There are approximately sixty million personalised number plates for sale in the UK at any one time. Some are very inexpensive and, conversely, some are extremely expensive. What they all have in common though is that they all have a price on them. That’s obvious you might say, but many of the prices have been set by the owners of the registrations themselves and, consequently, they are grossly overpriced. Some registrations remain on sale for many years because they haven’t been priced competitively. There’s an old saying “Its only worth what someone is willing to pay for it” and in the case of private number plates that statement is never truer.
In fact, that statement is substantiated even more in the case of number plates that are sold at auction. An auction sale price is much more justified when it’s considered that it’s sold to the highest bidder on that particular day. The sale price cannot be questioned. DVLA Auction price history is readily available so as a bidder, you should make sure that you have done your homework thoroughly in order to have a knowledge of what’s considered to be a fair price to pay. Bear in mind certain factors when bidding. The letters in some combinations are very popular such as SB, JM, AS, DC etc and names like TOM and JON will attract premium prices but they should still be well below retail prices that are found on number plate websites. Likewise, certain numbers in the plate combinations are much more attractive than others. Repetitive numbers, round numbers and year of birth dates are in much more demand than nondescript numbers so they too will attract a heftier price.
So, the question is, “Should you consider buying a personalised number plate at auction. The simple answer is yes. You have nothing to lose. If your winning bid is well below the current retail price of a similar combination you will have made a big saving. If not, you can always wait until the next DVLA auction which is always just round the corner, or you could bite the bullet and buy one that’s available from a number plate dealer at that point. You can always use the previous auction prices as a bargaining tool when buying “of the shelf” as it were.
Its also worth noting that you don’t have to use the number plate on a vehicle straight away. You can keep your purchase on a retention certificate or certificate of entitlement for up to 10 years before using it. This makes it a great investment for a future occasion such as loved ones birthday in the future.
Auction Buying Tips
- Before bidding, check historical prices. This will give you a basic indication of how much the registration should sell for. Check similar registrations online in case you over bid.
- Check similar registrations online in case you over bid.
- Set your price and stick to it. Remember there are over sixty million registrations available so something else is very likely to become available if you miss out.
- If you are bidding through our website, make sure you place an early bid as the registration is instantly removed from our website to give you the very best chance to secure it. We will not bid for multiple clients as that constitutes a conflict of interest.
- Read the terms and conditions carefully as once your bid has been placed, you will have entered a legal contract and obligation to complete if you win the registration.