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What “no obligation” actually means when you sell gold by post
The phrase sits on almost every postal gold buyer’s homepage, and it has no legal definition in the UK. It means whatever that buyer’s terms say it means. Here is how to check whether a no-obligation valuation is genuinely free to walk away from, before anything leaves your house.
Read article →What fees does a postal gold buyer charge, and where do deductions hide?
Most postal gold buyers make their money in the margin rather than in fees, which is fine. The problem is that a margin is invisible and a deduction can be disguised as one. Here are the eight places money comes off a figure, and the five questions that surface all of them.
Read article →Was my gold offer fair? How to check any buyer’s offer
You can check any gold offer, from any buyer in the country, in about two minutes with a set of scales and one dated market number. Here is the method, a worked example, the percentage bands to read it against, and the cases where a low offer is genuinely the correct one.
Read article →Why is my offer different from the online calculator estimate?
A calculator works from what you typed. An offer works from what was measured. Four things sit between the two: the weight, the purity, the parts that are not gold, and the date. Here is each one with the arithmetic, a worked example where a £1,180 estimate became a £506 offer, and what an honest breakdown has to show you.
Read article →What to do if something goes wrong when you sell gold by post
A lost parcel, a disputed offer, items that have not come back. Each has a different first move and some have a hard deadline. This is the escalation route in order, with the time limits, the evidence that actually decides claims, and an honest account of which consumer laws help a seller and which do not.
Read article →Is it legal to sell dental gold in the UK?
A gold crown you have kept is a manufactured article, not a body part, and nothing in UK law stops you selling it. Here is the position in plain terms, who owns a removed restoration, and what practices and laboratories have to do differently.
Read article →Why UK gold coins are CGT-free and gold bars are not
A sovereign and a one-ounce bar can hold almost the same gold and be taxed completely differently. The reason has nothing to do with the metal and everything to do with whether the thing in your hand counts as money.
Read article →Do executors pay Capital Gains Tax on estate jewellery?
Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax are two different taxes doing two different jobs, and an executor selling jewellery can meet both. Here is how the estate is treated, what allowances it has, and the timing decision that quietly matters most.
Read article →Is selling scrap gold taxable in the UK?
For someone clearing out a jewellery box the answer is almost always no. It is worth understanding exactly why, because the same reasoning shows you where the line sits and what would put you on the other side of it.
Read article →Can I weigh my gold on kitchen scales?
Yes, for a rough estimate, and it is a sensible thing to do before posting anything. Here is what a whole-gram reading is actually worth in pounds, the grams to troy ounces to pennyweights conversions, nine ways to get closer at home with the scales you already own, and why the weight taken after assay is the one that decides the payment.
Read article →How to photograph jewellery for a remote valuation
A postal sale usually starts with photographs, and the quality of the first answer you get depends almost entirely on them. Four shots, taken near a window, will tell a buyer more than twenty taken under a kitchen light. Here is how to take them, and what a photograph honestly cannot settle.
Read article →Red flags: how to tell a postal gold buyer is not worth using
Most UK postal gold buyers are ordinary businesses doing an ordinary job. A minority run a model that depends on you accepting whatever lands rather than going through the trouble of a return. The differences are visible from the outside, before you post anything, if you know where to look.
Read article →Gold price update, July 2026: dollar gold up, sterling gold down
The UK gold price closed July 2026 at £2,999.03 per troy ounce, about 1.4% below where it opened the month, even though the dollar price finished slightly higher. The gap was sterling. Here is the plain reading, with every figure sourced.
Read article →Gold price update, August 2026: a sharp start to the month
Gold entered August 2026 quietly, then rose about 4% in two sessions after weak US labour data. On 6 August the UK price sat near £3,163 per troy ounce, or £101.70 a gram of fine gold. Here is the month so far, with every figure dated and sourced.
Read article →What was gold worth in 1980, 1990 and 2000? UK historical gold prices
Gold averaged roughly £264 a troy ounce in 1980, £215 in 1990 and £184 in 2000. On 6 August 2026 it was about £3,163. Here is the long record in pounds, the 1980 spike and the 1999 low explained, the same figures adjusted for inflation, and a plain answer to why the number your family remembers never matches today.
