No Fax Machine? Send Faxes Online Cheap or Free!
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: frugality, internet, technology
As a first-time homebuyer getting ready to embark on the long but rewarding path to homeownership, I realize that I may soon need to fax roughly 83,184 documents to various lenders, real estate agents, and other give-me-house types. Having never owned or really even operated a fax machine, I was faced with four possible outcomes:
- Buy a fax machine. Considering I’ll probably never need to fax something again, I’d rather not buy another piece of technology that sits in a box and gathers dust.
- Hope I won’t need one. They have this thing called the internet now that lets you send documents at THE SPEED OF LIGHT!!! So far, I’ve received every document I need by e-mail, but I have a feeling I may need access to some faxy goodness along the line.
- Give up on owning a home. It’s too much trouble to buy a fax machine, so I’ll just never purchase a home instead. Fortunately I’m not lame, so this option won’t be happening.
- Find another method of faxing. Perhaps I have a built-in fax function somewhere in my left arm. Let’s see… radar… homing missiles… secret decoder… nope, no fax machine.
But I figured there had to be some other way of faxing stuff on demand without having to run down to Kinko’s each time. I vaguely recalled that services like eFax exist which allow you to send or receive documents online that get spit out of a fax machine at their destination. I did a little digging and found out that eFax is a tad pricey for what I need, but I also found a few alternatives that might prove useful to myself and others who need a li’l bit o’ faxin’ here and there.
- Go with eFax if you only need to receive up to 20 faxed pages a month. Beware that the 21st fax will terminate your service if you don’t upgrade to a paid version immediately.
- eFax’s free fax receiving service goes well with faxZERO‘s free fax sending. The service is paid for by ads automatically placed on the cover page of your fax. Note that you’re limited to two faxes a day and that each one cannot exceed two pages.
- RapidFAX works well for someone who needs to send 100 faxes or receive 200 faxes a month for a period of only a month or two. Your first 30 days are free and you can cancel after that; otherwise, your credit card will be charged $9.95 a month until you do. You can opt for either a local or toll-free number to receive faxes at no extra charge. I’ll be trying out this service for my faxing needs in the coming months. (EDIT: As I’ve since discovered for myself, RapidFAX makes it very difficult to cancel their service. My calls to customer service were always disconnected. It took months to finally get the situation resolved.)
- If your faxing requirements will be ongoing and higher in volume, check out Metro Fax Number and its unlimited faxing. It also offers 30 days free, but you’ll pay a $9.95 setup fee and then $12.95 a month thereafter.
You might be wondering how an internet faxing service works. Some differ a little, but here’s the basic deal you’ll get from most services:
- Pay your usage fees which can be either a fixed upfront cost or a pay-as-you-fax price.
- To send a fax, ready your materials in an electronic format. Most services allow PDFs and various Microsoft formats, or you can use a scanner to convert your paper forms into an image file.
- Use the service’s online form to compose and send the fax, providing the recipient’s fax number and attaching your document(s). Some services also allow you to send your fax straight to your recipient by e-mailing your attachments to an address like [recipient-fax-number]@yourfaxservice.com.
- To receive a fax, simply provide the fax number which the service will generate for you. You’ll be able to retrieve the faxed items from the service’s website or your own e-mail inbox.
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58 Responses »
1.
BD
July 13th, 2006 at 9:10 am
For e-fax, you can get around the page limit by using a different email account when you get close to the quota – I use a gmail account and keep sending myself new invitations for new accounts…efaxA@gmail.com, efaxB@gmail.com, etc.
2.
Llama Money
January 29th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Having to convert the docs to electronic really kills this for me. I don’t have a scanner, so I would have to buy one of those anyway.
Plus it’s an awful lot of work having to scan something, save it, then attach it to an email, etc etc. I think I’d rather just drop it on the fax machine and call it a day.
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February 17th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
rinse and repeat.
4.
Ted
March 7th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Converting to a pdf or electronic is a killer for me too. If you’ve already got something on your computer–forms, emails, etc. then those systems work ok, but if you’ve got real paper then they’re more trouble than they’re worth. IMHO.
