So, how do you go about selling a private registration?
It sounds like a simple question, but there are many subtleties involved in the selling process. In this post we're going to cover some key issues that you'll want to consider when selling a UK registration plate, and hopefully leave you with a better understanding of how to achieve a lot with only a few moments' work. The emphasis is on working smarter rather than harder.
SELLING YOUR PRIVATE NUMBER PLATE? HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Everything is easier when you know how. So let's get started with the things you need to know.
THE BUYER IS OUT THERE
The first thing to be aware of when selling a registration is that the process very rarely stalls because no one wants the plate. It usually stalls because you can't reach the person, or people, who want(s) the plate. There's a perfect plate for nearly every buyer, and a perfect buyer for almost every plate. That makes selling a matter of maximising the reach of your ad. If you can't reach those interested parties, no matter how good your advert, you're always going to struggle to sell.
TWO TYPES OF ADVERT
Did you know that online - which is now the de-facto way to reach the public - there are two main categories of advert? The first type is proactive, and the second is reactive.
In a proactive advert, the seller chases buyers.
In a reactive advert, the advertising mechanism lets the buyer chase the product, so the seller can simply relax.
If you're already thinking that the second option looks preferable, read on. It's easier to deploy than you might imagine, and it doesn't cost a penny...
PROACTIVE ADS
Going back to the old days of print media, we can find a perfect example of proactive advertising in a publication like Exchange and Mart. As a print publication, Exchange and Mart listed a wide range of product types. The seller would submit an ad to Exchange and Mart, and then hope that one of its readers would be interested in what they had to sell.
Today, we see the same dynamics on social media. Someone who wants to sell a product goes to a social network, publishes a post stating that they have something to sell, and hopes that somewhere amid the audience there will be an interested party. On social media, the process often goes further, with the proactive seller attempting to persuade the audience to buy what they have to sell. We actually run a social media group whose role incorporates trading number plates. In fact, it's the UK's biggest social media group of its type. Based on that, we can make a number of observations:
- The odds of the right person seeing the ad are limited. The post is swamped out of view by a wall of new material after a very short time. And if no one has bought during that fleeting period, then chances are no one will - at least, not through that particular ad.
- The seller frequently re-submits the post. Unfortunately, because space in the group feed is at a premium, we're rarely able to accommodate repeat posting. This is a classic consequence with proactive advertising.
- The seller, knowing that they probably only have one or two chances to reach a sizeable and potentially interested audience, takes steps to make their advert count. That may include reducing the price to something below their ideal target, or going over the top with persuasive tactics - which can, if overdone, make the ad look suspicious.
REACTIVE ADS
Reactive ads work in a completely different way. Unlike proactive ads, they don't chase or try to persuade buyers. They don't need to persuade buyers. They instead allow the buyer to chase the product. So how does that work? In a word, search.
If you're connected to the Internet (and who isn't these days?), you're most likely at least aware of Google Search as a means to source products. And what you'll notice about Google is that it doesn't come to you saying:
"Hey, there's this random product for sale. Wanna buy it?"
Instead, you go to Google and you tell it what you want. Google then reacts to your request with what you asked for. Here are some key observations we can make about this system:
- Only the buyer has to chase products. The seller is placed in front of the buyer, or potential buyer, on request.
- Because precisely-tailored products are only served to people who specifically ask for them, the products can be placed permanently "on call".
- Because, in their default state, they don't need any "timeline space", the products don't have to be erased every time a wall of new content arrives.
SELLING A PLATE WITH REACTIVE (SEARCH-BASED) ADVERTISING
So reactive advertising makes things a lot easier for the seller. But how do reactive adverts relate to that number plate you've been thinking of passing onto a new owner? Well, there are services you can use, which allow you to place your registration within a huge and intensively-searched database. Ready and waiting to be found by any of the buyers searching for plates. The core advantages of this type of service are that:
- You don't have to worry about your advert "disappearing" after a very limited period of time. It can remain in the database until either the plate sells, or you decide to withdraw it from sale.
- Because the ad is not time-limited, you're not under pressure to pare down your price to a bare minimum, or make any other "buy now" concessions.
- The people searching the database are likely to be interested in your plate, because they're actually telling the search routine what they want, and the search is reacting by showing them what they asked for.
- You can relax, while the system does its work, and the buyers essentially chase your plate.
FINDING A SERVICE-PROVIDER
That's a great start! And this type of service is available through a range of private number plate companies. However, not all services are created equal. Some of the questions you'd perhaps want to be asking before getting started with a given service would include:
- Does the service have associated charges?
- If not, how does the service-provider make money?
- Is the provider reputable and does it have an easily-contactable service department?
- Do you have to jump through hoops? Create an account? Or can you set everything in motion within a couple of minutes?
- How much control do you have over the process once you've set it in motion? For example, can you change your asking price? Are you committed to accepting an offer if, for example, you set an asking price but forgot to update it when you changed your mind?
- Is the service non-exclusive? In other words, can you use other methods of sale in conjunction with the service?
- What sort of visibility and reach could you expect? It's great being searchable, but if only a few people use the search, the chances of you being found are far from high.
These are important questions. They concern issues such as trust, and peace of mind, as well as practical arrangements which can make selling much easier for you. At this point, we'd like to introduce a particular service, and explain how it meets the above criteria. The service is provided by NetPlates, and is incredibly simple to set in motion via the very short form on the Sell a Plate page. That already addresses the fourth point on the above list. You don't need to jump through hoops. You don't need to set up an account. About two minutes of your time is all it takes.
The NetPlates service is also free of charge to the seller. You don't pay for the listing. You don't pay for the admin involved in selling the plate. You don't pay for the expert advice that comes at the start of the process: the valuation. If you're selling, you don't pay. The provider's fees are paid in the form of a modest commission, charged to the buyer.
But what about reputation and contactability? No worries there either. The NetPlates Trustpilot page features thousands of reviews, which at the time of writing culminate in a score of 4.9 stars out of 5. That adds up to an official Trustpilot rating of "Excellent". The Birmingham-based office is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and you'll always receive a warm welcome if you need to get in touch.
After you complete the short form, NetPlates experts get to work with their market-research, and will email you an accurate valuation for your registration. All it then takes for you to begin the selling process is the click of a button. It couldn't be easier. And at any time, you can alter your asking price, or withdraw the registration from sale. Simply contact the office using your choice of communication means, and we'll update as you require. In office hours, you can even use the website chat function to talk to us. And our website chat is staffed by real people in our office - it's not a chatbot.
When an interested party comes forward, NetPlates will contact you, and you have total control. You can approve or decline any deal. If you don't wish to sell, just say so. And if you are ready to sell, NetPlates will handle the transfer. Normally, once a deal is agreed, all you need do is send across your documentation, then relax and enjoy your money.
Another important feature of the NetPlates Sell a Plate service is that it's non-exclusive. That means you're not tied into any kind of contract. If you want to simultaneously advertise your plate elsewhere, go ahead. It's never a problem - although for reasons I'll explain next, you may not need to advertise with other similar services.
SYNDICATION FOR MAXIMUM REACH
Perhaps the most powerful feature of NetPlates Sell a Plate service is that your ad is syndicated across a network of searchable venues. This means you're likely to see your reg advertised elsewhere, automatically. But don't worry, your data is never shared - it's only a syndication of the registration. And if you withdraw the plate from sale with NetPlates, the syndicated references to it will disappear from other sites.
And that's almost it. In fact, there's only one question left:
