Explosive Vanity License Plate Business

[usakos]

In the 90's, a new phenomenon explosion of new business emerged that instantly made some of the most creative minded entrepreneurs millionaires, and that was the domain name registering, buying and re-selling in the after-marketplace.

Today, there's a new explosion of emerging market in the Middle East, no, not oil, but the buying and re-selling of vanity license plates.

Read the article below and if you have money like that, go to Dubai and participate in this new lucrative emerging market.

Vanity plate sold for $14 million in UAE
Yahoo News
Sat Feb 16, 10:51 PM ET

A license plate with nothing but the number "1" on it went for a record $14 million at a charity auction Saturday.

Saeed Khouri, a member of a wealthy Abu Dhabi family, wouldn't say how many automobiles he owned or which of them might carry the record-breaking single-digit plate.

"I bought it because it's the best number," said Khouri, whose family made its fortune in real estate. "I bought it because I want to be the best in the world."

The oil-rich UAE began auctioning off vanity license plates last May.

Ordinary automobile license plates issued to drivers here — and even most other vanity series plates — carry both Arabic and Western numerals and script, defining the issuing city and country.

Khouri's plate, however, has only the Western numeral and no letters.

The record sale surpassed the $6.8 million that was paid for an Emirati license plate at an earlier auction with the Western number 5 on it — also without Arabic numerals or letters.

Proceeds from the auctions, which are held in a lavish hotel here, go to a rehabilitation center for victims of traffic accidents.

On Saturday, 90 license plates were auctioned off in all, raising a total of $24 million. The previous five such events raised more than $50 million.

[BusinessAdviser]

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is the world's first spaceline. His entrepreneurial spirit will soon enable us to experience weightlessness and a great view of Earth, just like the astronauts in this article:

Shuttle prepares to undock from station
By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON, Associated Press Writer
Sun Feb 17, 8:41 AM ET

HOUSTON - The 10 astronauts aboard the linked space shuttle and space station wrapped up their joint work on Sunday and got ready to say goodbye. With the hatches between the two spacecraft scheduled to be sealed around midday, the crew rushed to finish activating science racks inside the new Columbus module and packing the shuttle for the ride home to Earth.

Atlantis plans to undock Monday after a nine-day visit to the international space station. Astronaut Daniel Tani — in orbit for four months — will be aboard the shuttle.

Tani expects to have mixed emotions when it comes time to leave. He moved into the space station in October and had his stay extended two months because of fuel gauge trouble that bumped Atlantis' flight from December to February.

"I love living here on the station. It's comfortable. It's fun. It's exciting. The view, of course," Tani, 47, said Saturday. "But obviously, I want to get back and see my family."

"I look forward to some odd things," he added. "I'm looking forward to putting food on a plate and eating several things at once, which you can't do up here. I'm looking forward to spitting my toothpaste out in a sink rather than swallowing it."

Tani's mission was marred by the death of his 90-year-old mother. She was killed in a car accident near Chicago just before Christmas.

He said he's putting together a tip sheet for future space station residents who might have to deal with a family tragedy while they're in orbit, essentially ways to improve communication.

Flight director Bob Dempsey said he could not be more pleased with Atlantis' visit. The two crews installed the new European lab, Columbus, and conducted three spacewalks to hook it up and do other space station chores.

"The mission has gone, by many measures of success, extremely smoothly," he said.

Atlantis and its seven-man crew will land Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, Fla., or the backup touchdown site in California. NASA and the Defense Department want them out of harm's way when the military shoots down an ailing spy satellite.

Read more at: NASA Human Space Flight

[usakos]

The news story below has absolutely nothing to do with entrepreneurs, so as the news story quoted far below.

My point of starting this thread was to point out a new emerging market in the Middle East, and as an entrepreneur, we are always trying to exploit commercially viable new ideas, anywhere in any industry; I personally do that all the time, thus pointing out and posting the news story about the sale explosion of vanity license plates in the UAE is simply for that reason.

I don't know why would anyone try to make a mockery of this thread and its purpose as it's well defined at the very top of this thread by posting a space news story that has nothing to do with us, entrepreneurs.