Read article →Do you need probate or a death certificate to sell inherited jewellery?
Two questions come up more than any others when a family starts on a jewellery box, and both have a clearer answer than most people expect. Here is the position in England and Wales, what a buyer will and will not ask you for, and where the real risk actually sits.
Read article →Valuing jewellery for the estate return: IHT400 and schedule IHT407
The form is short and the wording is precise, which is why executors get stuck on it. Here is exactly what HMRC asks for on schedule IHT407, what open market value means for a jewellery box, and where a documented assay is enough.
Read article →Dividing inherited jewellery fairly between beneficiaries
Jewellery causes more family friction than any other part of an estate, and almost never because of what it is worth. Four methods that work, when to bring a valuation into it, and what to do with the pieces nobody wants.
Read article →How to help an elderly parent sell gold safely
Most people helping a parent with this are worried about two things at once: getting an honest figure, and not taking over. Here is a protector’s checklist that does both, covering who decides, whose bank account the money goes into, what to keep, and where a power of attorney changes the answer.
Read article →Is cash for gold a scam? An honest answer from inside the industry
No, but the scepticism is well-earned. The postal gold model has a documented history of lowball operators, including a regulatory case against five named UK firms. Here is where the reputation came from, what separates a legitimate buyer from a bad one, and the checks you should run on any buyer, including us.
Read article →Common gold selling scams in the UK: the seven patterns
Most UK gold buyers are ordinary businesses doing an ordinary job. The scams that do exist are not creative: they follow seven repeatable patterns, each with a mechanical trick at its centre, and each with one defence that defeats it. Here is the full taxonomy, written so you can recognise the pattern before it costs you anything.
Read article →Are gold buyers regulated in the UK? The honest legal answer
There is no dedicated regulator for gold buyers and no licence is needed to start buying gold from the public. That is worth knowing before you post anything to anyone, including us. Here is what the law actually does cover, which official bodies have real teeth, and what protection a seller genuinely has.
Read article →What questions should I ask a gold buyer before sending anything?
Ten questions, ready to copy and paste, that separate a postal gold buyer worth using from one to avoid, with what a good answer sounds like and what should make you stop. Asking costs nothing, and a buyer who is irritated by being asked has already answered the most important question of all.
Read article →Do gold buyers report sales to HMRC? And can you sell gold anonymously?
Two questions that usually arrive together, and both deserve a straight answer. No UK rule makes a gold buyer report an ordinary purchase to HMRC. That is not the same as the sale being invisible, and it is not the same as being able to sell anonymously. Here is what is actually recorded, by whom, and why the genuinely anonymous route is the one worth avoiding.
Read article →Can a church sell its old silver? Faculty jurisdiction and charity law explained
Church silver is not the parish’s to sell on a show of hands at a PCC meeting. In the Church of England it takes a faculty from the diocesan consistory court, and the court starts from a presumption against. Here is who has to say yes, denomination by denomination, what the court actually weighs, and what a lawful sale looks like once permission is in hand.
Read article →Gold price per tola in the UK, and baht gold explained
Two weight units that appear on overseas receipts, price lists and shop paperwork, and confuse almost everyone: the South Asian tola and the Thai baht weight. Here is what each one is in grams, what 965 gold is in UK carats, and how a UK buyer turns either into a figure in pounds.
Read article →Do gold buyers melt your gold before you accept the offer?
A reputable buyer does not. Purity is tested with a non-destructive XRF assay, the items are held intact, and nothing goes near a furnace until you have accepted a written offer. But a minority of buyers write themselves permission to process items on receipt, and once metal has been melted no return is possible. Here is how to check any buyer’s position before you post.
Read article →I found gold with a metal detector: can I legally sell it?
Some detecting finds are yours to sell the week you dig them. Others are treasure, and selling one before a coroner has finished with it is a criminal offence. The dividing line is drawn by the Treasure Act 1996, and it is narrower than most people assume.
