Bidding Starts 1 April For Special RIMAU 1 To 9999 Number Plates

No, its not an April's Fool joke. Malaysians looking for unique plates will be able to bid for RIMAU 1 to RIMAU 9999 starting tomorrow, 1 April.

In conjunction with Malaysia hosting the 2017 SEA Games for the ASEAN region this year, these SEA Games commemorative number plates are being released by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) via the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

According to the “RIMAU PLAT” Facebook page set up earlier last month to promote the special plate series, RIMAU which is a short form of the games’ Malayan Tiger mascot stands for Respect, Integrity, Move, Attitude and Unity.

Yesterday, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin launched the number plate bidding which he announced that the revenue will go towards the cost of hosting the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games which would take place in August and September respectively.

"All bids will take place through the online bidding e-bid system with the proceeds going towards the cost of hosting KL2017.

"We hope to get as much as possible from the bidding process because not only the number plates are a memento to the people but also the proceeds can be used for financing the organising cost," he told reporters at the launch, Bernama reports.

So how do you ensure you get one that rises in value rather than one that remains static? The trick is to buy something that other people are likely to want. Number plates that show a person’s name or initials are a good example, providing they are not unusual names or initials. Having something that is unusual will not prevent the number plate from rising in value, but it may be more difficult as it will be harder to find a buyer whom the number plate is relevant to and who wants to pay for it.

Next, have a look at what is currently for sale that matches that name or initials. If there are not many or if the one you have is considerably better, you will have a greater chance of the investment rising in value. If, on the other hand, there are lots of other options for people with that name or initials, you may find it harder to sell the one you own.

Other things that can prevent you from getting a high price for a number plate include:

Number plates that are hard to understand – If people can’t tell what the number plate means after a few seconds of looking at it, you might struggle to get a high price for it.
Humorous number plates – These types of plates are very niche, so the market for them is smaller than for standard phrases.
Made up or unique words – There may not be anyone else who wants a number plate with a very unusual word.

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