Read about the latest industry comment and breaking number plates news.

The Latest Number Plates News from Simply Registrations

Apologies for the lack of blog posts recently, it has been all go at Simply Registrations. If you prefer short and sweet news updates rather than our lengthy blog posts, you can follow @JamesSaperia on Twitter for regular motoring and car registration news updates.

Sales of private number plates have been healthy in the past few weeks. Our latest VAT quarter ended on 30th September and we managed to complete the sales of both 7 CJN and 9 BJR just before the deadline. Other notable registration sales from stock include 10 BAS, 5 JDF and 97 GB. We are now eagerly looking for quality personalised plates to buy for stock and have offers pending. The one I really want to buy is a rare single-digit ‘SG’ registration from the 1920’s. We have made a strong offer which should result in a deal being concluded shortly.

The majority of our sales enquiries arrive as emails and also via the contact form on the simplyregistrations.co.uk website. As a consequence a large chunk of our marketing budget is now spent keeping the website up-to-date and making improvements where necessary. We recently upgraded our hosting package which should mean a much faster browsing experience for all of our website visitors.

Simply Registrations sales flyer

We are also very fortunate to receive quite a lot of business by way of recommendation. Many of our happy clients have friends and associates on the lookout for unique personalised number plates. To help spread the word we have just had some new promotional flyers printed as they seem to get a better response than simply handing out business cards. If you would like a few flyers to handout to your friends or customers please get in touch.

It has been a long time since Simply Registrations paid for any advertisements in printed media such as car magazines or motoring sections of newspapers. However, there are some cracking rates available on advertising space right now. We have taken a half-page advert in Top Marques Magazine which will be on sale from the 23rd of October. Rather than just listing columns of registrations in tiny print, we have tried to make our advert a little bit different with the aim of attracting visitors to our website. Pick up a copy of Top Marques Magazine in a couple of weeks time and let us know what you think.

We are also working on a press release which highlights the power of networking and referrals in business. The sale of the private number plate 7 CLS to a partner in an accountancy firm in South Yorkshire led to several new clients being introduced to Simply Registrations. Subsequently three South Yorkshire based business owners have now added the finishing touch to their cars (with our help of course) and a new working relationship with a prestige car retailer has been formed. The first joint-deal with the car retailer was completed a couple of weeks ago when a customer asked for her new Bentley to be supplied complete with private number plates. It is great when local businesses combine for mutual benefit and more importantly for the benefit of their clients.

1 REG

There is one other significant update to make you aware of in this blog post. We have been asked to locate buyers for two very exclusive personalised registrations; 1 REG and VKY 1. If you happen to know a Reg or a Vicky with a desire to make their cars stand out from the crowd, please point them in our direction. VKY 1 is very sensibly priced and is already attracting interest. The owner of 1 REG is not in a particular hurry to sell but will listen to close offers.

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New Personalised Registrations Browse Feature

We are always looking for ways to improve the simplyregistrations.co.uk website. When you search for a personalised registration on some websites, you are presented with close matches or similar registrations to what you searched for. Our research suggests that someone looking for a ‘SLC’ plate is not interested in seeing ‘SIL’ registrations. For that reason, if you search for a ‘SLC’ registration with us, you will only see ‘SLC’ registrations in the results.

We often receive enquiries from motorists who would like private number plates for their cars, but they do not know exactly what combination they are looking for. “My name is Alistair Jones so let me know of anything that you think is suitable” would be a typical example.

You used to be able to browse all of the personalised registrations on the Simply Registrations website from ‘A’ all the way through to ‘Z’. It worked fine for Alan who was interested in registrations beginning with ‘A’, but it was a pain for Simon who had to go through lots of pages of unrelated registrations until he eventually got to see the ‘S’ registrations. It was badly designed and probably led to a lot of our website visitors searching elsewhere for their ideal number plates.

The feedback we were getting suggested a new browse feature was required. Simon wants to be able to view all of the ‘S’ registrations and in the fastest possible time. So it is with great pleasure we present to you, the new personalised registrations browse feature.

Browse personalised registrations screenshot

The newly designed ‘Browse all Registrations’ page, enables you to head directly to the results you want to see. Just click on the appropriate alphabetical letter for your name. No more sifting through pages of unrelated personalised plates which have no relevance to you.

Of course we have retained the original search facility, so anyone looking for a specific registration can still see exact-matches. You just have to decide which of the two features suits you best. Are you a ‘browser’ looking for inspiration, or are you a ‘specific searcher’ who knows exactly what you want?

Give the new ‘Browse all Registrations’ page a try and let us know what you think. We always listen to ideas or suggestions which may improve the simplyregistrations.co.uk website. Our goal is simple; we want to make it as easy as possible for you to choose your new personalised registration and help you add the finishing touch to your car.

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:

  • 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.

Number Plate for Sale

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.

post your number plate to facebook

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.

promote your number plate on TwitterTwitter 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.

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.

BMW M3 Monte Carlo

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.