Where can I get a toll free phone number?

Answer:
The likelihood of you getting a generic or memorable

toll free number is very slim. Like domain names, great 800 numbers were snapped up some time ago. If you'd settle for an 866 or 877 number then you may be able to get something that correlates with your business.

Lets examine your industry and brainstorm some ideas for toll free numbers. Do you provide a retail service or sell products that needs to be represented in the number? For example, if you sell books then you could look for 800 numbers with the word Book or Read in it. Keep it simple, don't get a toll free number that has a word that is more than 4 characters. I've seen my fair share of non-memorable 800 numbers that include multiple words and words that are more than 4 and less than 7 characters. Either have a 4 or 7 character word, no less and no more as you risk confusing callers.

Is the name of your company more important than the service or products you offer? If you've spent a great deal on branding then your company name or acronym is better used in your toll free phone number.

Once again, don't get too excited as you probably won't get a good 800 number. You'll have to settle for an 866, 877 or better yet an 888. The issue with the 866 and 877 numbers is that they aren't widely used yet so people aren't sure whether or not they are free or if they are billed numbers. Because of the 800 number popularity the general public assumes the only free numbers to call are 1-800-XXX-XXXX so when you tell them to call your 1-877-XXX-XXXX be sure to label it as toll free.

Toll free numbers or vanity numbers are available for purchase from hundreds of different vendors. These companies have applied for and paid for a membership to the SMS/800 which is the governing body of 800 numbers similar to ICANN in the domain industry. Once approved, the SMS/800 will give you the available resources to implement a toll free phone number search and deem your company a Resp Org or Responsible Organization.

As I mentioned, there are tons of Responsible Organizations where you can reserve your toll free number but here are a few sites we found useful.
http://www.tollfreenumbers.com/
http://www.tollfreemax.com/
http://www.value800.com/

You can also purchase a toll free number at major carriers like AT&T or SWBell.