This blog post explains the methods I would use if I was a private individual with a personalised number plate for sale. I am making the information available as I do not have enough time to reply personally to everyone who contacts Simply Registrations asking for advice on this very subject. I bought and sold cherished number plates for a few years prior to starting a business as a number plate dealer, so hopefully you will benefit from my experience.
If you haven’t got time to read the entire post, here is a summary:
- Advertise via several prominent cherished number plate dealers
- Use free classified ad newspapers and websites
- Consider listing on Ebay
- Post in car-related chat forums
- Spread the word using social media
- Use the work noticeboard
- Put a sign in your car window
One final thing before you go, please remember to keep your DVLA certificate numbers confidential.
The rest of the guide goes in to a bit more detail about the selling options available to you.
The first thing I would do if I had a private number plate to sell would be to contact several of the more prominent personalised registration dealers. Dealers will offer your registration for sale on a commission basis. It is a bit like using an estate agent to sell your house; the dealer does not buy your registration – they advertise it for sale on your behalf. They earn their sales commission only when they find a buyer, so it is in their best interest to try and find you a buyer quickly.
Which cherished number dealer(s) you choose will have an effect on how much exposure your registration receives. Ideally you want to go for companies who regularly advertise in motoring magazines and whose websites are easily found in the major search engines. Also make sure they advertise registrations belonging to their clients and not just their own stock. You may feel more comfortable choosing a company who is a member of one of the trade organisations overseeing the cherished numbers industry.
One very easy way of getting some attention for your personalised registration is to make use of the free classified ad websites and newspapers. A quick search in Google for the search term ‘free ads’ returns lots of useful websites including; Gumtree, Freeads, UK Classifieds, Preloved and Viva Street. You need to register for an account which generally involves choosing a username and a password. Also call in at your local newsagent and check which newspapers (with free classified listings) are popular in your region. By listing on their websites you may find your advert automatically appears in the printed versions of their publications.
The Plate-Trader.com website gives buyers & sellers of cherished number plates the opportunity to deal direct with each other. There is a free seven-day trial currently available to all new advertisers. As the name suggests; Plate-Trader only carries adverts for personalised number plates, so within a couple of clicks any potential buyers could be viewing your advert.
You have probably heard of Ebay, but you may not be aware that the UK’s most visited internet auction site has a very good Cherished Numbers Section. Unlike the free classified ad websites there is a small cost to list on Ebay, but considering the amount of visitors Ebay receives on a daily basis, it may be a cost worth paying. You need to be careful whenever you are dealing with strangers via any of the advertising methods mentioned in this guide. Unfortunately fraudsters are known to operate on Ebay so make sure you know how to protect yourself.
There are lots of car and motorbike-related forums on the internet with many aimed at specific vehicles or brands. If the private number plate you have for sale contains a model name such as: BMW, 911 or ZXR, it makes perfect sense to list on a forum populated by owners and fans of that exact model. Again you will most likely have to set up a free account before you can start contributing to the hot topics.
Rather than just spamming the forums with posts about the registration plate you want to sell, join in with some of the online debates and discussions first. Some people are very protective of their online communities and object to members who join purely to advertise items for sale. Always look for the ‘items for sale’ thread in the forum you are considering.
With the average Facebook user spending thirty minutes a day on the social networking site, it makes sense to include Facebook in your number plate advertising strategy. Start off with a post on your own profile to make your friends aware that you are selling a number plate. Always include details of the registration along with the asking price. Encourage your friends to spread the word by adding ‘please share’ to your post. You could offer to pay a finders fee as an added incentive if it results in a successful sale.
Next, list your plate on the Buy & Sell Private Reg Plates group on Facebook. As part of this strategy you could also post on the Facebook pages set up by personalised number plate companies. Again give something back by clicking the ‘Like’ button on the dealer Facebook pages you use. Visit the Simply Registrations Facebook page to get started and if you can, include a photo with your post to make it stand out.
Twitter may not be as popular as Facebook in the UK, but it still has millions of active tweeters on a daily basis. You can tweet on your own profile and you can tweet to the major dealers. You may be lucky enough to get a retweet. Encourage this by adding ‘please RT’ to your tweet. Most dealers provide a link to their social media pages from their own websites. Go to the Simply Registrations Twitter page.
Is there a noticeboard where you work? Why not pin a ‘for sale’ notice to it and let your colleagues know you have a private plate for sale? When I was just getting started with Simply Registrations I took a part-time job at a call centre which had over a thousand employees working in the same building. I always made sure I had at least one advert pinned to the notice board.
