I would like a short number but going to the FAA site, I cant give them a combo of starting range and trailing characters that works. Any ideas? Maybe my browser is not allowing it.
I would like a short number but going to the FAA site, I cant give them a combo of starting range and trailing characters that works. Any ideas? Maybe my browser is not allowing it.
Ah, rent-seeking!
Indeed. I'm glad I obtained my short N-number before this guy came along.
i'd love to change my registration but im apprehensive about the paperwork.
Reminds me of the beginning of the commercialization of the internet. I ran an internet service provider and we had this customer who would 'hostage' domain names. I can remember him having carlsjr.com, lakings.com and a few other prominent names. Carls Jr came looking for theirs and he told them $5000. They didn't like that and fired up their lawyers and the courts sided with them. That pretty much ended that business idea.
I'll bet that if the FAA took a closer look at this, they would not be too thrilled with it.
What Sean (a brother VAF member) is doing with short-n-numbers.com is neither illegal, immoral or a scam. He has simply bought a cheap commodity and is re marketing it to folks like us who might put a higher value on it. I inquired about a number and did a little negotiating with him, but it ended up being a little too rich for my blood. If someone else wants to purchase that number for their price, then (as my Aussie brothers say) good on them.
But let's not excoriate Sean for plying his legal business.
Peace and love,
Steve
I respectfully disagree.
What Sean (a brother VAF member) is doing with short-n-numbers.com is neither illegal, immoral or a scam.
Peace and love,
Steve
Yup
I'll give you illegal, but morality...? Too subjective. People have different tolerances for what they're able to do and still sleep at night. Some would say smart, some slimy. I'll vote for the later...
Just speculation, nothing new. Happened with web addresses many years ago but with much bigger bucks than we are talking here. Had a friend tell me last week he was having his Cessna repainted. It seems a gentleman was interested enough in his tail number that he paid to repaint the plane for him.
"All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing".
Want to put him out of business? Just don't buy anything from him. He still has to pay the small reservation fee, he'll drop the business if it loses money.
Personally I don't need any particular N number so badly that I'd support this version of free enterprise.
But let's not excoriate Sean for plying his legal business.
The paperwork was really not that difficult. I got lucky about 7 years ago, and found exactly what I wanted. A few letters, forms, and just a couple of Washington's, and it was a done deal. Probably one of the easier interactions with the FAA that I have experienced.
my preferred number was available direct from the FAA and not any third party gouger and reserved it.. now to figure out how to change it all. fun!!
Plenty of easy to say and cool sounding N- Numbers available. Go thru the FAA site and do some searching , might even find another 666 or triple something . . "Triple Six Tango Alpha "
Free enterprise is about finding ways to add value to benefit others and get rewarded for your ability to make their life better.through selling your product or service that does this. This leads to better lives far all, respect from others and self respect.
This here, well it's just sleazy. No value add, no respect from others, no self respect.
Tim
And to add to it, it's not really a "free market", either...since N-numbers are required by law.
Too bad the FAA doesn't have some control over this...it'd be easy enough, just pass a rule that nobody can charge more to "sell" an n-number than they charge to issue them.
Since they won't...I wonder how many n-numbers are actually currently available? At 10 bucks a pop, it might not take much to get them *all* and be guaranteed a tidy profit.
EXACTLY! I found my number that way "Eight One Niner Papa Romeo". Not the 1st number I wanted but still a cool number to me.
This is just Supply & Demand in action. If you want THAT specific number be prepared to pay. Otherwise just get another available number and let him keep speculating that someone will eventually pay for it. Besides, I have seen too many people go bankrupt while speculating on a business idea like this. The market will decide if this was a good or bad idea.
I reserved one the other day (NOT a short one) which is not exactly what I wanted, but it is really close. I reserved it from the FAA site. It still fits the theme I wanted. Now waiting to get the official FAA letter.
The fact that people can reserve numbers and sell the rights to them is not a problem other than that as someone else said here, they are required. Don't hate the player; hate the game. It's the same in every regulated industry. The problem is the regulation, not the people who follow it.
Yea, but this dude isn't following the regulation, he is exploiting the regulation for profit...come to think of it, that sounds a bit like trading carbon credits...hmmm .
Tim
I reserved one the other day (NOT a short one) which is not exactly what I wanted, but it is really close. I reserved it from the FAA site. It still fits the theme I wanted. Now waiting to get the official FAA letter.
The fact that people can reserve numbers and sell the rights to them is not a problem other than that as someone else said here, they are required. Don't hate the player; hate the game. It's the same in every regulated industry. The problem is the regulation, not the people who follow it.
Wow, what a profitable enterprise, why didn't I think of this! If you owned ALL of those available, maybe $1000 would be a good price, then again what the heck, if you owned all of them why not more like $10,000 each. Quite obviously there is no law against doing just that.
You mean the *lack* of regulation, don't you? Because there's really no lower level of regulation here available (the requirement to have an N-number is about as simple as they get, right)?
well thanks for shedding some light on this. now EVERYONE is screwed because I just purchased all of the remaining N-numbers, every last one. I am selling the first N-number for 10 million dollars and the remaining for 1 dollar each.
Yes, and even that simple layer of regulation can be gamed. The fact o the registration requirement creates the opportunity.
What Sean (a brother VAF member) is doing with short-n-numbers.com
But let's not excoriate Sean
Steve
MR.......
N-numbers can be reserved by the public as long as they are available to reserve. We have no regulation to limit how many numbers an individual or corporation may reserve. As long as they keep paying the required reservation and/or renewal fee, we will reserve the number.
Thank you
tms