With 1-800 numbers becoming more and more difficult to obtain, some business owners are finding relief by securing 877 numbers.
Supplies of 800 numbers are decreasing while demand is growing. According to the Federal Communications Commissions, toll free service is a valuable commodity for businesses and popularity is consistently on the rise. The availability of toll free numbers is plummeting yet there are no immediate plans by the FCC to overcome the shortage by launching the reserved 855 numbers
In the past, 800 and 888 pre-fixes have been the most popular choices of subscribers. Experts say this was due mostly to the lack of public awareness that 877 and 866 were also toll free. But in recent years, this situation has changed. Reports now indicate that the majority of the public recognizes all four pre-fixes as toll free. Business owners are quickly taking advantage of the 877 numbers.
But now with the overall supply of available toll free numbers dwindling, 877 numbers are going fast.
Toll free 800 numbers were introduced in 1967. Two decades later, when the majority of the 7 million possible numbers were taken, 888 debuted. It took just two years for them run out. With the popularity of toll free service soaring and supplies dropping, the Federal Communications Commission then launched 877 in 1998 and 866 in 2000. While insiders initially worried that consumers would not recognize 877 and 866 as toll free, these numbers have steadily grown in popularity.
Recently, insiders say 877 has become a popular choice for small and medium-size businesses. Small business owners’ need reliable marketing tools to increase the flow of new and repeat business and compete with bigger, sustained companies. Toll free numbers instantly win customer confidence, lend give small businesses legitimacy, and increase sales. Reports indicate that a toll free number listed in an ad can increase response by 600 percent and word of mouth referrals rise by 200 percent. With 98 percent of American adults regularly using toll free numbers, businesses securing an 800 number gain a strong competitive edge.
Filed under: Information | Tagged: 800 numbers, 855 number, 866, 877, 877 number, 877 numbers, 888 |
Toll Free Service Management System News 
Is a toll free really worth the money? I don\’t have much for my start-up.
I love my 877 and so do my customers!
How many 877 numbers are out there?
It\’s really like there is less and less tollfrees each day…
now they just have to make it free to call in the united states
well, since 1960, 800 numbers have been increasing in popularity
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
To bear failure with courage is the best proof of character that anyone can give.
I don’t think so. I just bought a vanity 888 number to go with my company’s name. It’s not so much because it is toll free, it is because it is a little more professional to give out an easy to remember number than just any old regional number.
Ah yes. Another flashback of my youth. Making free phone calls etc.
The xboxes and playstations only rob kids of these experiences.
Wisdom begins in wonder.
Just keep trying it only took me about 7 tries to get through.
Being yourself is being the person everyone else wants you to be.
Pressure makes diamonds.
A little off-topic, but what is the fourth generation mentioned in the article? Looking at some of the cellphones in Japan, i’m wondering what further features they could throw in there…
reynold’s site is 400% better
Fish and visitors smell in three days.
I once had to call eBay… what a nightmare. I wish I’d never found their number, as the “service” was so horrible and the experience even worse.
Nonetheless, this is a great resource to have handy – I’ve bookmarked it. Thanks for sharing this info with us.
Two things are infinite : the universe and human stupidity; I’m not sure about the universe.
I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.
Ah yes. Another flashback of my youth. Making free phone calls etc.
The xboxes and playstations only rob kids of these experiences.
Teamwork…means never having to take all the blame yourself.
Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.
Without a rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar.
I guess next we will have to hack the gibson.
Without a rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar.
Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid all together.
Could one of them introduce a product that connects you to a human being when you call?
The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions.
A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the heart.
A little off-topic, but what is the fourth generation mentioned in the article? Looking at some of the cellphones in Japan, i’m wondering what further features they could throw in there…
it’s a pity, advertisements say that 0800 numbers are free and when you start to use you realize that it’s not! And nobody told you before that if you call from mobile, you have to pay, from skype – to pay… it’s not fair!
How do you use the free service
Okay, I remember a trick back in high school that someone taught me but I’ve since forgot. They would pick up the phone, dial a number, and hang up the receiver a couple times. Several seconds later, the phone would ring continuously until someone picked it up. But there was no one on the other line. Anyone remember/know how to do that?
I no longer have the fear of being alone. It’s cool to find out that you don’t need a boyfriend to be happy.
Speaker Verification has been around for years, and has been successfully deployed at quite a few financial institutions (Charles Schwab immediately comes to mind). This is not new technology — Nuance has had it working on numerous telephony platforms for at least five years. So I’m not quite sure why RSA is tooting their horns about this.
You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.
lovely
All it says is “For stimulating conversation call this number”, and then it hangs up on you.
Why is abbreviation such a long word ?
How do you use the free service
This whole article is based on an incorrect assumption — that all calls cost the same. The huge majority of people have regular home phones, which do not have any sort of “all numbers are the same” plan. On top of that, not all mobile phone plans are the same. I’m a heavy mobile user, but my plan doesn’t have any special “all numbers are the same” plan, because the majority of my calls are local. The only thing that will kill 800 numbers, I think, is the end of the local/long distance distinction, which may happen, but not for the reasons the article lists.
Just keep trying it only took me about 7 tries to get through.
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Teamwork…means never having to take all the blame yourself.
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[…] Supplies of 800 numbers are decreasing while demand is growing. According to the Federal Communications Commissions, toll free service is a valuable commodity for businesses and popularity is consistently on the rise. The availability of toll free numbers is plummeting yet there are no immediate plans by the FCC to overcome the shortage by launching the reserved 855 numbers. Get more information here. […]
[…] Recently, insiders say 877 has become a popular choice for small and medium-size businesses. Small business owners’ need reliable marketing tools to increase the flow of new and repeat business and compete with bigger, sustained companies. Toll free numbers instantly win customer confidence, lend give small businesses legitimacy, and increase sales. Reports indicate that a toll free number listed in an ad can increase response by 600 percent and word of mouth referrals rise by 200 percent. With 98 percent of American adults regularly using toll free numbers, businesses securing an 800 number gain a strong competitive edge. Get more information here. […]