Blog Post

Another Day In The Office…

Clare Runham

So, one of the more interesting elements of being a Virtual PA is that I get thrown some pretty wacky tasks from time to time. I’ve attended meetings with clients purely to help them look bigger, I’ve wrapped presents, worked on exhibition stands, and more recently have helped project manage a property build.

One I certainly haven’t done before is bid on behalf of a client at a DVLA auction for personalised number plates. With over 400 lots being auctioned in one day, it would have meant a long wait for my client, so I kept an eye on sale prices to ensure I could give feedback on whether my client’s prior agreed limit was well judged.

So why the interest in private number plates?

Well, let’s face it, it’s difficult to get much return from your money in the current climate. As a result, personalised number plates have moved from ‘vanity plate’ status, or a bit of fun, to serious investments.

“If you look back over the last ten years, the value of number plates has gone up a lot.” James Caan

The DVLA hold regular auctions throughout the year, with the tantalising prospect that you may get yourself a bargain over what number plate resellers (of which there are many) market them for. In my case, I was under strict instructions not to bid beyond 50% of market value.

Typically, the shorter the number plate, the more you should expect to pay. Good sellers are combinations of numbers (representing date of birth) and initials. As you would expect, something like 21 XM would likely sell for less than 75 JS, as there are more John Smiths than there are Xavier Michaels. However, if there are a couple of determined bidders, in some cases the sky’s the limit!

Don’t succumb to the auction fever!

Despite ‘attending’ the auction on my laptop, it was still an exciting experience! I did feel some were getting carried away though – ‘CEO 805S’ selling for a hammer price of £16,000, just one example of many than went for five-figure sums.

If you’re already reeling from that figure – prepare yourself! The most expensive number plate sold at auction was ‘25 O’ for an astonishing £518,000. The owner, John Collins, bought it for his vintage Ferrari 250 GTO, which sets another benchmark in the motoring world – examples have sold for as much as $48m (nope, that wasn’t a typo!).

It’s important – as with any auction – to set an absolute limit. With the DVLA auctions, on top of the hammer price there is VAT, a buyer’s premium, and then the assignment fee. Fortunately, to save time there’s a useful calculator on the DVLA website.

So, how did I do?

Well, it’s always more fun spending other people’s money, right?! Whilst I naturally can’t share the full details, I ‘won’ two number plate auctions and – in both cases – paid under half of what similar format number plates are being sold for on reseller websites.

Whether they are a good investment is of course a waiting game. A buyer could come along in weeks, but it may take years also. However, for far less than the figures I’ve mentioned above, it certainly is an interesting way of diversifying an investment portfolio!

Clare Runham runs Miss MPS , a team of Virtual Assistants based in Kent. As well as call answering and office related tasks, Miss MPS often takes on PA duties too, freeing up time for clients to get on with what’s important – running their businesses.

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