Kitten found after 25 days in NYC subway
Yahoo News
Sun Feb 17, 6:57 AM ET

A skittish kitten that scampered out of its carrier on a subway platform has been found after 25 days in the underground tunnels.

Transit workers tracked down 6-month old Georgia under midtown Manhattan Saturday. Police reunited her with owner Ashley Phillips, a 24-year-old Bronx librarian.

After hearing that the black cat might have been spotted below Lexington Avenue and East 55th Street, track workers Mark Dalessio and Efrain LaPorte went through the area making "meow" sounds.

Georgia responded, and they found her cowering in a drain between two tracks.

Georgia had lost some weight and scratched her nose but was otherwise unhurt. She had disappeared while Phillips was bringing her home from a veterinarian visit last month.

Shuttle prepares to undock from station
By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON, Associated Press Writer
Sun Feb 17, 8:41 AM ET

HOUSTON - The 10 astronauts aboard the linked space shuttle and space station wrapped up their joint work on Sunday and got ready to say goodbye. With the hatches between the two spacecraft scheduled to be sealed around midday, the crew rushed to finish activating science racks inside the new Columbus module and packing the shuttle for the ride home to Earth.

Atlantis plans to undock Monday after a nine-day visit to the international space station. Astronaut Daniel Tani — in orbit for four months — will be aboard the shuttle.

Tani expects to have mixed emotions when it comes time to leave. He moved into the space station in October and had his stay extended two months because of fuel gauge trouble that bumped Atlantis' flight from December to February.

"I love living here on the station. It's comfortable. It's fun. It's exciting. The view, of course," Tani, 47, said Saturday. "But obviously, I want to get back and see my family."

"I look forward to some odd things," he added. "I'm looking forward to putting food on a plate and eating several things at once, which you can't do up here. I'm looking forward to spitting my toothpaste out in a sink rather than swallowing it."

Tani's mission was marred by the death of his 90-year-old mother. She was killed in a car accident near Chicago just before Christmas.

He said he's putting together a tip sheet for future space station residents who might have to deal with a family tragedy while they're in orbit, essentially ways to improve communication.

Flight director Bob Dempsey said he could not be more pleased with Atlantis' visit. The two crews installed the new European lab, Columbus, and conducted three spacewalks to hook it up and do other space station chores.

"The mission has gone, by many measures of success, extremely smoothly," he said.

Atlantis and its seven-man crew will land Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, Fla., or the backup touchdown site in California. NASA and the Defense Department want them out of harm's way when the military shoots down an ailing spy satellite.

Read more at: NASA Human Space Flight

[jasaunders]

In the 90's, a new phenomenon explosion of new business emerged that instantly made some of the most creative minded entrepreneurs millionaires, and that was the domain name registering, buying and re-selling in the after-marketplace.

Today, there's a new explosion of emerging market in the Middle East, no, not oil, but the buying and re-selling of vanity license plates.

Read the article below and if you have money like that, go to Dubai and participate in this new lucrative emerging market.

Vanity plate sold for $14 million in UAE
Yahoo News
Sat Feb 16, 10:51 PM ET

A license plate with nothing but the number "1" on it went for a record $14 million at a charity auction Saturday.

Saeed Khouri, a member of a wealthy Abu Dhabi family, wouldn't say how many automobiles he owned or which of them might carry the record-breaking single-digit plate.

"I bought it because it's the best number," said Khouri, whose family made its fortune in real estate. "I bought it because I want to be the best in the world."

The oil-rich UAE began auctioning off vanity license plates last May.

Ordinary automobile license plates issued to drivers here — and even most other vanity series plates — carry both Arabic and Western numerals and script, defining the issuing city and country.

Khouri's plate, however, has only the Western numeral and no letters.

The record sale surpassed the $6.8 million that was paid for an Emirati license plate at an earlier auction with the Western number 5 on it — also without Arabic numerals or letters.

Proceeds from the auctions, which are held in a lavish hotel here, go to a rehabilitation center for victims of traffic accidents.

On Saturday, 90 license plates were auctioned off in all, raising a total of $24 million. The previous five such events raised more than $50 million.

