By Rocco Clayfield, Founder & Director, GoldPaid Ltd · Published 4 December 2025 · updated 6 August 2026
Three businesses, often confused for one
When people compare "places to sell gold", they usually have three quite different businesses in mind: a pawnbroker on the high street, a "we buy gold" cash-for-gold shop or jeweller's back-counter buying desk, and a postal precious-metals specialist that buys by mail. The three look superficially similar, you hand over gold, you receive an offer, but the underlying economics produce meaningfully different prices, and understanding why is the difference between accepting a reasonable figure and accepting the first figure.
All three are regulated. Pawnbrokers fall under the Financial Conduct Authority's consumer-credit framework because the core product is a loan. Cash-for-gold shops that pay out in notes fall under the UK Money Laundering Regulations as high value dealers, for which HMRC is the sector supervisor. A postal buyer that pays only by bank transfer, GoldPaid included, handles no cash and so falls outside that regime altogether. None of that regulation sets the price you receive, the price is purely a function of the buyer's business model.
A pawnbroker is a lender, not a buyer
A pawnbroker's core product is a short-term loan secured against your item. You hand over the item, receive cash, and have the right to repay the loan with interest (typically expressed as a monthly percentage charge) and reclaim the item within a contractual redemption window, commonly six months. The largest UK chains in this space are H&T Pawnbrokers and Cash Converters, both of which publish their lending and buying terms openly and operate within the FCA consumer-credit regime.
A pawnbroker will usually also offer an outright sale price as an alternative to the loan. That outright price is set deliberately below the loan-against price, for two reasons. First, the pawnbroker prefers the loan, because the loan generates interest income and there is a meaningful chance you do not redeem and the item ends up in the shop's retail stock at full margin. Second, an outright purchase is a one-shot transaction where the pawnbroker is buying a piece that will most likely either resell retail (at a much higher margin than scrap) or, failing that, be sold on to a refiner at scrap rates net of the shop's costs. The outright offer has to make sense at the worst-case exit, which means it has to leave room for that exit.
In practice, UK pawn-counter outright offers for ordinary 9ct and 18ct jewellery often sit in the range of 30 to 60 per cent of the underlying metal value, depending on the shop, the item and the day. That is not a rule, and individual transactions vary. It is the working range a careful seller should expect, and the reason a second written quote from a buying-only specialist is almost always worth the postage cost.
A high-street scrap buyer is somewhere in between
A "we buy gold" cash-for-gold shop, or the buying desk inside a regular jeweller, has a simpler model than a pawnbroker. It buys metal outright, sorts it by carat, and either resells the better pieces retail (rings, chains in saleable condition) or sends scrap to a refiner. There is no loan book and no redemption optionality to price in, so the offer can be closer to the underlying metal value than a pawn-counter buy-out.
The constraint on the high-street scrap buyer is the shopfront. Rent in a footfall location, staff costs, security infrastructure, insurance, business rates and the cost of stock that does not move all sit between the live precious-metal rate and the offer. In practice that puts UK high-street scrap-buyer offers for ordinary jewellery somewhere in the 60 to 85 per cent of metal value band, with independent jewellers at the higher end and high-volume chain operators usually at the lower end. Specialist Hatton Garden buyers like Hatton Garden Metals publish indicative per-gram rates by carat and tend to sit near the top of this range on standard scrap, with bullion priced separately, our sourced comparison with Hatton Garden Metals sets out their published rates and where they are stronger than a postal buyer.
The counter dynamic matters here too, see why high-street gold buyers tend to pay less for the longer treatment. Once you are at the counter with your items visible, the friction of declining and walking out is real, which lets a shop price firmly. None of that is unethical; it is just how the format works.
Not sure how any of this applies to your own items? Send a photo on WhatsApp and ask. We answer honestly, there is no obligation, and nothing is posted until you decide. Or call 07944 014111, 8am to 9pm, 7 days a week.
A postal specialist has neither shop nor loan book
A postal precious-metals buyer like GoldPaid runs the leanest of the three structures. There is no shopfront paying rent in a high street. There are no loans on the book. There is no retail-resale operation eating margin. The only costs the offer has to fund are the labels, the XRF assay equipment, the chain of custody, the secure handling, the Faster Payments transfers, the free tracked returns when sellers decline, and the people running the desk. The remaining margin is what comes out of the gap between the live precious-metal rate and the offer you receive.