Read article →I found a gold ring: can I keep it or sell it?
Picking a gold ring up off the pavement is not a crime. Deciding to keep it without a thought for whoever lost it can be, and the offence is ordinary theft rather than anything gentler. What separates the two is a short list of reasonable steps, and most people can finish that list in an afternoon.
Read article →Selling gold before you emigrate, or taking it with you
Almost everyone planning a move abroad worries about the wrong rule. The cash declaration thresholds barely touch a jewellery box. What actually bites is the import regime of the country you are moving to, your insurance wording, and which tax year the sale falls in. Here is the position, with every figure dated and sourced.
Read article →Is one small ring worth posting? Minimum amounts explained
If you are holding one ring and wondering whether it is even worth our time, here is the honest answer. Here is the honest arithmetic, the point at which we will tell you not to bother, and why the answer is completely different for gold and for silver.
Read article →Can I change my mind after accepting a gold offer?
Before you accept, you can walk away for any reason and get everything back. After you accept, you have sold, and no statutory cooling-off period applies, because the 14-day cancellation right in UK law belongs to consumers who buy from traders rather than consumers who sell to them. There is a short practical window at a reputable buyer, and it closes for good the moment metal reaches a furnace. Here is exactly how it works, and what to do if you have already said yes.
Read article →What Does 925 Mean on Silver? Sterling Explained
925 is the mark you will find on most British and imported silver. Here is what the number actually certifies, why plenty of genuine sterling carries no hallmark at all, and how the figure is worked out when you sell it by weight.
Read article →What Does 958 Mean on Silver? Britannia Explained
958 is the higher British silver standard, compulsory for a brief window between 1697 and 1720 and optional ever since. Here is why it existed, how to recognise it, and the two quite different things a 958 mark can be telling you.
Read article →What Do 800 and 830 Mean on Silver? Continental Standards
European silver rarely carries a British hallmark, and the numbers on it run lower than sterling. Here is what 800 and 830 certify, which countries used them, and how the lower fineness changes what a canteen of continental cutlery is worth.
Read article →What Does EPNS Mean on Silver? Plate Explained
EPNS, EP and A1 are the marks that turn a promising drawer of silver into a disappointing one. Here is exactly what each of them means, why the plating has little or no melt value, and where plated pieces are still worth money as objects.
Read article →Selling gold online versus a local jeweller
A jeweller and a postal buyer are not competing for the same job. One values a piece as jewellery, the other values it as metal. Here is how to tell which question applies to your item, and where the local shop genuinely wins.
Read article →Selling gold on eBay, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace versus a postal buyer
Marketplace selling has changed. UK private sellers no longer pay eBay final value fees, which removes the usual argument against it. What remains is a genuine trade-off between reaching a retail buyer and dealing with strangers, disputes and authentication.
Read article →Selling gold at auction versus to a postal buyer
Auction is the right answer more often than a gold buyer’s website will usually admit. It is also slower, less certain and not free. Here is the honest split, with a UK jewellery specialist’s published seller charges as the worked reference.
Read article →Pop-up gold buying events: what to check before you sell
Hotel function rooms, village halls, garden centres and shopping-centre stands. One-day gold buying events solve a real problem for people who cannot travel, and they carry one structural feature worth understanding: the decision is final, on the day, with no cooling-off right.
Read article →Selling gold to a friend or family member
Sometimes the best home for a piece is someone you know. It is also the sale with the fewest safety nets, and the one where an under-priced deal can create a tax position and a family problem at the same time. Here is how to do it properly.
Read article →Should I sell my gold or keep it?
The comparison nobody writes, because there is no commission in it. Holding is a real option with real merits, and a gold buyer telling you otherwise is not a reliable narrator. Here is a framework rather than a nudge.
Read article →Why gold recycling prices differ between buyers
Three buyers can quote three different figures for the same broken chain without any of them being dishonest. Most of the spread is structural. Here is what actually drives it, and how to hold two quotes up against each other.
