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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
KD7T Rating: 2001-10-23
Truly Excellent! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.

Valery now offers your design choice prepared for use with eQSL. ($9.95)

His communication during the design process is excellent, and the results are outstanding!
A *huge* choice of graphics plus choice of effects, report formats, etc. He will also work with you on a custom design.

Octavia has my highest endorsement!

KA1KJZ Rating: 2001-10-04
Excellent Cards! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I ordered a thousand cards from Octavia and am very satisfied. The only hitch was in shipping from Russia, a little slow, but thats not their fault.

Recently, they sent me a note expressing their concern and outrage over the terrorist attacks of 09/11 and NO OTHER company did this!

I will definitely re-order from them when the 1000 gets depleted.

Ron KA1KJZ
W9AC Rating: 2001-09-29
Good service and a quality product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just received my Octavia QSL cards and I am very pleased with the printing quality. Samples of your completed card are sent to you via e-mail to ensure accuracy prior to printing. This is a great service especially if you've ever received cards from other printers with incorrect information. A solid five star company.
W1KMH Rating: 2001-09-25
Best bang for the buck, by far!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I had intended to write a lengthy, glowing review of Octavia -- because Valery and Olga DESERVE one-- but why take up your time simply repeating what most of the others reviewing Octavia's QSL cards have already said??

So let me keep it short and sweet:

- Excellent quality; superb service
- Card stock is top-notch
- Ordering couldn't be easier
- Packaging/shipping is first rate
- You can't beat the price.

Yes, the other reviews are correct: the wait CAN be longer than usual; but many domestic printers can run into problems, too, and end up taking just about as long.

For the quality of the cards and the super-low price, Octavia simply can't be beat!!

I'll be ordering from them again when my current supply is diminished.

73,

Kenn, W1KMH

N8EYE Rating: 2001-08-01
Simply The Best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My cards arrived today; 8/1/2001. They were delayed getting here only because Valery got ill. They look wonderful and they were very well-wrapped and packaged. I am extremely delighted to have them and recommend Octavia #1. Remember the old saying - "Good things come to he who waits". Michael C. McCarty, N8EYE
K7YVZ Rating: 2001-07-21
Excellent quality service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I spent many hours looking at the different QSL card printers and Octavia Co stood out from the rest in my mind. After a few proofs and changes I ordered. Very prompt e-mail and cards arrived within three weeks(this was more then 12 months ago, closer to 24) then about a month later They sent me another batch out of the blue. I have enough to last many a year and for the price Octivia can't be beat. My card can be viewed at www.qsl.net/k7yvz. Every card that I have gotten from other stations that are printed from Octivia have been the best.
K6LO Rating: 2001-07-21
Very Satisfied Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I placed my order in late May, and exchanged a few very pleasant emails with Valery to tweak the card to my liking. Dayton slowed approval and production down a bit. The airmail trip to California took about 5 days. Super quality cards for a low price. If you are not in a big rush for cards, visit Octavia.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by K6LO on 2001-03-27

Last summer I decided to order new QSL's and was intriqued by the possibilty of ordering them over the 'net, and from far-away Russia. I was not disappointed. The service was outstanding. I received 1000 very high quality custom cards, and was delighted with the email service I received. Granted the Russian postal system is still crawling out from under the Soviet rubble. It took about four weeks for them to arrive. I am quite pleased, and if I manage to exhuast my 1000 card supply, I will be happy to do business with Valery again.
WD9IDV Rating: 2001-07-16
Very nice... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
What can I say... Great looking cards.
Ordered May 1, 2001 and received July 16, 2001.

They did 3 proofs and a couple of design changes.
to custom card. Try my call WD9IDV at eham.net
or QRZ.com callsign search to see what proofs
looked like.

I am very satisfied with Octavia.
Some other custom QSL printers did not even return email when I was initially looking.

73...Robert
VE9TS Rating: 2001-06-22
QSL Cards / Octavia Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hello,

After looking at a many QSL companies, I selected - Octavia in Russia.
(( Valery & Olga Kharchenko / Octavia Company ))
Valery - RA6YR.

The web site address for Octavia - www.octavia.com
They use a secure server in the USA for ordering.

My custom design was created in .. Paint Shop Pro - Graphics program and does not include a photo of any kind. I saved my design as a .jpg file and then sent it to Octavia via their web site. I made a change or two and sent it back to Octavia. They quickly made changes and I received a proof by email for my approval. When I was happy with the proof, the cards went off to printing.

I ordered via their secure server in the USA and it was a snap.

My cards are 4 color / on gloss type stock and they are excellent. I could not believe the superb quality of the cards for the price I paid. They are very sharp indeed. Even the stock is much better than one might expect.

Hey, If you want a First-Class Custom QSL Card for an excellent price, go with Octavia. They will not print the cards until you have had the chance to review and approve the proofs via email. Any changes can be emailed to them and a new proof will be sent out to you for your approval.

Bear in mind, the company is in Russia and as with most printing services, it "may" take some time to receive your cards. My cards arrived yesterday the 21st of June / 2001. It took around 12 weeks to receive them in the mail. At one point during the wait, Valery, emailed to tell me that 16 packages had been returned to him for some reason to do with customs. He said he would send them out again ASAP. Anyway, when the the package arrived, it was triple wrapped in heavy brown paper and tied with a string. Inside was a white box securly taped, which contained the QSL cards. Someone at Octavia, took the time to make sure the cards were well-packed.

After seeing the quality of the cards, the wait doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore.

Rating - Why a 5 out of 5 rating?

The quality superb / The service is superb.
Changes can be emailed / new proof will be sent for your approval.
Ordering is easy / Cards are packaged very well.
Stock is excellent / Secure Server in USA.
The price is excellent.

What about the long wait? Around 12 Weeks.

In my case, I look at it this way - With the distance (Russia) involved, One should understand there may be a wait. But good things are worth waiting for.

I will not hesitant to do business with Octavia in the future.

All ..

Mark Fitzgerald
VE9TS
NB, Canada
W0FM Rating: 2001-05-09
Excellent quality. Well worth the wait. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My experience with Valery and Octavia was exceptional, even taking into account the unfortunate problems he encountered with customs. I have ordered items from vendors within the US and had worse delays and no responses. Valery was prompt with his replys to my e-mails and professional in his layout suggestions. My cards are better than I expected. Working with Valery was as easy as having the cards printed at a shop down the street. My advice: Plan ahead. Order Early. Use Octavia! It's worth the wait! Terry, WØFM