What does 867-5309 call now? Apparently, DJ is still waiting for sale – if not call – to be completed

Over the last several weeks, news outlets have been abuzz about the eBay sale of the 201 area code version of the phone number made famous by the 1980s rocker Tommy Tutone in the song “867-5309/Jenny.”
Weehawken Disc Jockey Spencer Potter had the number for five years as the contact for his business, A Blast Entertainment. Recently, he decided to sell it because he was moving to New York.
Potter was assigned the number by the Vonage phone company, which gave him permission to transfer the number as part of the sale of his DJ business, according to a report from CNN. The number had to go along with the business because telephone numbers are owned by the phone company, and cannot be sold by individuals.

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“I’m unable to interview until after payment has been received by the winning bidder.” – Spencer Potter
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Potter had told the New York Times in January he was hoping to make enough money to backpack through Europe for two months, and initially predicted that the number would only sell for as much as $50,000.
However, due to the attention the eBay auction caused, bids for the number and business reached up to six figures in a matter of days, topping $200,000.

Have you called Jenny yet?

Potter postponed several interviews with the Reporter in the last few weeks, saying he had to wait for the final sale to go through. “I’m unable to interview until after payment has been received by the winning bidder,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Earlier this week, a call to the 867-5309 number still reached Potter’s voicemail message for his company, featuring the Jenny song.
On Friday, a call to the number resulted in a female automated voice saying, “This mailbox is full and cannot accept new messages at this time.”
The winning buyer of the number and business was an anonymous eBay user with a “Power Seller” rating.
Potter had said in an article that the 201 area code number was one of the last working versions available in the U.S., because many area codes no longer supported the number due to its popularity.
A No.1 hit on the rock charts in 1982 and a No.4 of the Billboards Hot 100 list, “867-5309/Jenny” was written by Alex Call and Jim Keller, and was released by Columbia Records on the album Tommy Tutone 2.
The instant hit caused a fad of people calling the fictional number – which had dozens of valid North American area codes – and asking for Jenny.

Jessica Rosero may be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com.

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