Read article →How often does the scrap gold price change?
Three different clocks are running at once: the wholesale market, the twice-daily London benchmark, and the rate a UK buyer publishes on a page. They do not tick at the same speed, and confusing them is where most disappointment comes from.
Read article →What happens to your gold after you sell it
Most sellers are told their jewellery is recycled and left to imagine the rest. Here is the actual route, from the sorting tray to a refined bar, including the two chemical processes that do the work and the point at which the decision becomes irreversible.
Read article →Recycled gold vs mined gold: the environmental case, honestly
Recycled gold is routinely marketed as the green choice. The published numbers on mining are stark and worth knowing. The claim that buying recycled reduces mining is weaker than the industry usually admits. Both halves of that are true.
Read article →What Do 417, 333, 583, 585 and 875 Mean on Gold?
Four of these five numbers are not British standards at all, which is exactly why they cause so much confusion in a UK jewellery box. Here is what each mark is, which country it came from, how it reached a drawer in Britain, and what it changes about the metal value.
Read article →Hallmark Date Letters Explained: How To Read The Year
The single letter in a British hallmark is the only part of the mark that tells you when a piece was made. It is also the part people get wrong most often, because the same letter has been struck hundreds of times across seven centuries. Here is the method that actually works, the modern table you can use today, and the honest limits of what a letter alone can tell you.
Read article →Gold price update, June 2026: why the spring peak has pulled back
Spot gold opened June 2026 around £3,360 per troy ounce, off the February peak of £3,696 and the March monthly average of £3,640. Here is what is moving it, in plain English.
Read article →Silver Q2 2026 update: what UK sellers should know
Silver opened June 2026 at about £56 per troy ounce, well off the January peak of £84. Here is the plain reading of why, and what it means for sterling and Britannia sellers.
Read article →Sterling, the dollar and your gold: June 2026
Gold and silver are priced in US dollars globally, so the £/$ rate moves the GBP price every day, often by more than the underlying metal does. Here is how to read it as a UK seller.
Read article →How to sell 9ct gold by post in the UK
9ct is the gold most British households actually own: wedding bands, curb chains, signet rings that stopped fitting years ago. If yours are sitting unworn, they can be valued by post rather than carried into town. We send a prepaid label, weigh and XRF-test every piece, then write you a clear offer.
Read article →How to sell 18ct gold by post in the UK
One inherited ring, a damaged designer chain, a drawer of 18ct that nobody has worn in a decade. All of it can be valued by post, without setting foot in a pawnshop. Send it tracked and signed for and decide once the written offer arrives.
Read article →How to sell 22ct gold by post in the UK
22ct Indian, Pakistani, Bengali and Gulf jewellery is valued the same way as any other gold: tested, weighed, written up. Nothing is melted and no money moves until the offer is in front of you.
Read article →How to sell 24ct gold by post in the UK
Bars, investment coins and pure-gold gift pieces take a different route from scrap jewellery, and the format often matters more than the weight. Post tracked and signed for, get an XRF-verified written offer, then decide with the number in front of you.
Read article →How to sell broken gold jewellery by post in the UK
Snapped chains, single earrings, dented rings, orphaned charms: the bag most people are slightly embarrassed to take into a shop. Damage does not lower a scrap offer. The metal still pays.
Read article →How to sell gold rings by post in the UK
Old wedding bands, signet rings, eternity rings, an engagement ring nobody is going to wear again. Post them safely, get an XRF-verified written offer per ring, and choose which ones to sell.
Read article →How to sell gold chains by post in the UK
A snapped curb chain, an unworn rope, an inherited Belcher at the bottom of the box. Each chain is tested and weighed on its own, and you decide once the written offer arrives.
Read article →How to sell gold bracelets by post in the UK
Charm bracelets, Indian kada bangles, Italian link bracelets, a tennis bracelet without its matching pair. Post them tracked and signed for and the offer comes back piece by piece, in writing.
