Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: GlobalQSL

Category: QSL printers; callsign badge engravers; etc.

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : GlobalQSL
Reviews: 39MSRP: 106/1000 cards
Description:
GlobalQSL Custom QSL Printing Service

Due to technical improvements in the printing industry, and "high tech" modern technology and facilities used by Global QSL, allows us to give you an unprecedented service. All you have to do is subscribe, design your personal QSL card and upload your electronic logbook, or enter your QSO's manually.

You need no longer write QSL cards or print labels. Don't sort your out-going cards, no more trips to the out-going and in-coming QSL bureau. You only pay for the amount you use, no loss of cards. Don't waste time, enjoy ham radio and the fun of getting QSL cards without the burden of writing them.
Product is not in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00394.2
N3RC Rating: 2014-10-01
Great Quality Innovative Technology Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used this service for about 5 years. The quality of the QSLs is outstanding and the prices are good!!!

The whole process is slow going to bureaus(think years not months!

Sure cuts down on the work for long term qsling needs, OQRS is great for dxpeditions/quick turnaround
W3OU Rating: 2014-09-19
Great way to go Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Can't beat the cost and easy to do. Only thing to do manually is lookup and add QSL managers to the file. Some comments on being slow. This is by the buro and the cards go out in waves. After a few years and 10K+ QSOs it looks like the number of pse and tnx QSLs balance out which means things are going in both directions to the buros. Quality is outstanding for the price. Always impressed with the Global QSLs received. If you need it quick, go direct or OQRS, which I do for new or rare ones, then there is LOTW for quick confirms, but no paper.
W6HDG Rating: 2013-06-03
A terrific alternative QSL service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have spoken with several hams on the air who highly recommended this service, so I thought I would give it a shot. GlobalQSL can print you FULL color two sided cards to be sent to your QTH just like any QSL printer - with competitive quality and prices. But the cool part which distinguishes GlobalQSL is that you can also buy a quantity of "to be shipped" cards which they send out to the bureaus over time for you. You never physically see or touch these cards. Contact info is automatically printed on the cards from your uploaded ADIF file. You then watch your account online to see what has been sent out. They combine cards and ship to the bureaus over time (can typically take 3 months for most cards to get distributed). I found that 2/3 of mine went out in the first 3 weeks. If a card can't be sent (such as tough DX stations requiring SASE or money), they are immediately rejected with an explanation upon upload of your ADIF file - so you don't get "charged" to your account and you know that you are going to have to do that QSL the old fashioned way. I really like the thoroughness of their reporting.

You basically design a two sided FULL color card online using their application which is very robust and feature rich. Add your own custom images and graphics plus use stock ham logos and art they can provide. I initially spent $31.50 as a test ($18 for 100 blanks including shipping to the house and $13.50 for 100 "to be sent" cards. My physical cards arrived in 4 weeks from Israel, GlobalQSL's home base.

Your mileage may vary, but this is a unique service by a fellow ham who saw a need and filled it!

Howard W6HDG
WC5B Rating: 2012-04-19
A great alternative that the "printer" is slow, not just Buro Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I love this idea. Its a great solution to a time consuming part of our hobby. The website and technology is great. The editor does what it needs and with the help of the video tutorial, you can really create a nice card yourself. I understand completely that the Buro is slow itself, but what I and others below have experienced is the EXTREMELY long wait from the time you pay your money and order and the time it takes the printer to print the cards and get them off too the Buro itself at all. Maybe part of the problem is how nice the site is in that it actually tells you the status of your order. I sent a test batch of 100 cards and it told me I had 13 cards printed and sent in the first month, and then that is how it sat for many months. I thought I was taken until I just checked again today and in fact, they printed the rest of my cards and sent them off. My point is, people are not complaining about the speed of the buro, but the printer. I do suspect that this may be due to a problem were this may be part of the printers hobby and not just a business. So, in the end, if you are willing to wait, it is worth it. It does save a ton of work and money as a DXing ham. I will continue to use the service for common bulk DX QSL's as the price is right and as long as it gets done, I am not that worried about the speed as long as I don't just get forgot. With all the technology behind this, I would assume that they have some pretty decent software writers, so I would love to see one great tool to assist with it. I would love a tool that you can push an ADIF file through ahead of time that automatically rips USA and other countries not handled by the service. It is a chore to scan through the entire ADIF to delete them prior to upload manually, which defeats the whole point of all the automation. So, good service at a good price. -1 star for the very slow processing of orders. -1 star for the lack of communication during that long period to know what or why it was happening.
N6WIN Rating: 2012-04-15
Fast, Saves Money, Full Color Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Over 2,000 cards sent using this service via the bureau. It has saved me countless time versus affixing labels, signing, sorting, packing, going to the post office, etc. I became interested in this service after I saw a friend DXer/Contester receiving so many nice GlobalQSL cards in his bureau box last year.

I see some recent negative reviews. It appears mainly based off time issues and email communication. First off my received bureau cards come in generally between 6-24 months via any bureau route. This includes traditional bureau-bureau, GlobalQSL-bureau, and WF5E. In fact, my WF5E cards (direct mail to WF5E, he then mails numerous directs to DX, they mail back direct to WF5E, WF5E then sends via my bureau) take on average 11-13 months and his method saves time no doubt. Patience is a requirement with ANY bureau method. WF5E/GlobalQSL is at the mercy of a generally volunteer/hard working bureau system, which will determine how often your cards are sent to you.

