What Are 1-877 Numbers?

Want to know more about 877 numbers? The biggest misconception about 1-877 numbers is that if you call the same number with 1-800, you will get the same company. However this is not the case at all. Toll free numbers with different area codes are for totally separate businesses.

What is so confusing sometimes is when various companies choose the same vanity number, but with different prefixes including 866, 877, 800 or 888. You might think you are calling an attorney in your city, but if you dial the wrong prefix, you can get a totally different person across the country.

Like their 800 cousins, 877 numbers are completely free for the customer to dial. Along with that they provide many benefits to the end user, like ease of use, affordability and sense of professionalism.

Let’s back up a bit to find out more on these friendly digits. Toll free numbers actually date back as early as the 1960s, but their purpose was widely different than today’s. The toll free number was initially created as a way to cut back on using phone operators. The process was also created to offer customers more options rather than collect calling.

Along with that, they were normally controlled by the major phone companies. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the FCC helped consumers have more leverage in this area and keep their 800 numbers even if they changed phone services.

Later, 800 numbers associated with vanity phrases became widely popular. This newfound recognition fostered the need for more 800 prefixes. That’s when additional area codes like 877 (circa 1998) came on the scene.

As businesses and the global economy grew, the need for more area codes was never as urgent. What’s more, longer vanity characters were in demand too. The newer toll free prefixes such as 866 and 877 became highly sought for their wide-ranging and longer vanity selections.

Some of the digits in the area codes can be swapped for alphabetical letters, while standard 800 numbers cannot. For example, with an 877 or 866 area code you can have the vanity number 1-US-RENOVATIONS.

Vanity numbers even with the 1-877 toll free prefix appeal to marketers. First of all, they offer more vanity options, which become etched in consumers’ minds more so than numeric value phone numbers. Plus, like any toll free number, they are easier to call, have branding benefits, and can increase response rates.

A toll free number with an 877 area code is yours forever. Even if you move, you can still keep the same exact number. The same holds true for the other prefixes too. In the old days, a business that moved usually lost customers.

Even today, communicating your new information proves challenging. You can send out as many “we moved” reminders or emails and still get missed calls. E-mail can get snatched by spam filters and anything that even resembles “junk mail” in your regular mailbox usually gets tossed. So classically, people have viewed 800 numbers as an asset.

All in all, today an 877 number is like any other toll free line, but you can get more vanity choices.