Read article →How to sell gold earrings by post in the UK
Single earrings, mismatched pairs, broken hoops, studs rattling loose at the back of a drawer. Singles still pay. The metal is what counts.
Read article →How to sell gold necklaces by post in the UK
Dress necklaces, long opera chains, Italian ropes, a chain with the pendant still on it. Every component is tested separately and valued on its own.
Read article →How to sell gold pendants and charms by post in the UK
Pendants, single charms, religious medals, sovereign mounts. Small pieces are the easiest to lose in an averaged parcel, so each one is tested on its own and offered separately.
Read article →How to sell gold watches by post in the UK
A careful guide for anyone with a gold watch in a drawer. Some are solid gold and pay well. Most "gold" watches are gold-plated and would not. Send a photo first so you do not waste postage on the wrong route.
Read article →How to sell gold cufflinks and tie pins by post in the UK
Old cufflinks, dress studs and tie pins hide a common catch: the front face is often a different metal from the back. We test and weigh each part separately.
Read article →How to sell gold lockets by post in the UK
Victorian mourning lockets, Edwardian hearts, 1970s photo lockets. Hollow construction, attached chains and glazed panels all need setting out plainly in a written offer.
Read article →How to sell gold brooches by post in the UK
A clear guide for anyone with old brooches, regimental badges, Victorian bar pins or 1960s flower brooches. The pin back is often a different metal from the front. We test each part separately.
Read article →How to sell mixed gold lots by post in the UK
A practical guide for executors, dealers and anyone clearing a drawer of mixed gold. Different carats, broken pieces and unknown items are all sorted, XRF-tested and offered piece-by-piece in writing.
Read article →How to sell gold jewellery without hallmarks by post in the UK
Plenty of old and imported jewellery carries no British hallmark at all. XRF reads the metal regardless of the stamp, so unmarked does not mean unsellable.
Read article →Sell Gold Sovereigns by Post in the UK
A practical guide to posting full gold sovereigns to a UK buyer, written for sellers who want a written valuation before they decide.
Read article →Sell Gold Half Sovereigns by Post in the UK
How to sell half sovereigns by post: weights, hallmarks, what affects the offer and how the written valuation is produced.
Read article →Sell Krugerrand Gold Coins by Post in the UK
Selling Krugerrands by post, what the South African Mint produced, how the alloy behaves under XRF, and what to flag before you ship.
Read article →Sell Gold Britannia Coins by Post in the UK
A clear guide to selling Royal Mint Gold Britannias by post, the 22 carat era, the 24 carat era, and the tax status sellers ask about most.
Read article →Sell Gold Maple Leaf Coins by Post in the UK
How to sell Royal Canadian Mint Gold Maple Leafs by post, including the soft-24-carat damage rules every seller should understand before shipping.
Read article →Sell American Gold Eagle Coins by Post in the UK
A working guide to selling US Mint Gold Eagles from the UK by post, including the alloy quirks that make the Eagle harder-wearing than a Maple Leaf.
Read article →Sell Gold Bars by Post in the UK
How to sell investment gold bars by post in the UK, minted versus cast, assay cards, LBMA recognition and what damages a bar offer.
Read article →Sell PAMP Suisse Gold Bars by Post in the UK
A practical guide to selling PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna and Veriscan bars by post in the UK, including the fake red flags every seller should know.
Read article →Sell Metalor Gold Bars by Post in the UK
A clear guide to selling Metalor gold bars by post in the UK, with notes on the plain-style design, serial stamps and assay card importance.
Read article →Sell Credit Suisse Gold Bars by Post in the UK
How to sell Credit Suisse-branded gold bars by post in the UK, including notes on the brand history after the UBS merger and how this affects identification.
Read article →Sell Silver Coins by Post in the UK
A working guide to selling British and foreign silver coins by post, including the pre-1920 sterling rule, the 1920-1946 .500 rule and the Britannia silver one ounce coin.
Read article →Sell Silver Jewellery by Post in the UK
How to sell silver jewellery by post in the UK, sterling, 800 continental, unhallmarked Asian silver and how stones affect the offer.