Finally, you could try putting a small sign in one of the rear passenger windows of your car. This is ideal if the number plate you are selling is currently registered to your car. Obviously don’t place a sign in an area of the glass where it could block your view.
Hopefully you should now have a few ideas as to how to go about selling your private number plate. To help you get started here is a list of number plate dealer websites provided by the DVLA.
I have written a blog post which goes into a bit more detail about how to decide which company you should choose to handle the selling of your personalised number plate.
Disclaimer: The information in this guide is provided for entertainment purposes only. Simply Registrations is not responsible for any loss or inconvenience encountered as a result of acting on the above information. Simply Registrations is not responsible for the availability, accuracy or content of other linked websites.
Police Warning to Motorists who Film Crash Scenes whilst Driving
Northamptonshire Police may have inadvertently discovered a way to catch motorists using mobile phones whilst driving. A crash on the M1 in June earlier this year caused part of the motorway to be closed for most of the day. Part of the rescue operation involved an injured lorry driver being cut free from her vehicle by the emergency services. Motorists on the opposite carriageway were seen filming the event on mobile phones and digital cameras as they drove past the scene.
Realising what was happening and aware of the potential for further crashes, police quickly set up a camera of their own to capture the crazy antics of the amateur film-makers on the opposite side of the motorway. As a result, eighty warning letters were sent out to the registered keepers of the offending vehicles. No one was prosecuted by the police; however some drivers of company vehicles are now facing disciplinary action from their employers.
This is not the first time cameras have been turned on motorists in an attempt to highlight consequential motoring offences. After setting up a mobile speed camera, Lancashire Police filmed drivers travelling away from the speed trap ‘misusing their headlights’ as they warned oncoming traffic of the police presence. Almost as many motorists were caught for flashing their headlights as were caught for speeding offences.
Some road users have suggested we could see new tactics being deployed by the police to deter motorists from filming whilst driving past accident scenes. It could become standard procedure for the police to set up recording equipment at the scene of a crash to film passing traffic. Surely most drivers would welcome this move? It is incredibly frustrating being held up in traffic, only to discover that the delays were caused by vehicles slowing down to have a look at an incident on the other side of the road.
Northamptonshire Police believes it is the first force in the country to take this sort of action against motorists caught using mobile phones whilst driving. It may not be the last time we hear of cameras being used in this way to issue warnings or even fixed penalty notices.
Unlucky for Some – 13 Registrations Announcement from DVLA
Following suggestions from the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) that the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) were to offer superstitious car buyers the option of a 62 plate alternative, we decided to seek clarification. I sent a tweet to the official Twitter channel of the DVLA:
We didn’t have to wait long for a reply:
So this seems to confirm the current situation. There is no mention of any plans to accommodate superstitious buyers by offering them an alternative to the ‘13’ number plate. Some commentators have pointed out that DVLA could use the situation to promote sales of their off-the-shelf £250 Personalised Registrations. If you want a new car between 1st March 2013 and 31st August 2013, buy a private number plate to avoid having your car labelled ‘unlucky 13’.
I wonder if we will we ever find out whether the DVLA were indeed looking into alternatives for 13 registrations? There are seven months to go until the launch of the 13 registration series. That provides plenty of time for more speculation and I am sure we haven’t heard the last of this story yet.
How to Sell a Private Number Plate
This blog post explains the methods I would use if I was a private individual with a personalised number plate for sale. I am making the information available as I do not have enough time to reply personally to everyone who contacts Simply Registrations asking for advice on this very subject. I bought and sold cherished number plates for a few years prior to starting a business as a number plate dealer, so hopefully you will benefit from my experience.
If you haven’t got time to read the entire post, here is a summary:
One final thing before you go, please remember to keep your DVLA certificate numbers confidential.
The rest of the guide goes in to a bit more detail about the selling options available to you.
The first thing I would do if I had a private number plate to sell would be to contact several of the more prominent personalised registration dealers. Dealers will offer your registration for sale on a commission basis. It is a bit like using an estate agent to sell your house; the dealer does not buy your registration – they advertise it for sale on your behalf. They earn their sales commission only when they find a buyer, so it is in their best interest to try and find you a buyer quickly.
Which cherished number dealer(s) you choose will have an effect on how much exposure your registration receives. Ideally you want to go for companies who regularly advertise in motoring magazines and whose websites are easily found in the major search engines. Also make sure they advertise registrations belonging to their clients and not just their own stock. You may feel more comfortable choosing a company who is a member of one of the trade organisations overseeing the cherished numbers industry.
