The second sealed bid sale of personalised number plates in the UK

Today, the second sealed bid sale of personalised car number plates is due to end. The event is being reported as a great success with thousands of hand picked registration numbers on sale. The sale is due to end by the end of today and all bidders will be informed if they have been successful in obtaining a valued number plate shortly after the close of the auction.  

This will not be the last sealed bid process auction from the DVLA and the number of number plates on offer will continue to grow at every subsequent online auction. Using the internet for auction is a common practice today with websites like Ebay leading the way in the last five years by getting people use to bidding online. Sellers can use the internet to reduce cost and overheads and buyers do not have to travel to purchase the number plate they want.  The next test will be how online and traditional auctions compare and which is more profitable? I still believe the short term future of the standard auction is very strong and will continue to receive strong support. A reason behind this is the DVLA try to make the auctions an enjoyable experience and as friendly as possible to attract new buyers.  

When looking for an auction service provided by a number plate provider you should look for companies that do not charge a percentage related fee. Instead you should only consider companies who only charge if successfully in purchasing the car registration and operate using a fixed bidding fee.

The Future of Traditional Auctions:

 The future could be very different with the use of video and faster Broadband live web auctions could become common. Here bidders could interact with the auctioneer via a click of a button, and  see a live auction via a video uplink to the auction room. The next stage would be to allow bidding using the same process of live video uplink.  

Traditional DVLA auctions, even though sometimes in random locations still attract a higher level of bidders from the UK and around the world and therefore sell the more prestige number plates. There are many number plate providers that also provide an auction service where they will act on your behalf to obtain your number plate if you cannot make the auction yourself.

Unlike standard DVLA Number Plate Auctions potential new bidders of car registrations have been asked to register first on the website before making their bid. The DVLA auction is a sealed bid process and invisible to other bidders. The reserve bid price is shown on the website and as long as you meet that reserve you are in with a chance of winning a personalised number plate. However, I would recommend that you bid more then a penny over the asking price to stand a chance of buying the number plate. For there are some highly desirable combination available including, 101 BK reserve price £1,600, L114 MAX reserve price £300 and “YUL 1A reserve price £700.

DVLA Number plate auctions are here to stay and are a great opportunity to get some brilliant combinations, but they will never in my opinion beat the traditional auction for the high value number plates.