Read article →Sell Silver Bullion Bars by Post in the UK
How to sell silver bullion bars by post in the UK, with notes on the main refiners, the sizes we accept and the condition rules that affect a written valuation.
Read article →Sell Silver Flatware and Cutlery by Post in the UK
How to sell sterling silver flatware and cutlery by post, sterling versus EPNS, where the hallmarks sit, and why knife handles weigh less than they look.
Read article →Sell Britannia Silver Coins by Post in the UK
How to sell Royal Mint silver Britannia 1oz coins by post in the UK, with notes on the pre-2013 and post-2013 purity change and the CGT-exempt status.
Read article →How to Identify Real Gold at Home
Seven checks you can do at home before posting an item for XRF testing, most of them non-destructive. None of these tests is a substitute for XRF. They are an orientation, not a verdict.
Read article →Gold Plated vs Solid Gold: How to Tell the Difference
A practical guide to telling gold-plated jewellery from solid gold, with notes on hallmark conventions, weight feel and why GoldPaid still XRF-tests plated items.
Read article →Rolled Gold vs Solid Gold Explained
Rolled gold looks the same as solid gold across a table. Under a loupe and a scale it tells a very different story. Here is how to spot which one you have, and what postal buyers will actually pay for each.
Read article →Gold-Filled vs Gold-Plated vs Vermeil
Three labels that get used as though they mean the same thing. The layers are nothing alike, and neither are the valuations. Here is what each one is, how to identify it, and how postal scrap pricing treats it.
Read article →White Gold vs Platinum: How To Tell
Two silvery rings on a tray look almost identical. The hallmarks, the weight in your palm, and the wear pattern on the inside of the shank tell you which is which. Here is the method.
Read article →Rose Gold vs Red Gold vs Pink Gold
The three names describe the same alloy family with different amounts of copper. The hallmark does not change with colour. Here is what each shade actually is, and why the colour does not change what a postal buyer pays.
Read article →UK Gold Hallmarks: The Complete Guide for 2026
A British hallmark is a small punched legal certificate. Once you know how to read it, you can identify the maker, the purity, the assay office and the year, from a stamp the size of a grain of rice.
Read article →London Assay Office Marks: The Leopard's Head
The leopard's head is the oldest continuously used assay office mark in the world. It has changed shape, gained and lost its crown, and survived the Great Fire. Here is how to read it on a modern hallmark, and what it tells you about the piece.
Read article →Birmingham Assay Office Marks: The Anchor
The Birmingham anchor is the busiest assay office mark in the world by volume. It was lobbied into existence by Matthew Boulton in 1773 and has been hammered onto gold and silver in the Jewellery Quarter ever since.
Read article →Sheffield Assay Office Marks: The Tudor Rose
The Sheffield mark started as a crown, shared with Sheffield Plate manufacturers from 1773. In 1975 it became a Tudor rose for gold, while silver kept its own marks. Here is the story and how to identify it.
Read article →Edinburgh Assay Office Marks: The Castle
The three-towered castle is Scotland's mark, struck on gold and silver in Edinburgh since 1485. It is the oldest assay office mark in Scotland and one of the oldest in the British Isles. Here is how to read it.
Read article →What Does 375 Mean on Gold? 9ct Explained
Three digits, one of the most common marks in any British jewellery box. 375 is the standard mark for 9 carat gold, and it tells you almost everything you need to know about the piece in your hand.
Read article →What Does 585 Mean on Gold? 14ct Explained
A 585 stamp is the standard mark for 14 carat gold. It is rarer in British jewellery than 375 or 750, but very common on European and US imports. Here is what 14ct actually is and how it pays.
Read article →What Does 750 Mean on Gold? 18ct Explained
750 is the standard mark for 18 carat gold. It is the carat of fine jewellery: rich colour, excellent recovery yield, and the gold most often used in high-end British and European retail.
Read article →What Does 916 Mean on Gold? 22ct Explained
916 is the standard mark for 22 carat gold, the carat of choice for Indian, Middle Eastern and Asian jewellery traditions, and for the British sovereign coin. Here is what the number means and how it pays.
