By Rocco Clayfield, trading as GoldPaid; the business incorporated as GOLDPAID LTD (company 17382540) on 5 August 2026 · Published · updated
1. Posting without a tracked, signed-for service
Ordinary first-class is not adequate cover for gold. Use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed (tracked, signed for, with cover that may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used), or a comparable tracked, signed-for service. The free label GoldPaid arranges is exactly this. The process these mistakes are measured against is documented on the page explaining how selling by post works.
Not sure how any of this applies to your own items? Send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you, call 07944 014111 (8am to 9pm, 7 days a week). We can arrange postage after we have spoken. Nothing is posted until you decide, your parcel is tracked and signed for, the written offer follows the XRF assay, the return is free if you decline, and we aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance.
2. Not keeping the Post Office receipt
The proof-of-postage receipt is your tracking number and your evidence the parcel entered the network. Without it, a compensation claim becomes extremely difficult. Keep it until you have been paid.
3. Accepting a verbal offer
A buyer who will not put the figure in writing is a buyer to walk away from. A written, itemised offer shows the purity, weight, rate used and figure, the working, and lets you compare or sleep on it.
4. Not photographing items before sending
A quick set of phone photos before packing is free and takes a minute. It is your own record of what was in the parcel, useful for any compensation claim and useful if you later want to check what you actually sent.
5. Writing "gold" or "jewellery" on the outside
Never. Plain packaging is part of keeping the parcel safe in transit. Nothing on the outside should hint at the contents.
6. Selling the wrong thing in the wrong place
A metal-value buyer is right for jewellery and scrap. A specialist coin dealer or watch dealer may be right for a genuinely collectable coin or branded watch. An honest postal buyer will tell you when a specialist is the better home for what you have, rather than buying a collectable as scrap. Our guide to getting the most for your gold lists the pieces worth holding back and why.
7. Comparing per-pennyweight or per-troy-ounce rates without converting
Different buyers quote in different units. Always convert to per-gram before comparing. A "high" per-pennyweight rate may be lower per-gram than a competitor’s per-gram quote, see our weights guide.
8. Selling in a hurry after a loss
Inherited items rarely arrive at a moment when good decisions are easy to make. There is no rush. A reputable postal buyer will not press you: if a dated offer lapses while you think, it is re-run at the day’s rate, and your items come back free of charge if you change your mind. Slow is, here, almost always cheaper than fast.