One very easy way of getting some attention for your personalised registration is to make use of the free classified ad websites and newspapers. A quick search in Google for the search term ‘free ads’ returns lots of useful websites including; Gumtree, Freeads, UK Classifieds, Preloved and Viva Street. You need to register for an account which generally involves choosing a username and a password. Also call in at your local newsagent and check which newspapers (with free classified listings) are popular in your region. By listing on their websites you may find your advert automatically appears in the printed versions of their publications.
The Plate-Trader.com website gives buyers & sellers of cherished number plates the opportunity to deal direct with each other. There is a free seven-day trial currently available to all new advertisers. As the name suggests; Plate-Trader only carries adverts for personalised number plates, so within a couple of clicks any potential buyers could be viewing your advert.
There are lots of car and motorbike-related forums on the internet with many aimed at specific vehicles or brands. If the private number plate you have for sale contains a model name such as: BMW, 911 or ZXR, it makes perfect sense to list on a forum populated by owners and fans of that exact model. Again you will most likely have to set up a free account before you can start contributing to the hot topics.
Rather than just spamming the forums with posts about the registration plate you want to sell, join in with some of the online debates and discussions first. Some people are very protective of their online communities and object to members who join purely to advertise items for sale. Always look for the ‘items for sale’ thread in the forum you are considering.
With the average Facebook user spending thirty minutes a day on the social networking site, it makes sense to include Facebook in your number plate advertising strategy. Start off with a post on your own profile to make your friends aware that you are selling a number plate. Always include details of the registration along with the asking price. Encourage your friends to spread the word by adding ‘please share’ to your post. You could offer to pay a finders fee as an added incentive if it results in a successful sale.
Next, list your plate on the Buy & Sell Private Reg Plates group on Facebook. As part of this strategy you could also post on the Facebook pages set up by personalised number plate companies. Again give something back by clicking the ‘Like’ button on the dealer Facebook pages you use. Visit the Simply Registrations Facebook page to get started and if you can, include a photo with your post to make it stand out.
Is there a noticeboard where you work? Why not pin a ‘for sale’ notice to it and let your colleagues know you have a private plate for sale? When I was just getting started with Simply Registrations I took a part-time job at a call centre which had over a thousand employees working in the same building. I always made sure I had at least one advert pinned to the notice board.
Finally, you could try putting a small sign in one of the rear passenger windows of your car. This is ideal if the number plate you are selling is currently registered to your car. Obviously don’t place a sign in an area of the glass where it could block your view.
Hopefully you should now have a few ideas as to how to go about selling your private number plate. To help you get started here is a list of number plate dealer websites provided by the DVLA.
I have written a blog post which goes into a bit more detail about how to decide which company you should choose to handle the selling of your personalised number plate.
Disclaimer: The information in this guide is provided for entertainment purposes only. Simply Registrations is not responsible for any loss or inconvenience encountered as a result of acting on the above information. Simply Registrations is not responsible for the availability, accuracy or content of other linked websites.
Personalised Number Plate – 80 PN
We carry on the feature of profiling the personalised number plates available for sale from our stock with the registration 80 PN.
As explained when we first started the profile feature, your reasons for owning a specific registration are very personal to you. What we are hoping to achieve with the personalised number plate profiles is to give you some information about each unique registration we are offering, with a little bit of number plate history thrown in for good measure.
The registration 80 PN was released and sold at auction by DVLA earlier this month, so it is brand new into stock. The original PN registrations (with letters before the numbers) were issued in West Sussex between 1927 and 1932. For this reason you would expect to a pay a higher price for PN 80 than you might pay for 80 PN.
You tend to find that people place a higher value on personalised registrations containing the lower numbers up to and including thirty-one. The main factor here being each number up to thirty-one represents a day in the month. Phil Nixon born on the 15th of May 1980 would have more reason to own 15 PN than say 84 PN. The next best alternative for Phil is to go with his year of birth. In this case 80 PN would be a great registration for Phil, or indeed anyone with the initials PN born in 1980.
Please note; the personalised registration 80 PN has sold and is no longer available.
Call James on 0113 288 7553 if you have any questions in relation to any of the personalised number plates we are offering for sale.
Cherished Number Plate Transfers – Educating the Motor Trade
I am currently sorting a cherished number plate transfer for my brother who is in the process of buying a newer car. The task is straightforward enough; to transfer his personalised registration from his current car to the car he is buying. It is a task I perform on a regular basis, but sometimes I come up against main dealer administration departments who tell me it can not be done.
