DVLA Personalised Registrations first Online Auction has been a resounding success, raising more than 587,000 pounds for the Treasury.
The total amount generated, including auctioneers' buyers premium, VAT and assignment fees, was more than 754,000 pounds. Of the 1,000 lots included in the sale, 803 were sold, the most expensive of which, RAT 1F, went for a total of 28,878 pounds.
Four private number plates broke the 10,000 pound barrier with SHU 41B, KBA 1G and RAF 11X fetching 13,956, 11,841 and 10,079 pounds respectively.
While those large sums have been celebrated, the online sale also ensured there were bargains to be had with hordes being sold for their reserve prices, some as little as 130 pounds.
DVLA Event Manager, Jody Davies, said: "We have been totally astounded at the level of interest in the sale, some of the sums recorded have been incredible."
The online sale, held between Wednesday, February 10 and Wednesday, March 3, is a development of the agency’s proven "Sealed Bid Sales", in which potential buyers simply registered their maximum bid in the hope of securing the number plate of their choice.
The Online Auction allowed bidders to submit maximum bids invisible to others as is the case with ebay. Bidding started at the reserve price and the current bid price for each registration was on display on its website. The DVLA's system increased bids on behalf of the registered bidder up to their maximum amount.
Those who were out bid received an email inviting them to increase their maximum amount until the close of the sale.
R3G