You can buy a fax machine pretty cheaply. Find a used one on craigslist for $20 or free. There are always people moving who are selling them or giving them away. There’s also freecycle where you might find one for –you guessed it–free!
Either way, faxing 83,184 docs will take a while
5.
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November 13th, 2008 at 9:00 am
This is a great tips for us right… thanks for sharing
1. Buy a fax machine. Considering I’ll probably never need to fax something again, I’d rather not buy another piece of technology that sits in a box and gathers dust.
2. Hope I won’t need one. They have this thing called the internet now that lets you send documents at THE SPEED OF LIGHT!!! So far, I’ve received every document I need by e-mail, but I have a feeling I may need access to some faxy goodness along the line.
3. Give up on owning a home. It’s too much trouble to buy a fax machine, so I’ll just never purchase a home instead. Fortunately I’m not lame, so this option won’t be happening.
4. Find another method of faxing. Perhaps I have a built-in fax function somewhere in my left arm. Let’s see… radar… homing missiles… secret decoder… nope, no fax machine.
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May 8th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Here’s a better way just send a email faxes are obsolete
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May 12th, 2009 at 6:24 am
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June 12th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Hi, nice blog and article. I use a fax-driver directly from my comp and I like it to use it. Scan before and fax.
Greetings
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July 4th, 2009 at 2:50 am
By utilizing technology like computers and the Internet, this all electronic approach to no fax payday loans allows the process to be even faster than it has been in the past. Not only is there no need to visit a branch office, but you will not even need to bother faxing in information. Finally, because the entire process is all electronic, your money can be deposited directly into your bank account. This can really speed up the loan process and can get you back on your feet in a matter of hours.
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July 21st, 2009 at 6:30 am
The different email account theory works. Thanks very valuable info!
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June 6th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
E-fax is by far the best one that I have used and I would suggest that one to anyonw who uses fax.
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June 30th, 2010 at 1:51 am
How to setup 2 different fax machine on the same line?
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July 26th, 2010 at 3:52 am
I completely agree with you , all of the thank you emails that I get at work eat up so much of my time. Not only that but I also usually feel obligated to reply which wastes even more time and resources.
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August 1st, 2010 at 8:36 pm
I prefer to use no faxing when submitting applications from online sources. I rather do things the old fashion, either in person, by phone, or stick a stamp on it and call it a day.
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August 16th, 2010 at 8:34 am
I totally agree with you, all emails because I have eaten at work most of my time. Not only that, but usually feel obliged to reply that spends more time and resources.
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August 18th, 2010 at 3:05 am
1. Buy a fax machine. Considering I’ll probably never need to fax something again, I’d rather not buy another piece of technology that sits in a box and gathers dust.
2. Hope I won’t need one. They have this thing called the internet now that lets you send documents at THE SPEED OF LIGHT!!! So far, I’ve received every document I need by e-mail, but I have a feeling I may need access to some faxy goodness along the line.
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September 7th, 2010 at 11:33 am
With the advent of internet fax, faxing important documents are no longer confined in the big fax machine. And the good thing of internet fax is that you can receive anywhere and anytime the faxed document. You can also send fax with less cost than the traditional one.
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September 15th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Well Nick , instead of buying a fax machine made in some far off country. what about supppoting local people and keeping our $ at home? http://blog.sidestreetstudio.com/wood/10-reasons-why-you-should-buy-local-arts-crafts/
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September 16th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I completely agree, the only way to get faxing done these days affordable and quickly is with internet fax services. I made the switch from a fax machine to email fax services about a year ago and I am never going back! Faxing online has proven to be a great money saver for my small business and it comes with tons of features and benefits that a fax machine could never do.
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October 29th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Now, a quality site that isn’t in my face doing this to frequently promote me anything. Many thanks, remember to keep up the good work.
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December 19th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
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December 23rd, 2010 at 9:32 am
Try Superfax! I have been using Superfax and it has made my office work smooth and convenient. Get a free demo at http://www.superfax.in/demo. This unique facility lets you receive voicemail as email attachments and your service provider gives you space on their server to save your faxes online, thereby extending an opportunity to save the clutter on the desk.
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