I have decided to detail the process just in case any other motorists are faced with the same situation and feel they must bow down to the superior knowledge of the main dealer. Just to say; I appreciate that car dealerships specialise in selling cars, but I would like to think that handling a cherished number plate transfer correctly on behalf of a client is part of the service.
Yesterday I received a telephone call from my brother Dan, advising he has found the car he has been searching for; a two-year-old BMW M3 Monte Carlo. Dan asked if I could sort the transfer of his ‘DAN’ private number plate from his current car to his new car. He had just got back from Sidcup in Kent having made the journey to view the car and had signed on the dotted line to secure his new toy.
A cherished transfer involves transferring a registration directly from one vehicle to another for a fee of £80 payable to the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). A form called a V317 Application to transfer or retain a vehicle registration number is filled out and submitted to DVLA in Swansea, along with both sets of vehicle documents.
I already have the vehicle documents for Dan’s current car, but needed to get hold of the V5C Registration Certificate (logbook) for his new car. Dan made a call to his contact at the dealership who told him they are not allowed to release the V5C. This is fairly standard practice as the dealership is required by law to notify the DVLA of the new keeper details.
I rang the dealership and explained that I was handling the transfer of Dan’s private number plate and wanted to submit the transfer application to the DVLA. The change of keeper notification can be processed at the same time. Usually this is acceptable to most main dealers and they send the documents direct to Simply Registrations at our registered address.
Speeding up Cherished Number Plate Transfers
Just to explain the reason behind the request; if the main dealer had sent the change of keeper notification to DVLA, Dan would have to wait a couple of weeks or so to get his hands on the new V5C logbook. He is eager to get the registration transfer completed as quickly as possible for two reasons; first, he wants to sell his current car (which needs a replacement registration) and second, he wants to get his private number plate displayed on his new car as soon as he can.
Unfortunately the dealership refused to release the V5C. The reason given was that the V5C shows the name and address of the customer (who part-exchanged the BMW M3 for a Range Rover) and it was sensitive information. This is a bit silly really as a V5C states the name and address of the previous registered keeper anyway. To resolve the situation the dealership suggested we send them the completed transfer application which they would submit to the DVLA on our behalf.
Taxing Situation
The completed application was sent by special delivery to the dealership as requested. Dan then received a call to say the transfer could not be lodged as the car he is buying needed to be taxed first. Again I spoke to the dealership and explained what actually happens when you apply to tax a vehicle whilst transferring a cherished number plate at the same time. Here is the procedure:
The DVLA issue a tax disc showing the current vehicle registration mark, i.e. LL59 JWX. The car is then legally licensed to be driven on the road. When the cherished transfer is processed a replacement tax disc is issued with the same expiry date. This new tax disc (showing the cherished number) should be displayed on the car when the new number plates are fitted.
Personal Service
The lady at the dealership explained she would personally go to the DVLA Local Office* (rather than sending a driver) to ensure that everything went to plan. I asked her to call me if there were any difficulties to which she happily agreed. All being well Dan will be collecting his new car from the dealership in the next couple of days.
*All DVLA Local Offices permanently closed in the autumn of 2013. Personalised registration applications should be sent to DVLA, Swansea SA99 1DS.
I wonder how many other motorists have faced the same situation as Dan and simply accepted what they were being told? Okay, it is not a disaster to have to wait a few extra weeks to get your cherished number on your new car and to have to wait to sell your old car, but it should not have to happen.
Understanding DVLA Procedures
So what is the point I am trying to make here? It is that employees should be correctly educated on how associated processes, such as cherished number plate transfers, should be handled. I am sure as a main agent for Land Rover, this particular dealership must receive lots of cherished transfer requests on behalf of their customers. Surely at least one person within an administration department should have a thorough understanding of DVLA systems and procedures?
Considering that many DVLA Local Office employees will be out of work soon if the plan to close the DVLA regional network goes ahead, many car dealerships would be wise to take on a new member of staff with inside knowledge of DVLA applications. If you get it wrong when submitting paperwork to DVLA Swansea, you may have to wait days, possibly weeks, just to learn that your application has been rejected. That could be very costly for a car retailer if vehicles are sat in showrooms waiting for the correct documentation to be received before they can indeed be sold.
PLEASE NOTE: Since this article was written DVLA has introduced several online services making the process of transferring a registration much quicker & easier.