One man, Gino Bertuccio of Miami, had paid $34,000 for a ticket (usual cost: about $1,000) at an online auction just for this moment, the Dreamliners much anticipated commercial debut.
To try Michelin-starred chefs and popular menus at a fraction of the usual cost, why not book a trip over a destination's restaurant week?
"By selling on a cost-plus basis, instead of based on how much is invested, we can run these plans at a fraction of the usual cost and still make a nice profit," says Chief Executive Greg Carpenter.
"Costs in this industry are way out of line," says Gregory Carpenter, chief executive of Employee Fiduciary, a firm that runs 401(k) plans at a fraction of the usual cost (see box, p. 138).
Alexander McQueen shirts, for example, went for $100 — outside my price range but a fraction of their usual cost; women's clothing and shoes from similarly fancy brands were usually at least 75 percent off as well.
This fellowship program offers active Phase II Small Business Innovation Research SBIRR) participating companies the opportunity to attract top scientific and technological talent at a fraction of the usual cost.
That means that they can be precisely created for whoever is wearing them, but at a fraction of the usual cost.
That is because acquired companies often continue to be run as distinct firms within a firm, and the usual cost savings from laying off staff do not materialise because Japanese firms rarely sack people.
In comparison, the construction cost for the two eight-metre Gemini telescopes in Hawaii is $184m, and the 4.2-metre Southern Astronomical Research telescope being built in Brazil will cost $28m.The ability to construct large telescopes for a fraction of the usual cost could transform astronomy.
George Bishop, president of Get Real Surfaces, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., which fabricated counters, tabletops and an elaborate bathtub to the couple's specifications, charged about a tenth of the usual cost, he said, largely because he was so taken with the couple.
Softbank has announced plans for a rollout of mobile Internet phones, offering wireless at what will be a fraction of its usual cost.
