Don’t bank on personalised plates

Ait. warning to anyone thinking about buying a personalised plate as an investment: You’re unlikely to make a fortune from

The owner of the ‘‘IAMGOD’’ personalised plate listed it for sale on Trade Me, with an asking price of $99,000.

It closed on Tuesday with one lastminute bid, meeting reserve, but the buyer refused to go through with the purchase. It has since been relisted.

The listing states it’s the ‘‘best plate that will ever be available in New Zealand. Great investment, the plate will only get rarer and more sought after as the population of New Zealand increases.’’

Owner Natrell Wicks said the idea came from comparing the plate to the asking price of others.

‘‘By also looking at other auctions for rare plates mine is still cheaper than five or so others despite being rarer and higher value.

‘‘This plate is completely one-of-a-kind, the best plate that will ever be for sale in New Zealand. It reflects both my personal value for the item and what collectors have known to pay for rare plates.

‘‘I tried to get a valuation by about 10 places but no one will do it for personalised plates.’’

Since personalised plates first became available in New Zealand in the late 1980s, there have been promises that buying the right combination of letters and numbers could lead to riches.

New plates now sell for $599. The second-hand market is going strong but it’s unclear that it is particularly lucrative for owners.

KiwiPlates, the new operator of personalised plates in New Zealand, advises that generic plates that appeal to a wide range of people tend to fetch more in resale value than a plate with a personal message.

Financial adviser Liz Koh said she wasn’t convinced anyone would make a fortune buying and selling.

‘‘You would have to buy a lot of them and strike it really lucky. There must surely be a limit as to what people will pay for a plate.’’

Another adviser, Michael Cave, said he had seen plates he wished he had bought in the early days. ‘‘Such as ‘NZ’, which is owned by the founder of personalised plates. Whether any have gone up in value is another question. They did increase in value in the early days. That’s often the key with these niche or unique investments – the early birds are often the winners. The sheep that follow later, are often left with the leftovers. And we know what happens to leftovers over time.’’

Trade Me spokeswoman Millie Silvester said there were 1200 plates listed for sale on the site.