Fax Rip off - €1 a page!

tommy21

I had to fax documents to England earlier (10 pages). Not owning a fax machine, I said I'd see if any local shop could do it. I went into (edit are we allowed mention specific shop names?) - €1 a page in both! :eek: Come on like, would anyone agree this is a rip off?

I eventually went up to a PC repair shop 5 minutes away in St. Lukes that did the 10 pages for €5, which I paid and even still seems very expensive but at that stage I was just happy to get the blasted things off.

rubadub

I think you can scan in pages and "fax" them via the internet so they come out on the persons fax as normal, probably for free or for next to nothing.

I would expect a €1 minimum charge, but certainly a discount for mulitple pages.

Bosshogg

What would you think is a fair price?

Consider the initial outlay for the machine, running costs of toners and paper etc. The on going cost of keeping a fax line open (for your rare use). The actual cost of the fax call. The rent and running cost for the shop premisis. The person's time to serve you.

Myself I'd probably think that €2 + 25 cents per page.

ejmaztec

Bosshogg wrote: »

What would you think is a fair price?

Consider the initial outlay for the machine, running costs of toners and paper etc. The on going cost of keeping a fax line open (for your rare use). The actual cost of the fax call. The rent and running cost for the shop premisis. The person's time to serve you.

Myself I'd probably think that €2 + 25 cents per page.

That would be for the recipient's fax, not the sender's which would probably only print a few lines on a fax transmission sheet.

Bosshogg

ejmaztec wrote: »

That would be for the recipient's fax, not the sender's which would probably only print a few lines on a fax transmission sheet.

Well no he has to have that on his side too as part of the machine / service even if it does only ever get used for receipts. Maybe a seperate charge for incoming calls? Still it's all the expense of the ownership and maintainence of the machine.

I'm not putting up for the €10 fee for faxing or saying it's a fair price I'm just suggesting to keep in mind the peripheral costs.
Working in photography (and trying to make it good value and obtainable as possible) I often get something like say "10 euro for that?! It's just a bleedin' picture". Which has no regard for the €x000s equipment loan or my time and effort. Even having a mobile phone so the customer can call me adds to the cost of the product / running the biz. Having the lights on in the shop contribute to the cost of the fax.
Often I feel people want the use of my top fo the range pro equipment and have me work for free, and if I let them they'll take if for free too and go away laughing at their prize while killing the service they so desired in the first place.

Anyway, didn't mean to stray far.

Five Ways to Send a Free Fax Online

Also if your pc/laptop has a built in modem you can use windows directly...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/crawford_02october21.mspx

You can probably get a modem for <€10 anyway

tommy21

Bosshogg wrote: »

What would you think is a fair price?

Consider the initial outlay for the machine, running costs of toners and paper etc. The on going cost of keeping a fax line open (for your rare use). The actual cost of the fax call. The rent and running cost for the shop premisis. The person's time to serve you.

Myself I'd probably think that €2 + 25 cents per page.

Well its not just me they have the fax installed for now in fairness
Yeah I'd agree with you on that price, but you'd think given the age of the technology etc it would have come down a lot more. I know you mention running of the shop etc. but they have their main business to support that, in saying that I know it can't be free but the €1 a page just smacked of a ripoff! Those internet shops are a dying breed anyway as Ireland finally gets its act together on broadband, just like what happened in the US, hardly any internet cafes around apparently anymore. Anyway its not like I'll be sending one everyday but glad I refused to pay the higher prices!

tommy21

Bosshogg wrote: »

Well no he has to have that on his side too as part of the machine / service even if it does only ever get used for receipts. Maybe a seperate charge for incoming calls? Still it's all the expense of the ownership and maintainence of the machine.

I'm not putting up for the €10 fee for faxing or saying it's a fair price I'm just suggesting to keep in mind the peripheral costs.
Working in photography (and trying to make it good value and obtainable as possible) I often get something like say "10 euro for that?! It's just a bleedin' picture". Which has no regard for the €x000s equipment loan or my time and effort. Even having a mobile phone so the customer can call me adds to the cost of the product / running the biz. Having the lights on in the shop contribute to the cost of the fax.
Often I feel people want the use of my top fo the range pro equipment and have me work for free, and if I let them they'll take if for free too and go away laughing at their prize while killing the service they so desired in the first place.

Anyway, didn't mean to stray far.

Five Ways to Send a Free Fax Online

Also if your pc/laptop has a built in modem you can use windows directly...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/crawford_02october21.mspx

You can probably get a modem for <€10 anyway

Peripheral costs or not, €10 is just sheer rip-off! I paid the €5 because I had to get those faxes off and that was more reasonable considering points you all have made re running the premises etc. I still wager it is next to nothing in many other countries though. How I wish I posted here first, thise links are great, particularly the skype one, could have sent my ten pages for 0.60 cent - lesson learnt