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I run a dead-simple, one-time, online fax service called JustFax Online[0]. While I don't have a recurring revenue as I operate one one-time payment, for the pa
by skwee357 10mo ago
I run a dead-simple, one-time, online fax service called JustFax Online[0].
While I don't have a recurring revenue as I operate one one-time payment, for the past months I have been consistently grossing over €500/mo.
This also brings tears to my eyes, as I remember[1] browsing these threads and being amazed (still am) by all the people who make side projects and make money from them, and at the same time thinking that I will never reach this milestone, and yet, here I am.
[0]: https://justfaxonline.com https://justfaxonline.com
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39110194#39141819 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39110194#39141819
- zandert 10mo agoThat's super cool, how do you run it? Are you using some other service under the hood, and just abstract their annoying pricing model?
- pjc50 10mo agoIt used to be possible to do this with a faxmodem; these days telephony is over IP, so there might be telco APIs for it. But, because it's a telco, that will be annoying and hidden. UK: OFCOM are phasing out the fax support requirement https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infrastructure/farewell-to-the-fax-machine https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infra... (I slightly balked at the $5 initial price, but then realized: this is a desperation fee and I think for a lot of the users a clear fee for a clear one off service is the best deal. Anyone who wants to send 1,000 faxes will (a) be in the top 1% of fax users in their country if it's not Japan and (b) make their own arrangements. Also patio11's "charge more") Software wise, if you have a PBX line (which the telco will change for) you can run Asterix and then https://www.asterisk.org/products/add-ons/fax-for-asterisk/ https://www.asterisk.org/products/add-ons/fax-for-asterisk/ to send as many faxes as you like to the other person in your country with a fax machine.
- randallsquared 10mo agoWhy would you need a PBX line to send faxes with Asterix? You'd just need a normal phone line with a plan that includes free ("long distance") calling to the whole country, right?
- birdman3131 10mo agohttps://developers.telnyx.com/docs/programmable-fax/send-a-fax-api https://developers.telnyx.com/docs/programmable-fax/send-a-f... I use Telnyx. (Mainly because I also use them for voice.)
- rsanek 10mo agohttps://www.pamfax.biz/en/developers/introduction/ https://www.pamfax.biz/en/developers/introduction/ https://developers.ringcentral.com/fax-api https://developers.ringcentral.com/fax-api
- skwee357 10mo agoYes, I use another service + add a ton of stuff on top related to reliability, payments, and file formats. However, I have toyed with the idea of implementing my own fax sending. Maybe when I will be able to live off my side projects, I will explore this idea further.
- IanCal 10mo agoThanks for making a service where people can pay for a thing to happen, rather than an account and subscription and … I often get frustrated at how hard it can be to give someone money to perform a service I want them to do and they want to be paid to do.
- skwee357 10mo agoThank you very much. I try to focus on making usable software without enshittifying them.
- Fiveplus 10mo agoThis is the coolest thing I've seen on this thread. Single purpose and a very nice, crystal clear homepage.
- skwee357 10mo agoThank you! I appreciate the feedback!
- keybits 10mo agoTIL you can still buy fax machines!
- Popeyes 10mo agoWe have one in our office.
- bzzzt 10mo agoIt's still included on some office multifunctional printer/scanner machines.
- didgetmaster 10mo agoI still have a 25 year old HP LaserJet printer that has a built in FAX function. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to use it since we gave up our landline about 20 years ago. Still prints well, however.
- Rizu 10mo agodoesn't look like stripe, do you use stripe as a payment provider ? or something else. i am in the middle of a project using stripe and looking for alternatives
- eprahsys 10mo ago[dead]
- aiisjustanif 10mo agoWhat did you not like about stripe?
- skwee357 10mo agoIt's Stripe, and I'm happy with them. What did you not like about Stripe?
- brandon272 10mo agoHow do people find your service? It seems like there are a million "send a fax" online services out there so it would be difficult to get in front of potential customers.
- skwee357 10mo agoIt's a very tough market. Before I started I found a handful of services, and saw some services appear after I started. I focus on SEO mainly. Most users come from search engines and LLMs. Some users are returning customers.
- al_borland 10mo agoI don’t need to send a fax often, but when I do it’s a real pain. I’ll be bookmarking this. I love that it doesn’t need an account and is a simple straightforward service, as if I was paying to use an actual fax machine somewhere. I wish nearly every service online was built this way.
- veverkap 10mo agoAny thought of adding the ability to receive faxes too? I notice that most of the sending places don't offer that and it might be a difference if it's not too expensive.
- deleted 10mo ago[deleted]
- golson_kindmind 10mo agoVery cool. Love how simple it is, no bullshit.
- Cremiant 10mo ago[dead]
- jklein11 10mo agoIf you don't need an account to send a fax, how do you comply with law enforcement's requests to identify who sent a specific fax? I would think this would open you up to significant liability
- malfist 10mo agoSafe harbor laws protect you from liability of the content sent. You can simply respond to law enforcement that you have no data outside of payment data