How to Make Money from Personalised Number Plates
Private number plates have become increasingly popular since the early 1990’s. Celebrities along with the wealthy and famous have helped to increase their popularity in combination with their affordability driven by the DVLA prefix style numbers. The craze for personalized number plates is ever increasing and you can make money from their increasing popularity.
=== What Determines the Value of a Number Plate? ===
# Name related number plates are the most popular and the most sought after, closely followed by people’s name initials. In choosing a private number plate as an investment you need to identify the most popular names and the most popular initials for people. It is not widely known but the most popular initials are JB in the United Kingdom.
# Dateless number plates are the most prestigious and sought after by people with the largest sums of money available to invest. The very early combinations from 1904 are rapidly increasing in value and there are several examples of single letter, single digit combinations demanding £millions at auction.
# The history of a number plate adds value to the number, particularly if the number plate has been owned by someone rich or famous or if the number has been assigned to a famous vehicle with iconic meaning to the public. You need to research the history of a number plate to see if there is history that increases its value.
# The shorter the number the more valuable the number plate. Less is more when it comes to private number plates and the more distinctive the number is due to its shortness the more money it will attract from investors.
# The number of permutations available is an indicator of the supply volumes. In essence there are only two registration plates with the number 1 when it comes to a dateless number plate with either two or three letters, whereas other random numbers are more readily available. The lower the supply volume for a specific format then the higher the value.
# The degree to which a number plate represents someone’s name and the accuracy of the number plate to the name is a factor that increases the value. As an example DAV 1D is worth more than DAV 11D as the combination of number and letters is an exact match with the spelling of the name DAVID.
=== How to Maximise Your Return ===
# In selling your private number plate you need to ensure you know its true value in the market place. In order to do this you need to have the number plate valued by a trusted and reputable broker with an appropriate level of experience in valuing number plates.
# When selling your number plate you need to safeguard against losing entitlement to the registration without receiving the money from the buyer. In order to ensure you are not exposed to this risk you need to familiarise yourself with the DVLA Cherished Transfer Regulations or you need to employ the services of a reputable broker.
# Marketing you number plate will be key to ensuring you maximise your return at sale and you need to consider all of the options available and the pros and cons of each method.
* You can market with a recognised and trusted broker
* You can market through online portals such as ebay or facebook
* You can advertise in the National Press or Local Press
# You may need to be flexible with your pricing as the cherished number plate market is a market where offers are made below the asking price and being flexible when considering offers can be crucial in making a return at the right time. If you leave the number plate on the market for too long it can reduce the value.
== Tips ==
* Have your Number Plate Valued by a Reputable Broker with Experience
* Know and Understand the risks of Selling the Number Plate yourself
* Market your Number Plate where you know the Price you will achieve will be Higher
* Be Flexible with your Price and avoid Marketing the Number Plate for too Long
== Warnings ==
* Do not transfer the number plate to the buyers vehicle or provide the V778 retention document to the Buyer before you have received payment from the Buyer
* Do not share the details of the V778 retention document or the V5C registration certificate for the vehicle with anyone other than a recognised and reputable number plate broker.
