Category: Number Plates

Last month I travelled to Sydney for the record-setting auction of the NSW number plate ‘4’.

I was quoted in a Fairfax piece about the auction, which I thought was pretty cool.

The auction went brilliantly, and a record was indeed set, with the plate selling for $2.45 million under the hammer.

The next day I was on my way to the airport with my wife, when I received a message via Facebook from a producer at The Project.  She wanted to have a chat about the auction.

So I called her from the airport, and she asked what I was half expecting (and dreading!) – would I be happy to appear on the show tonight?

Appearing on a TV show like The Project is so far out of my comfort zone, but sometimes you just have to say yes and go for it.

After landing back in Brisbane I had to head straight up to the Ten studios on Mount Coot-tha, where the interview was recorded around an hour before it went to air.

I made it back home in time to watch it with the family, and to be honest it was pretty cringeworthy!

That’s not necessarily because of how I performed, but because of the stupid questions the panel asked and the way it was edited together.

I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything different, but the whole piece was more about taking my wife to a number plate auction rather than anything to do with the auction itself.

They seemed pretty unimpressed that I’d drag my wife along, but you know, I don’t think she minded a few days in Sydney…

Overall it was a great experience, but I’d have to think pretty hard before agreeing to appear on that show again.

Here’s the video.  My part starts around the two minute mark.

Thanks to my numberplates.com.au business I’ve managed to become a bit of an authority on number plates.

This has resulted in a few media appearances and quotes, which is great for the site’s SEO and also nice personally to have my passion recognised.

The latest contact came from a Fairfax journalist who wanted to chat about the upcoming auction of the single-digit NSW ‘4’ number plate.

I actually enjoy talking with journalists about plates, but I have to be so careful not to say too much, which is difficult when it’s a subject you’re passionate about!

I’m lucky in that a lot of owners of very significant and valuable plates (including single-digits) have been generous enough to share their time and information with me.

Often this includes information about how much they paid for certain plates, which is very sensitive to them, but they’ll share with me because they know I’m a locked vault when it comes to this stuff.

So anyway, it was a good chat, and the article was published here:

NSW licence plate with the number ‘4’ on the market for between $1.2 million and $1.4 million

This follows my first TV appearance earlier this year, when I was interviewed for the ABC, and appeared on their national news and business news programs.

Going back a few years I also had my first radio interview, which was regarding the sale of another single-digit number plate; Qld ‘7’.

That interview resulted from an article that appeared in the Brisbane Times, and was syndicated across other Fairfax properties including the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

That article included a link to my site, which was very appreciated from an SEO perspective!

Hopefully there is plenty more to come.  Doing interviews is way out of my comfort zone, but that’s generally a good thing long term.

PS.  That NSW ‘4’ number plate is expected to sell for around $1.5 million.  My flights are booked to head down to Sydney for the auction! 🙂