Read article →What Does 999 Mean on Gold? 24ct Explained
999 is fine gold, the closest practical purity to pure gold used in coinage and bullion. It is too soft for everyday jewellery and is mostly held as bars, coins and one-off investment pieces.
Read article →Gold Price Per Gram UK by Carat Explained
What does a "price per gram" really mean for 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, 22ct and 24ct? Here is the maths, the inputs, and why no honest UK buyer should be quoting a single fixed-£ figure from memory.
Read article →Spot Price vs Scrap Price Explained
Why is the price you see on a gold ticker different from the price a UK scrap buyer offers per gram? The answer is mostly arithmetic, not conspiracy. Here are the components.
Read article →Probate jewellery valuation in the UK (2026 guide for executors)
An executor needs two distinct numbers, not one: a probate-grade valuation at the date of death for HMRC, and a realisation-grade figure for what the items will actually sell for. Here is how the two differ, when a SoFA-qualified valuer is required, and where a documented XRF assay genuinely is enough.
Read article →Sell inherited jewellery in the UK: a practical guide
Clearing a parent's jewellery box is not a transaction. It is an act of grief. Here is the unhurried walkthrough, the sentiment-first sort, the photo-and-WhatsApp shortcut for an indicative figure, the decline-and-return path with no pressure, and the answers to the questions families actually ask.
Read article →Sell gold in London: a borough-by-borough guide
There is no GoldPaid branch in any London borough. There is no GoldPaid branch anywhere. Here is how the postal service works for residents of each borough, and the borough-specific pages with the detail.
Read article →Selling inherited gold during probate: the UK process
A short walkthrough of where a postal buyer fits, and does not fit, into the UK probate process, and what executors should know before any items are sold.
Read article →How to sell inherited gold jewellery in the UK
Inherited jewellery rarely arrives with a manual. Here is how to handle it, how to value it, and how to sell what the family has decided to let go of, calmly, by post, on your own time.
Read article →How to sell silver by post in the UK (2026 guide)
Silver value is weight-driven. A canteen of cutlery is often worth meaningfully more than a single chain. Here is how to send it well, what to expect on arrival, and what counts as solid silver versus plated.
Read article →Is now a good time to sell gold? A 2026 perspective
The honest answer is that nobody knows. The useful answer is to understand the levers that move the price, so you can decide on the facts rather than the headlines.
Read article →Do I pay tax when I sell gold jewellery in the UK?
Most household jewellery sales fall outside Capital Gains Tax because of the chattel exemption. The bigger and rarer the piece, the more this can matter, here is how to think about it.
Read article →Do you pay tax when selling gold in the UK? CGT explained
For most household sales the honest answer is "probably not, but check." The Capital Gains Tax rules treat different types of gold differently, sovereigns, jewellery, bullion and scrap all sit in slightly different boxes.
Read article →How to sell gold safely by post in the UK (2026 guide)
A plain-English walkthrough of the whole process, from the first WhatsApp message to the money arriving in your account, plus exactly what makes a postal sale safe and how to read the small print before you part with anything.
Read article →Is selling a broken gold chain worth it?
Almost always yes, a broken chain holds exactly the same gold as it did when whole, and reputable buyers do not deduct for the damage.
Read article →Sell gold versus pawnbroker: the honest maths
These are different businesses, not interchangeable ones. A pawnbroker is in the loan business; a scrap buyer is in the buying business; a postal specialist is the same business with less overhead. Here is what each typically pays as a share of metal value, the worked example on a 30g 9ct chain, and which one is right when.
Read article →What happens if Royal Mail loses your gold parcel
Lost Special Delivery parcels are very rare, but knowing the process before you post turns "what if" anxiety into a five-step plan.
Read article →8 common mistakes people make when selling gold online
Eight things that genuinely cost UK sellers money or stress when selling gold online, and the cheap, simple ways to avoid each one.
