Usually, when a person makes a long distance telephone call, the caller pays the toll for that call. Each year, billions of dollars worth of goods and services are ordered by consumers over these toll-free telephone numbers. Many retailers have invested huge sums of money in advertising to help familiarize the public with their 800 telephone numbers.
Vanity numbers are numbers which spell out words by reference to the letters on a telephone keypad.
Businesses which use vanity numbers or other well-publicized 800 toll free numbers can benefit tremendously from this familiarity because consumers will call the familiar number before even reaching for the yellow pages. Soon, businesses will be able to obtain numbers in the new 888 area code. These numbers will work in precisely the same way as 800 toll-free numbers. Although an abundance of new toll-free numbers will ultimately benefit retailers, the release of the new 888 area code poses some problems for current owners of 800 telephone numbers. Businesses which have invested heavily in publicizing their telephone numbers now face the probability that consumers will confuse the two toll-free codes and will dial the wrong number.