Voicemail On The Cheap?

May 9, 2006 10:19 AM

I need a phone number, preferably a local one, that does nothing but play a recorded greeting/message and collect voicemail. Is there an inexpensive or even free solution? If so, does anyone have any recommendations?

Our theatre company is predominantly web-based, but well-meaning observers keep insisting that a phone number is imperative. For now, we're using my mobile number, but I've a feeling that will get old quickly. I seem to remember a free web-based service from some years ago, but I cannot recall the name. Any ideas?

posted by grabbingsand to technology (12 comments total)

Skype has a featured called SkypeIn that allows you to associate a local number with your Skype account. I have two lines set up through this system, one for our theater's movie line (just a recording and voicemail), and another for our office line. It works out to be about $3 per month. Wonderful service.
posted by bjork24 at 10:25 AM on May 9, 2006

I'm sure there are other solutions, but you could easily do this with SkypeIn for about 30€/year (about $40 US).
posted by jedrek at 10:26 AM on May 9, 2006

Laser Voice Mail, a free voice mail service. Catch is you have to listen to ads when you retrieve messages. Plus, who knows whether your voice mail will disappear in the night. And the number isn't local. But the price is right.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:29 AM on May 9, 2006 [1 favorite]

Lots of answering services offer phone numbers like this for just a few dollars a month. You have a live person or a recording, though of course the recording is cheaper.
posted by astruc at 10:30 AM on May 9, 2006

(The number I have is a 206 area code, fyi)
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:30 AM on May 9, 2006 [1 favorite]

Jconnect gives you free incoming fax and voice mail, though I doubt you can choose your area code. The free web-based service you're thinking of might have been onebox.com. I'm pretty certain onebox was free during the dot-com boom, but they charge now.
posted by SteveInMaine at 10:42 AM on May 9, 2006

If the area code you want is in this list, Junction Networks will give you a DID (aka "a local phone number") for $2 per month, and voicemail for another $2 per month - or if you have a computer that's always on-line you can install Asterisk@Home and they'll VOIP your DID to it for free.
posted by nicwolff at 10:47 AM on May 9, 2006

How about Vonage, since it sucks for real-time conversations anyway?

We're talking longer-than-cell-phone-delays, here, and improper inbound line provisioning in most areas.
posted by catkins at 2:04 PM on May 9, 2006

I reject catkins's reality. I have had nothing but great luck with Vonage. I've had it since 2001, too. Never had any of the problems mentioned.

That being said, I second the idea of picking up a Vonage line just for a voicemail box. you get plenty of voicemail greeting time, and the mailboxes are more than adequate. Plus you can archive voicemails to disk easy enough.

If you have a Mac, I recommend Phone Valet. It's not as cheap as you'd like, but it really is a useful piece of software. And it's a one time charge instead of a monthly fee.
posted by drstein at 2:22 PM on May 9, 2006

I use a company called RingCentral. They seem to have just what you're looking for (web based, free voicemail, many local area codes).
posted by neurodoc at 4:50 PM on May 9, 2006

I've used efax.com ever since they were free. The voicemails get emailed to you wish is very handy.
posted by zaebiz at 6:02 PM on May 9, 2006

Couldn't you get a local phone number through the phone company and just not attach a phone to the jack? It'd go directly to voicemail. Then you could pick up the voicemail from any remote location.
posted by radioamy at 8:51 PM on May 9, 2006