Was anyone into vanity phone numbers? (2.Viewing)

I found a YellowPages book from the 90s while cleaning out a garage this weekend. Used flip through it as an excuse to take a break... I came across an ad for vanity phone numbers which I thought was pretty neat since they reminded me somewhat of domains. There seem to be a few notable sales. 800-888-8888 for $1.7 million, 800-HOLIDAY and 800-TAXICAB for high six-figures.

So, was anyone here ever into, or is still into, vanity phone numbers?

I seem them on work vans occasionally

This is how the old-school guys (like the Domain King) got into domains - they had been selling vanity 1-800 numbers and the market starting changing towards domains and websites, so with the obvious parallels, they were perfectly positioned to make the shift from phone to online business.

I always knew Rick did from his blog posts, but I never realized how many of the "old school" domain investors also started out in the vanity phone number business. This was like a lot of major shifts - those very close to the epicenter had the best chance to recognize the trends, get in early, and then truly maximize their returns.

A broker friend of mine who handles the purchase and sale of 1-800 numbers (or other toll-free numbers, not sure about the specifics) told me that most of the unsold inventory is still in the hands of one person, an entrepreneur who is really challenging to deal with. (Not Rick, someone not involved in the domain world.) Anyway, my broker friend's point was that doing deals on toll-free numbers is way more difficult than doing domain deals.

BillSweetman said:

A broker friend of mine who handles the purchase and sale of 1-800 numbers (or other toll-free numbers, not sure about the specifics) told me that most of the unsold inventory is still in the hands of one person, an entrepreneur who is really challenging to deal with. (Not Rick, someone not involved in the domain world.) Anyway, my broker friend's point was that doing deals on toll-free numbers is way more difficult than doing domain deals.

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even if its not Rick, my guess is it's an old guy from florida.

I knew one guy who also bought up boat slips in Florida. Big money in leasing those out too. Probably way easier to evict someone and they can't really destroy it like they can a condo or house.