Has anyone ever used a fax-to-email service?

[Blue-Jay]

I don't have a fax machine at home, but I occasionally need to get things faxed to me. (lazy bastards who don't know how to use a scanner)

Which services are fairly reliable? Which ones will cause me to get more email spam?

Thanks in advance!

[kedrys]

1. I've been using eFax for almost 2 years

I absolutely recommend it. I get no spam whatsoever, I can send faxes from any machine (as long as I remember my login and password to their site ), and it's saved my bacon on more than one occasion. The extremely cool thing is that it comes into my email box, so nobody gets to see it. I don't send or receive that many faxes, but the service has paid for itself in sheer convenience and privacy.

On edit: I should mention that they have client software for both the PC and the Mac. I use both platforms, and I use eFax on both with no problems whatsoever.

[Blue-Jay]

2. Thanks! Quick question, though.

If I sign up for that, how soon will I be able to retrieve faxes sent to me? I only ask because I'm trying to finish an expense report tonight, and the Bellagio will only fax me the expense breakdown. (work stuff, of course) Do they issue you a fax number right away?

I'll check it out and sign up anyhow.

[kedrys]

5. They assign you your number right away

I did upgrade to the basic (not premium) paid service, because I use it for my business as well as for personal matters. Worth every dime, IMO.

[begin_within]

3. I used the free eFax for a while, and it worked fine. But there is a limit to

the number of free faxes you receive in a given month. If you go over that limit, they give you a warning that you have to upgrade to the paid service or they may stop sending you faxes. If you only receive a couple of faxes a month though, you will never hit that limit. It worked fine, but it was kind of strange telling people my home phone number, which is in one state, and my fax number, which is a different area code and that was in Massachusetts. Other than that it was trouble-free.

[Floogeldy]

4. I have software that receives faxes on my computer.

I'll bet you can find some free shareware or inexpensive retail software that will do the trick (mine came with a USR external modem).