Why don't you post an analysis of the articles? Or you opinions of the articles? Or why you think the authors may be right or wrong, or what you see in the future?

All you do is copy and paste. Why not add something more substantive to these threads.

[usakos]

Perhaps you may need to read the post before you rush to post your comment. Because if you do read it, then you will notice my analysis to the story posted on top of the article.

And I try to clearly mark my analysis and the article by posting the article headline in bold.

But again, may be you just can't see it, a hangover from last night may be?

Why don't you post an analysis of the articles? Or you opinions of the articles? Or why you think the authors may be right or wrong, or what you see in the future?

All you do is copy and paste. Why not add something more substantive to these threads.

[BusinessAdviser]

The news story below has absolutely nothing to do with entrepreneurs, so as the news story quoted far below.

My point of starting this thread was to point out a new emerging market in the Middle East, and as an entrepreneur, we are always trying to exploit commercially viable new ideas, anywhere in any industry; I personally do that all the time, thus pointing out and posting the news story about the sale explosion of vanity license plates in the UAE is simply for that reason.

I don't know why would anyone try to make a mockery of this thread and its purpose as it's well defined at the very top of this thread by posting a space news story that has nothing to do with us, entrepreneurs.

Kitten found after 25 days in NYC subway
Yahoo News
Sun Feb 17, 6:57 AM ET

A skittish kitten that scampered out of its carrier on a subway platform has been found after 25 days in the underground tunnels.

Transit workers tracked down 6-month old Georgia under midtown Manhattan Saturday. Police reunited her with owner Ashley Phillips, a 24-year-old Bronx librarian.

After hearing that the black cat might have been spotted below Lexington Avenue and East 55th Street, track workers Mark Dalessio and Efrain LaPorte went through the area making "meow" sounds.

Georgia responded, and they found her cowering in a drain between two tracks.

Georgia had lost some weight and scratched her nose but was otherwise unhurt. She had disappeared while Phillips was bringing her home from a veterinarian visit last month.

A "mockery?" Space travel is now becoming a commercial endeavor. I was merely pointing out a news article describing what we will each soon be able to do as a result of this interesting, emerging business area, just as you did with regard to vanity license plate sales.

For more, see: Virgin Galactic : INTRO

Is there something wrong with me doing so?

(*I edited the post to provide an intro to explain its relevance to entrepreneurs, in case it wasn't immediately apparent.)

[jasaunders]

Sorry, I don't see any intelligible analysis, only three sentences to introduce an article.

[BusinessAdviser]

Perhaps you may need to read the post before you rush to post your comment. Because if you do read it, then you will notice my analysis to the story posted on top of the article.

And I try to clearly mark my analysis and the article by posting the article headline in bold.

But again, may be you just can't see it, a hangover from last night may be?

Where is the analysis of the article?

I see a proposed reason (or at least a prima facie relation to entrepreneurial interest) for posting it:

"In the 90's, a new phenomenon explosion of new business emerged that instantly made some of the most creative minded entrepreneurs millionaires, and that was the domain name registering, buying and re-selling in the after-marketplace.

Today, there's a new explosion of emerging market in the Middle East, no, not oil, but the buying and re-selling of vanity license plates.

Read the article below and if you have money like that, go to Dubai and participate in this new lucrative emerging market."

But I don't see any analysis of the article or topic. As Josh also observed, it appears to just be an introduction to a news story.

(Oh, and I went to a winetasting yesterday. Even though I'm not hungover, maybe that's why I'm missing your analysis of the article.)

[usakos]

I love these forums very very much, you know why, because they are filled with "very intelligent and high achieving" people.

If you want to know something, anything, whatever it is, just ask them, but make sure whatever you ask them is "intelligible".

[BusinessAdviser]

I love these forums very very much, you know why, because they are filled with "very intelligent and high achieving" people.

If you want to know something, anything, whatever it is, just ask them, but make sure whatever you ask them is "intelligible".

I agree. I think YE is great! Where else can you find a such great group of like-minded individuals, each with unique dreams, abilities, and experiences, working together with a common interest?! Nice observation, Usakos, and thanks, YE!

[OnTheWayUp]

Here we go again...