In practice, postal specialists who price honestly on this model can pay materially closer to the underlying metal value than either of the other two formats. GoldPaid's positioning is to publish indicative per-gram rates by carat on the calculator and the gold price today page, build the firm offer from the XRF-confirmed purity and the measured weight, and show the working in writing so the seller can sense-check it against the live rate. The honest test of any buyer at any tier is whether the offer is shown with the purity and the rate visible. If both are present, the seller can do the maths. If either is missing, the seller cannot.
Worked example: a 30g 9ct chain at three buyer types
Take a single 30g 9ct chain. 9ct is 37.5% pure, so the chain contains 11.25g of pure gold. Using a notional fine-gold rate of £60.00 per gram (use your live rate when you read this; the structure of the example does not change), the underlying metal value is 11.25g × £60.00 = £675.00. The question is what each of the three buyer types is likely to offer against that £675 figure.
| Buyer type | Typical share of metal value | Offer on £675 metal | How they make the rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnbroker (outright sale) | 30–60% | ~£200–£405 | Loan-default risk priced in; resale margin on better pieces; shop overheads |
| High-street scrap buyer | 60–85% | ~£405–£575 | Shopfront rent, multi-staff, counter friction |
| Postal specialist (GoldPaid) | 85–95%+ | ~£575–£640+ | XRF assay, labels, chain of custody, Faster Payments, free returns |
The figures are illustrative ranges, not promises. Your actual offer at any buyer depends on the live rate on the day, the buyer's margin on that day, and the specific items. The point is the shape of the spread, not the precise numbers. A chain that produces a £250 pawn-counter offer is the same chain that might produce a £600 postal offer, and the only difference is which business model is buying it.
Why pawnbroker rates are lower (and reasonably so)
It is tempting to read a pawn-counter outright offer as "ripping you off", but that framing misses what is actually being priced in. A pawnbroker is offering you instant cash, today, in your hand, with no postage, no waiting and no parcel risk. That speed-to-cash is the product, and it costs the pawnbroker working capital, premises and staff to deliver. The lower outright offer is the price of optionality and immediacy, not malice.
It also reflects loan-default risk. Even on an outright purchase, the pawnbroker is buying with the same balance sheet that runs the loan book, where a meaningful share of customers do not redeem and items end up on the retail shelf for unpredictable holding periods. The outright offer has to leave room for the worst-case exit on every piece, because a portfolio of pawn-counter purchases includes some that will not resell easily. A postal specialist, by contrast, is only ever buying for refining or selective resale, and can therefore price the metal more directly.
None of this is to argue that pawnbrokers should be avoided. It is to argue that they should be used for the product they actually sell, short-term secured credit and on-the-spot cash, rather than as a default outright buyer when an outright sale is the goal.
When a pawnbroker is still the right choice
There are three situations where a pawnbroker is genuinely the better option even with the lower headline offer. First, when you need cash in your hand in the next hour. Postal selling involves a working day in transit each way and a same-day or next-working-day Faster Payments transfer after acceptance, so the round trip is two to four days. If you need to make rent on Friday and your gold is in front of you on Thursday afternoon, a pawn-counter sale is what fits.
Second, when you intend to redeem. A pawn loan lets you raise cash against the item while keeping the option to buy it back within the redemption window. For a piece with sentimental value (a wedding ring, a parent's watch), the pawn route preserves that optionality in a way no outright sale can.
Third, when you would rather meet a person face-to-face before parting with the item. For some sellers, the postal model genuinely is not the right fit, and a regulated high-street pawnbroker offers the human counter experience with full FCA consumer-credit protection. That is a reasonable preference, and there is nothing wrong with acting on it.