Read article →Why high-street gold buyers tend to pay less
It is not a moral failing of shop owners. It is the economics of a shopfront, plus a quiet psychological dynamic at the counter. Both are real, both come out of your offer, and both are avoidable.
Read article →How we calculate the per-gram price at GoldPaid
There is no proprietary formula and no mystery. Three measured facts, one live market rate, and a written breakdown you see before you decide.
Read article →How to sell dental gold in the UK (crowns, bridges, fillings)
Dental gold is an alloy with real value, even with porcelain or tooth material attached. You do not need to clean or take anything apart, here is exactly how the postal sale works.
Read article →What determines the gold price: seven key factors
A short, plain-English tour of the seven things that move the world gold price, and which of them matter most to a UK seller in any given week.
Read article →Selling gold coins vs gold jewellery: what is different
Both pay for the gold content, but coins can carry a collector premium that jewellery rarely does, and a handful of UK coins are also exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Here is what changes how each is valued.
Read article →How gold is weighed: grams, troy ounces and pennyweights
Three units, one piece of metal. Knowing which is which avoids a common cause of confusion when comparing offers, and tells you what the buyer is actually doing.
Read article →9ct vs 14ct vs 18ct vs 22ct gold: the difference in value per gram
The carat system in one place. What each number actually means in pure-gold terms, where each one tends to come from, the maths worked through on a 30g chain at every carat, and why 9ct dominates UK jewellery boxes while 22ct dominates South Asian wedding gold.
Read article →How to read a gold hallmark in 60 seconds
Three numbers and three shapes are enough to identify almost any UK gold or silver item. Here is the one-minute reading method.
Read article →Charity division guides
Ten free, practical guides for charity shops and warehouses on finding, sorting and turning donated gold, silver, watches and broken jewellery into funds for your cause.
The Hidden Gold in Your Donation Bags
How to spot real value in donation bags before it ever reaches the rail - and stop money walking out the door.
Read guide →The Jewellery Drawer Audit
Turn the 'unsellable' jewellery box every shop has into a clean, recorded bank transfer for your cause.
Read guide →Broken, Tangled and Single Earrings
Why the damaged jewellery pile your shop can't display is often worth more than your best cabinet.
Read guide →Watches in the Donation Pile
How to tell a scrap watch from a treasure - old or new, working or broken - before it's priced at a pound.
Read guide →The Warehouse Sorting Hub Playbook
How a multi-shop charity centralises precious-metal value into one controlled, recorded income stream.
Read guide →Hallmarks for Charity Volunteers
The five-minute skill that lets any volunteer tell solid precious metal from plated - and stop giving money away.
Read guide →Estate, Probate and House-Clearance Donations
Whole-household donations are the highest-value donations a charity receives - and the easiest to process too fast.
Read guide →Costume vs Real Jewellery
A no-jargon, no-equipment way to sort donated jewellery fast - and never bin the real thing by mistake.
Read guide →Silver in Disguise
Cutlery, frames, trinkets and candlesticks - the donations charity shops underprice most, and how to stop.
Read guide →Building a Gold Box System
Turn lucky finds into a permanent, repeatable income line your charity can actually plan around.
Read guide →Common questions
What is the Journal for?
It is a working library of plain-English articles on the practical questions sellers face: how postal selling works in practice, how items are tested and valued, postal cover, probate and inheritance scenarios, hallmark reading, and honest comparisons between selling routes. Every article is written for someone who would rather get the detail right than be rushed.
How often is the Journal updated?
New articles are published as topics warrant a dedicated walkthrough rather than to a fixed publishing schedule. Existing articles are reviewed and updated when laws, postal cover levels or market practice change.
Are the articles independent or commercial?
They are written by GoldPaid and disclose that, but the practical guidance is honest. Where another selling route is better for a given item or situation, for example a specialist coin or stone, the Journal will say so rather than push every reader towards GoldPaid.
Can I share or link to a Journal article?
Yes. Articles are public, indexable and shareable. If you are quoting one for an estate solicitor, charity-shop manager or family member, please link to the canonical URL rather than copy-pasting the text.