How to make money by selling private number plates?

It may sound like strange investment advice – but, you can actually make a lot of money by investing in private number plates. Private plates tend to be unique within the geographical area (jurisdiction) where they are registered meaning that similar plates cannot be issued by the relevant authority until the original is first de-registered.  The popularity of private plates has ballooned in the past decade and today, almost every motor vehicle owner is out there looking for the perfect personalized plate.

I have always had entrepreneurial blood flowing through my veins and this means that I am always looking for unique side hustles that will enable me to make an extra buck. Based on intense research and emerging market trends, I have come to discover that buying and selling number plates can pad your wallet more than you think. If you invest in buying specific name plates or even low digit dateless number plates, you can end up getting significant returns on your investment.

Before we delve any further into the business of investing in personalized plates, there are two key things that I would like to point out..

• If you do not have sufficient capital for investing in your new hustle, you may need to find innovative ways to fund your new startup investment business
• Before delving into investing in buying and selling number plates, it is important that you first take time to research and understand the number plates market. This will help you gain an understanding of the number plates whose value will most likely rise in a short time based on the current trends of number plate buyers

That said, here is how you stand to make money with the increased market demand for personalized plates..

Tips on how to make money through selling private plates

Buy low to sell high

Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that the cardinal rule for success in business is to always buy low with an aim of selling high.

As such, consider buying personalized number plates in bulk at rates that are below market value then price each plate individually to get high returns on your investment. When choosing the personalized plates to buy in bulk, ensure that you choose plates with registration numbers that will likely attract a lot of prospective clients.

Market data shows that popular initials that make up interesting words and/or names are most likely to attract buyers. Buy personalised plates at www.newreg.co.uk. Avoid buying plates that replace a letter with a number that looks almost similar to the letter (for example “4” and “A” or “3” and “E”). This is because most private plate buyers prefer a plate that is easy to read and reads seamlessly. Additionally, remember that plates that have vowel initials will most likely attract more potential buyers compared to plates that contain lesser used letters such as X, Y, V, and, Z.

Where to find cheap personalized plates in bulk

One of the places you can find cheap personalized plates is used car lots. If a buyer has no use for the plates on their car in a lot, they will likely sell it to you for less than it is actually worth. Run a car check for free to see if the registration plate is already assigned to a vehicle and for how long.

Use this website www.carveto.co.uk/blog/dvla-number-plate-check to check if a plate is currently registered to a vehicle in the UK.

You can also look for car owners selling their personalized plates in the classifieds section of your local paper and other digital publications. Alternatively, you can also do a web search for “private number plates” and explore the offerings in the search results.

Another great place to look for private plates is the DVLA auction.  The DVLA usually offers some of the rarest and most sought-after private number plates. Data shows that there are over 1,500 plates sold by the DVLA either in bulk or to private individuals. Note that though buying in bulk will be cheaper, most new releases of interesting personalized plates from the DVLA are not usually sold in bulk.