A short comparison table
| Postal specialist (GoldPaid) | High-street scrap buyer | Pawnbroker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core business | Outright purchase for refining/resale | Outright purchase for resale/scrap | Short-term loan against item; also buys |
| Regulatory framework | No cash handled, so outside the HMRC high value dealer regime | HMRC high value dealer registration where cash is paid out | FCA consumer-credit framework, plus HMRC high value dealer registration where cash is paid out |
| Testing method | XRF assay, written breakdown | Acid test, visual or XRF | Acid test or visual, often quick |
| Decision pressure | None, written offer, free decline | Counter dynamic in real time | Counter dynamic in real time |
| Get the item back? | No, once accepted | No, once accepted | Yes, if loan is repaid in time |
| Cash speed | Faster Payments after acceptance | Cash or transfer on the day | Instant cash on the spot |
| Decline cost | Free tracked, signed-for return | Walk out with the item | Walk out with the item |
| Typical share of metal value | 85–95%+ | 60–85% | 30–60% on outright |
The other selling routes, compared the same way
A pawnbroker and a scrap counter are only two of the routes open to you, and the same structural questions, who is the buyer, what are they actually buying, what does their model cost, apply to every other one. Each of the guides below runs the comparison honestly, including where the other route is the better answer.
- Selling gold online versus a local jeweller, where a jeweller pays a resale price rather than a metal price.
- eBay, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace versus a postal buyer, now that UK private sellers pay no eBay final value fees.
- Auction versus a postal buyer, with published UK seller charges and the pieces that belong in a saleroom.
- Pop-up and hotel gold buying events, and why there is no cooling-off right when you are the seller.
- Selling to a friend or family member, including the HMRC connected persons rule.
- Selling versus keeping it, the comparison with no commission attached.
Common questions
Will a pawnbroker pay less for an outright sale than a specialist buyer?
Almost always yes. A pawn-counter outright offer reflects the loan-based business model, the shop overheads and the worst-case-exit pricing that the pawnbroker has to apply across the book. Your specific offers should always be compared in writing.
Can I get my gold back if I sell to GoldPaid?
No. Once you accept the written offer it is an outright sale. Before you accept, you can decline freely and the items are returned to you by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail at no charge. If keeping the option to recover the item matters, a pawn loan is the right product.
How quickly can a pawnbroker give me cash?
Almost immediately at the counter, subject to ID and money-laundering checks. Postal selling involves a working day each way plus assessment, with Faster Payments on acceptance, so the round trip is typically two to four working days.
What percentage of metal value should I expect from a postal buyer?
A reputable postal specialist running on lean overheads can pay materially closer to the underlying metal value than a high-street alternative. Indicative per-gram rates by carat are published on the calculator and the firm figure is built from the XRF assay against the live rate.
Is it worth getting a pawn quote and a postal quote on the same items?
Yes, especially for anything above a small amount. Both quotes are free. The pawn quote tells you what immediate cash is on offer; the postal quote tells you what the outright sale figure looks like with the working shown. Compare on like-for-like (both written, both itemised) and choose deliberately rather than by default.
Are pawnbrokers regulated?
Yes, UK pawnbrokers operate under the Financial Conduct Authority's consumer-credit framework because the loan is the core product. Both H&T Pawnbrokers and Cash Converters publish their terms under that regime. Buyers that pay out in cash fall under the UK Money Laundering Regulations instead, as high value dealers with HMRC as the sector supervisor. A postal buyer paying only by bank transfer, as GoldPaid does, handles no cash and sits outside that regime, so its absence from the HMRC register is not a warning sign.
Why not just sell to whoever is nearest?
Because the spread between buyer types is wide enough to matter, often hundreds of pounds on a mid-sized lot. Convenience is a real value, but it is rarely worth more than the difference between a 40 per cent offer and a 90 per cent offer on the same metal.
Where can I see what GoldPaid actually pays?
Indicative per-gram rates by carat sit on the gold calculator against the live rate, and the underlying fine-gold rate is published on gold price today. The firm offer is built from the XRF-confirmed purity and the measured weight of your specific items.
What happens if I don’t pay back a pawnbroker loan on my gold?
You lose the item, but not more than that. Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 a pawned item stays redeemable for at least six months, and if you do not redeem it the pawnbroker sells it. If the sale raises more than you owe, the surplus must be paid to you. The one exception is very small loans: where the credit is £75 or less on a standard six-month agreement, ownership passes to the pawnbroker automatically instead. The pawnbroker must give notice before selling, and H&T, the largest UK chain, allows a month’s grace before items go to auction. Non-redemption is not chased as a debt; the item itself is the lender’s recourse.
