Dave, WA4OBJ
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| W4RIR |
Rating:  |
2004-04-30 | |
| Unresponsive company. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Little did I know that my patience would be severely stretched in my dealings with Octavia.com. My preorder negotiations were okay with Octavia. After an unsatisfactory first proof using what turned out to be a very old photograph of Tampa, followed by my sending a digital image file of a photograph I took of the city and a second proof, I placed the order for 1000 cards three months ago. Since then, getting Octavia to respond to my e-mails has been frustrating. A promised delivery date has just passed and I feel at a loss as to what to do now. If I get delivery, then when?
Octavia: if you read these reviews, at least learn the lesson that open communication with your customers helps to avoid bad feeling and reviews like mine. |
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| N2DE |
Rating:      |
2004-04-30 | |
| Back on their feet - better than ever |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This was my fourth order from Octavia, and I have to admit that it took a leap of faith after seeing all the bad reports here lately. But then, my dealings with them had always been pleasant, although the delivery time had been several months.
I ordered from Valery on March 30, and I cautioned him to give me a realistic delivery date when he told me that I’d have the cards in a month – but he insisted that everything was under control now and that I’d have the cards end of April.
What can I say, they arrived at my doorstep in New York on April 29, exactly a month later, and in perfect condition. The cards are better than ever with a high-gloss UV resistant finish, and printed exactly the way I wanted them - more than a 5-rating if that were possible.
I have to remind Valery to charge my credit card, because so far he hasn’t billed me.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N2DE on 2003-03-07
This was my third order from Ocatvia, and the cards are the high quality that I came back for. The pleasant surprise was that this time it took less than two months from my first discussion with Valery about the layout to delivery at my doorstep - and of that time about half was spent in shipment. He really has his process streamlined now! No question where I'll order next time around ...
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N2DE on 2003-01-10
This was my second order from Octavia, and the quality of the cards is as outstanding as it was the first time around. Both times it took a little longer than I had hoped, but these guys are operating in a tough environment, and you just have to expect a bit of a delay. My third order is sure to happen. |
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| AD9T |
Rating:   |
2004-04-20 | |
| Good & Bad |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Octavia has a great collection of standard artwork. They made a few customizations for me and quickly sent me the proofs by e-mail. The quality of the cards I finally received is also very good.
The delivery and communications are another story. I placed my order for 1000 cards on January 8, 2004. I received the cards April 19, 2004. That’s four months! When I tried to contact Octavia about the expected delivery date they did not respond to my e-mails. Finally, I contacted their credit card clearing house asking for an explanation or a refund. Soon after I received an e-mail saying my cards would arrive soon.
It is unfortunate that a company with a good product and pricing is not doing better with delivery and communications. I would hope that they are able to speed up their delivery, but perhaps that is outside Octavia’s control. Communications is something they can fix. They should quote a realistic delivery time on their web page. At the time an order is placed they should give their best estimate of the delivery date. If that date changes they should send out an e-mail. Customer inquires should be answered promptly. This would keep customers much happier.
If I needed more cards today I would probably use a US based printer even if the price is higher; however, it will be a long time until I need more cards. I will see if Octavia has improved when the time comes to reorder.
AD9T |
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