Can you just HOLD an 800 Number?
People often ask me if they can purchase but not activate a toll free number. I think most people that ask this are asking because they assume that it’s more expensive to have a toll free number than it is. The terminology throws people off a little too, because when they hear the word Activate they think that it has to be actively used at that point. There’s really no benefit to waiting until the last minute, but it can have some significant downsides. So if you’ve found a number you want, activate it and just hold it active until you’re ready to start advertising and using it. (See my car wash analogy)
A toll free number costs almost nothing just to have. Competitive companies typically charge as little as two or three bucks per month to have the number plus a couple cents per minute for the incoming calls. So if you’re not advertising the number yet, it’ll only cost you a couple bucks per month. Compare that with the cost of just a regular phone line at about $25 to $40 a month, which is about the cost of having the toll free number for a year!
So when someone asks if they can just hold the number, the answer is yes. But they activate the number and just hold it active and don’t advertise the number. If you want to use one of the enhanced voicemail services or a service that charges more per month just start with the cheap ones and switch it to that when you need it. There are a few other things you can do to minimize the calls, such as blocking most of the country or pointing it to your fax number or a disconnected number.
Conclusion:
You have the right to use the number as long as you want as long as you keep it active, but there’s nothing that says you have to use it a lot. And since you only pay for the cost of the calls it costs you almost nothing just to have it active while you’re waiting for everything else to be ready and launch. You’ll probably also want to use it a little along the way, so there’s no real downside to activating it now and just holding it active but with no significant use.
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dran reese says:
March 24, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I would like to buy 800 700 7258 number, but it asked for some other number from me? Why? I just want the number to use at my will. Is that okay?
Bill Quimby (678 comments.) says:
March 24, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Dran,
You said that it asked you for some other number from you. I’m really not sure what you mean by that. It asks you for the ring to number (see: http://www.tollfreenumbers.com/faqs/initial-local-ring-to-number.html)
I’m not sure what you mean about being able to use it at will. You can change the ring to number and the phone company that gets it there at any time if that’s what you mean. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need a ring to number or a phone company.
Bill
Joshua Howland says:
June 5, 2009 at 2:53 pm
If you know what you want for your upcoming business, but the business isn’t completely set-up yet…is it possible to hold on the a toll-free number until the business is setup just so that no one can grab it in the meantime?
Bill Quimby (678 comments.) says:
June 5, 2009 at 2:55 pm
We give you temporary service for free for the first 30 days, but after that we give you free parking for up to a year. After that it’s $18.95 per year. Is that what you mean?
Bill
Bill Quimby (678 comments.) says:
June 5, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Josh,
We give you temporary service for free for the first 30 days, but after that we give you free parking for up to a year. After that it’s $18.95 per year. Would that cover what you need? See http://www.tollfreenumbers.com/parking
Bill