Pro Tip: How to Text Best Buy & Other Businesses for Quick Information on Gadget Availability

I wonder if Best Buy has any Note 3's for sale??

When trying to figure out when something is in stock, we usually either check online or call the store to talk to someone. If certain products are out of stock the process might be tedious, with having to find phone numbers and calling several stores.

If you're tired of going through the process of calling businesses or just don't like talking on the phone in general, I'm going to show you TalkTo—an application which allows you to text practically any business to get your questions answered.

TalkTo

After creating an account, you'll be able to use TalkTo to ask several types of questions to a variety of business in your current area—

• Do you have (certain product) in stock?
• When will (certain product) be available?
• Do you have (certain product) in this color and size?
• How much does (certain product) cost?
• What time do you open? Close?

Asking Questions

To find a business to ask a question to, simply type in the name and it will give you a list of all the ones near you. TalkTo works with millions of local businesses such as Best Buy, Target, CVS, Whole Foods and more, so just type in your search and see if it comes up.

Once you select the business you want, you can ask it a question. I selected Best Buy and asked them if they had Danny Brown's Old (2013) album in stock. It then gives you an expected response time in which they will get back to you with an answer—usually 5-10 minutes.

With the first Best Buy I tried, I received an answer in 4 minutes, but they did not have the album in stock. I asked another local Best Buy and received an answer in 7 minutes, but they also didn't have it in stock. They did however notify me that I could purchase it online for $11.99.

Finally, I asked a third time and received a a positive answer within 15 minutes. The Best But let me know that they had a couple of the albums in stock and also let me know the price. Cool!

I used the application to ask several other questions to other business and I received the answers rather quickly. There were a couple of times when I received no response at all, but the quick responses overshadowed any time I waited.

You can also benefit from the questions from other users, which show up on the homescreen of the application. This way, you can check if something you want is in stock or you can see which businesses work with the application.

As someone who's always busy, this is a perfect application for asking questions quickly without having to go through the hassle of calling them on the phone.

Note: Works only in the US and Canada