Any techie will encounter these suituations frequently…

1. While shopping at Circuit City or Barnes & Nobles, I see an item I like to buy, like a book or a fancy USB drive, I have this momentary pause at the shelf or the checkout lane – “I am sure I can find it much cheaper online or even at Costco“. Sometimes I SMS to Froogle and get their pricelist.
2. “Hey I am driving… If you’re in the Net can u go to wwwDOT” – Most of my friends would have heard this one, I am looking for directions, closest Kinkos store, or to see if Superman is playing anywhere else in Redmond?
3. Online classifieds like Craigslist, have a facility for masking email ids, but not phone numbers, I don’t want to give out my real phone number for the chronic fear of telemarketers and nigerian bank officers.

So now with these 3 free services, you can freely give out your phone number, call an operator to find if there is a cheaper price online or to get directions to the nearest Thai restaurant.

1. Free Price Comparison Call: (888) DO FRUCALL
   Call 1-888-363-7822 with the UPC code, and you will get a list of places which sell it cheaper, including tax and shipping, to your zipcode.
   Downside: Might encounter a phone bot, but can eventually speak to a real person.
   [FAQ] [TV Reviews]
   How does it fare up in real world?
   I tried it yesterday at Costco, it works pretty well. Thro the caller ID, a robotic voice gave out the online prices. I was surprised to see the item (Davinci Code Illustrated Screenplay) was $0.49 cheaper at Walmart. Costco had it for $12.49, Walmart is supposed to have it for $12. This worked great for all books, and common items, but when I tried to run it thro some Costco exclusive items (Kirkland Brand), and some speciality items, the search came up to a dead end.
2. Free 411 Calls: (888) FREE 411
   It gets you the directions, movie timings or any other info based on current zip code and you don’t even have to have a pencil handly to write it down, they connect you automatically.
   Downside: You may have hear a relevent 10second ad.
   [FAQ] [Reviews]
3. Free Private Number:
   This new service gives you a free Local number, and lets anyone leave a voicemail for you. Not only that, you don’t have to keep checking for Voicemails – they email you the actual voicemail in an email attachment!
   Downside: You have to use this number once a month or it expires.
4. [Old News] Skype offers free phonecalls to any landline phone