How much interest do pawnbrokers charge on gold loans?
Typically several per cent of the loan per month. H&T, the UK’s largest pawnbroker, charges daily interest of around 0.34 per cent per day, roughly 10.5 per cent per month, with a representative APR of 125.9 per cent fixed and a maximum of 165.5 per cent on a standard six-month term (handt.co.uk, checked August 2026). That is the price of on-the-spot secured cash with no credit check, and it is only worth paying if you genuinely intend to redeem. If you have already decided to part with the gold, taking a loan and letting it lapse means the interest comes out of any surplus when the item is sold, leaving you with less than a straightforward outright sale would have raised.
How long do I have to buy my gold back from a pawnbroker?
At least six months, by law. Section 116 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes a pawn redeemable for six months from the date it is taken, and you can agree a longer period with the pawnbroker. After the redemption period ends, the item usually remains redeemable right up until the pawnbroker actually sells it, and no higher charge can be applied for redeeming late than for redeeming on time. The exception is credit of £75 or less, which can pass to the pawnbroker automatically at the six-month mark. If the buy-back option is the whole point, for a wedding ring, say, diarise the date and keep the pawn receipt safe, because you will need it to redeem.
Does pawning my gold affect my credit score?
Generally no, in either direction. A pawn loan is secured on the item itself, so most UK pawnbrokers run no credit check to lend, and H&T states that it does not report pawnbroking loans to any credit reference agency, so neither the loan nor a failure to redeem appears on your credit file. The flip side is that repaying promptly builds no credit history either, and practice can vary by lender, so check the agreement before signing. The real cost of not redeeming is losing the item, which for a sentimental piece is a heavier penalty than any credit-file entry.
Can you haggle with a pawnbroker or a gold buyer?
At a counter, often yes. Pawn-counter and high-street buying offers usually contain some discretion, and a competing written quote is the strongest negotiating tool there is. A postal specialist’s offer works differently: it is built from measured weight, XRF-confirmed purity and the day’s rate, so there is far less discretionary room to bargain over. That cuts both ways: less room to haggle also means less room for the offer to have been set low in anticipation of haggling. If you enjoy negotiating face to face and are prepared to walk out, the high street rewards that. Either way, negotiate against written figures, never verbal ones.
Do I pay tax if I sell or pawn my gold?
Pawning is not a taxable event, because a loan secured against your gold is not a disposal of it. Selling is a disposal for Capital Gains Tax purposes, but HMRC only requires a gain on a personal possession to be reported where a single item sells for more than £6,000, which puts most household jewellery outside CGT altogether. UK legal-tender coins such as Sovereigns and Britannias are exempt entirely because they are currency, and there is no income tax on selling your own possessions unless you are trading. The detail, including the marginal relief above £6,000, is in our jewellery CGT explainer. General information, not tax advice.
Will I get more for gold jewellery if I sell it as jewellery rather than for scrap?
Sometimes, and it is worth checking before any scrap sale. A signed piece from a recognised house, a fine gemstone, or jewellery in genuinely saleable condition can be worth more than its metal content to a jeweller, dealer or auction house, and a metal-price buyer, GoldPaid included, is the wrong first stop for those pieces. For most of what people actually sell, broken chains, single earrings, worn 9ct rings, the metal is the value, and the question becomes which buyer pays closest to it. If you are unsure which side of the line a piece sits, send photographs first; an honest buyer will say when an item deserves a specialist rather than the scales. The auction comparison covers the saleroom route.
Is it worth posting a small amount of gold, or should I just use a local shop?
For a single very light item, a gram or two of 9ct, a local counter is a reasonable choice: the percentage advantage of a postal specialist is worth only a few pounds at that size, and cash on the spot can fairly outweigh it. From a few grams upwards the maths changes quickly. On the 30g 9ct chain in the worked example above, the gap between a 40 per cent offer and a 90 per cent offer is over £300. The prepaid label costs you nothing either way, so the practical rule is: where the difference is a pound or two, do whatever is easiest; beyond that, get the written postal quote before accepting anything at a counter.