In my 6/30/2011 bureau envelope received, I have received all of the GlobalQSL sent DX cards postmarked from 3/20/2010 or earlier. In my 1/23/2012 box I have not received any new GlobalQSL cards, although there are cards being sent from GlobalQSL in batches nearly every month since April 2010. I can say, that many of the GlobalQSL cards received in the 6/30/2011 incoming bureau envelope six months earlier to me compared with cards sent via other bureau routes made on or about the same dates (as evidenced in my 1/23/2012 incoming bureau box).

With two GlobalQSL users you at least get to see that a card is inbound to you via the GlobalQSL E-inbox. This is nice because I choose to check it every so often and get a card inbound to a DX station sending me one while his card is still in the system, thus saving up to 6-24 months time for my card to be delivered back to him.
This is a small sampling data of 13,558 DX contacts made during a two year period with only two bureau shipments received during that time. 343 QSLs have been received via the bureau with another 15 (all indicated) received via GlobalQSL. The 15 GlobalQSL cards received is on par with the other contact dates and is a relatively small number of cards most likely due to the low number of hams using the service outside of the U.S. as compared to the other hams that I made contact with not using GlobalQSL. This sampling is not all inclusive, but it does tell me two things:

1. Be Patient with any bureau method

2. GlobalQSL is sending me my cards at least as fast
as traditional methods

As for email communication I am very happy. My first shipment of Direct cards was lost in the mail. The owner of GlobalQSL was great in helping me determine a decent waiting period for an amicable assumption that the cards had indeed been lost. Once that was agreed upon he immediately sent me a new batch at no cost. The cards arrived in great condition and I now use those as my directs for affixing labels.

I will continue using this service to get the QSLing chore and my mental conscience clear after having fun in each year’s contests.

Oh I have over 4,000 cheap paper "bureau" cards still in my shack. My old method was to print out labels, affix, sign, etc. What a pain... I finally did the math and it will cost me the same to send these as the much nicer GlobalQSL cards. The only way I can really beat GlobalQSL is to hand write the contact data and/or mail direct to each DX QSL bureau. Why bother? I'll save these cards for when and if GlobalQSL is no longer in existence.
VE3YF Rating: 2011-12-15
Jury still in deliberation Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hi;

John sparked a sore spot with me as well. I have purchased and sent out approx 3200 QSL's via GlobalQSL and in roughly a year have only received in my GlobalQSL inbox about 24, and via the bureau approx the same amount. I have received a hundred times that via direct or LOTW. In the first batch of log uploads I even sent a QSL to my secondary Callsign and have not received anything back in approx a year. Something is definitely lacking somewhere. However I am a patient person so we will wait and see what the final outcome is, but not holding my breath.

73 De Mike
VE3YF
W4QK Rating: 2011-12-14
The jury is still out Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I signed up and ordered cards. I uploaded my log files in ADIF and all was well. About 250 cards were printed and sent. Then I noticed my cards were not going out as expected. I currently have nearly 500 cards in my outgoing QSL section that have not been printed and sent to the bureaus. Some have been in the queue for almost a month. I have inquired three times about when the cards will be printed, and so far I have had no response. I also noticed there has been no review of Global QLS on this forum in 2011. I hope this works out well, but I suggest that the people at Global QSL provide better communications with their customers.
WB4CW Rating: 2010-11-04
Awesome! Great timesaver, reliable and quick Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I don't often review products, but I must comment on GlobalQSL as it is such an innovative way of dealing with the drudgery of preparing and sending out bureau cards. I am somewhat active chasing DX and contesting, so I process on average 150 to 200 bureau cards per month. Before GlobalQSL, this meant finding at least 2 hours of free time to print QSL labels, sort them into correct order, assemble a package of cards for the Outgoing QSL Bureau and hit the Post Office.
Now for $12.50/100 cards or $99.00/1000 I can upload an ADIF file to GlobalQSL and be finished in less than 1 minute. Cards are printed by GlobalQSL and are out to the different bureaus around the world. This saves me 1 hr and 59 minutes of operating (or sleeping) time! You download design software that is easy to use and design your color card front and back and upload it to GlobalQSL. Your card is now in the system and ready to send out. You can edit your card at any time. Also, you can design and upload cards for any number of callsigns. I recently had GlobalQSL print me 1000 cards to restock my supply of cards for direct QSLs. These cards look better than those produced by a professional printer in the U.S. Overall, GlobalQSL is just a great innovation. Support is always available and questions are answered within the same day.
K4IA Rating: 2010-02-01
You gotta try this! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I can't believe what a great idea this is. You design your own full-color two-sided card on-line. Then, upload your log. They print the cards, as you need them, and deliver directly to the buros. You can send 10 cards or 1,000 without labeling, sorting and shipping to Newington. All this for less than the cost of printing alone. Amazing.

You can change your card for the next batch at no additional cost. You can design a card for a single contest and only pay for the ones you use. You can upload logs with a whole lot less hassle than LOTW (LostOutThereWishing) and you don't need a secret Little Orphan Annie decoder ring to make it work.

Real QSLing just got a whole lot easier and cheaper. Who wants the virtual substitutes when you can have the real thing?
G1HJW Rating: 2009-11-23
Works good Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Hi I have been using this service and found it very good.
The cards are of high quality and it realy saves time & yes the cards do get to were there ment to go as I did a test send to a friend and he got the card ok, all but a little slow.
I have found the QSL system to be rather slow world wide and that I do not belive is not down to GlobelQSL it just seems that the Bureau system its self is just very slow what ever country you deal with..
Only down side is you still have to send some cards direct if there is no reconized bureau and there always be the odd call sign the system wont handle, but for max QSL'ing its a winner