News for Aug. 03, 2000

What LOTR numberplates scam?

8/03/00, 9:26 pm EST - Tehanu

I've had an email or two on that. Well, last year somebody noticed a car with the 'Sauron' licence plate. Now, I think that vanity plates are a stupid idea, but on the other hand, other people seem to think they're worth buying. So I jumped on that bandwagon as quick as I could, narrowly beating out another buyer who had dibs on the same names. My recent correspondent mentions that his friend with the Sauron plate has been offered $6000 by an investor. Meanwhile the Mighty Orc Hunter has come up with the stats on vanity plate sales, showing a slight increase in the sales of LOTR-themed plates in the last two years. Before the last two years, most of the plates sold were as likely to be Hobbit or Silmarillion-related, like 'ARDA' or 'SMAUG', but things like 'ORC' and 'MORDOR' and LOTR character names are suddenly very popular this year and last.