subject: Free Fax Trial - Is This A Rip-off Or Not? [print this page] Mainly because Internet users have become so web savvy, when they see a free offer promoting any product or service, they immediately become skeptical and a warning bell goes off. A free fax trial is generally placed in this skeptic's corner until one takes a closer look at the offer. Most web users are pleasantly surprised to discover what's actually being offered and the benefits of using free fax trials to find the best fax service provider to meet your needs.
Actually, it is a common practice for very reputable companies to offer a free trial period to test out their services to see if they're suitable for you or your company. Cable companies use this marketing technique to great effect, so do many phone companies; some even give out free cell phones if you sign up to their services. However, many people think of this as a ploy to get you to sign up; but in most cases this actually works out to be a beneficial arrangement for both parties.
The same goes for a free fax trial, a potential customer is given a local or toll-free fax number so that they can test-out or test-run the chosen fax service for a month without having to pay. This is a great way to check out an online provider before you actually buy or sign-up. Of course, once you have your fax number and see the high quality of the service... most of these companies are betting that you will keep using their service for a longer term.
While this is indeed a marketing ploy, it is not necessarily a bad idea since you do get to check out the quality of the service. You can discover what the customer service is actually like, such as is it available 24/7 and are your questions answered in a timely manner? If you have any problems are they dealt with immediately or do you have trouble reaching support? What is the overall quality of the faxing service?
Online fax is simply using your email system (faxes are sent as attachments, usually TIFF or PDF) and your Internet connection to send and receive all your faxes. It is becoming a very popular form of cloud computing - where your computer services are outsourced to a third party. There is no need for an extra fax phone line and no need for a traditional fax machine. And since online faxing is web based, it is available anywhere, anytime; as long as you have Internet access.
Many small businesses, as well as many large businesses are switching over to online fax to handle all their faxing, mainly because it is cheaper, faster and more secure than the old way of faxing. No more missed faxes because of paper jams, busy signals or your machine has run out of ink. Your faxes and your business is open and available 24/7, 365 days of the year.
There are many online fax service providers which you can use and most of them, if not all, offer a free fax trial where you can check out the service before you buy. This will save you time, money and a lot of headaches down the road. This way you can make sure you are satisfied with a service before you finally go with it. This is a win-win situation for all parties involved, so if you're considering using an Internet fax service do yourself a big favor, and take a free fax trial first.
