Personalised number plates have become huge in Queensland over the last few decades.
The growth in new plates being issued by PPQ has resulted in a huge market for people wanting to sell their old plates.
So what’s the best way to sell your Qld number plates? There are a few options, with most of them being online these days.
It’s also important to consider the legalities of selling a number plate in Qld.
Not all Australian states allow the free trade of number plates, but thankfully the laws in Qld are quite good.
Any personalised number plate can be sold to another person or entity (such as a company) provided that a transfer form has been signed by both parties.
Getting back to the best way to sell a number plate, let’s take a look at some of the options available…
Specialist number plate classifieds
When it comes to online classifieds, there are two real options; the general ‘for sale’ type websites and the specialist number plate websites.
There are a couple of specialist websites, with NumberPlates.com.au being one of the industry leaders.
Most of the classifieds website operate on a model where you pay an upfront fee to list the plate until it has sold, and there is no additional commission or sales fees to pay.
This is a great option, as even very good number plates can take a long time to find the right buyer, so not having to pay more fees each year is important.
When choosing a classifieds website to sell on, it’s important to use one that ranks well in Google for searches such as “number plates for sale” as this is how potential buyers are going to find you.
You might find a website that only charges $15 for a listing, but if the website doesn’t rank well in Google, no one will see your plate and you money will be wasted.
It’s also important to choose a site which has a strong social media presence, as this may help to spread the word about your plate.
Remember you don’t have to restrict your plate to just one site. If you have a great plate, then it may be worth listing it on two or three different sites to maximise your audience.
Non-specialist classifieds
Outside of the specialist sites you have the more general “for sale” websites.
These include common sites such as Gum Tree and the Trading Post.
Whilst some of these sites offer very cheap, or even free listings, they are not targeted at people specifically looking to buy a Qld number plate.
If you can find free listings then you might as well take advantage of them, but you probably shouldn’t expect to get a heap of enquiries from it.
PPQ (Personalised Plates Queensland)
Not only do PPQ issue new personalised plates, but they also offer a classifieds service to sell Qld number plates.
There is not a huge range of plates listed on the site, and this section of their site is not highly promoted, but as the official Qld site it may be worth a try.
The downside is the cost, with listing fees set at $30 for a three month period. This compares to NumberPlates.com.au which charges $25 until sold.
As number plates can take up to a year to find the right buyer, having to pay new fees every three months is not particularly attractive unless.
You can view the PPQ Resale Noticeboard by following the link.
eBay
The final option we’ll look for selling number plates in Qld is eBay.
If you take a look at eBay you’ll see dozens, if not hundreds of number plates listed for sale at all sorts of crazy prices.
It may seem like plates are selling for good money on there, but remember there is a big difference between what something is listed for and what it actually sells for!
Our personal experience is that whilst eBay is phenomenally good at selling a lot of things, it is not well suited to selling personalised number plates.
We performed our own study on Qld plates listed on eBay (which you can access here) and we found that the results were quite poor.
Given the small cost we do thing it’s worth listing your plates just in case the right buyer is there, but our experience is that you won’t get the result you want.
Our recommendation for Qld plates
The fact is that personalised number plates do take a long time to sell if you want a premium price, or in some cases, even to simply get back what you paid…
You certainly can’t just list a plate for sale on Gum Tree or eBay and expect to sell it for a profit within a week or two!
The specialist classifieds websites that offer a fixed price until the plate is sold offer the best value and the best opportunity for a successful sale.
We may be a little biased, but in our opinion NumberPlates.com.au is the best way to sell number plates in Qld or anywhere else in Australia.