Mixed gold lots: how a parcel of odds and ends is sorted and priced

What you can put in a mixed lot

A mixed estate or drawer-clearance parcel can hold anything: rings of different carats, broken chains (curb, rope, Belcher), single earrings without backs, a charm bracelet, pendants, a sovereign and pieces that "look gold but might not be". Silver and gold-plated costume items can go in the same parcel. You do not have to work out what is what before posting, because sorting and testing are done here. If you already have a drawer to send rather than a question to settle, the service page to sell unwanted jewellery covers the label, the timings and the paperwork.

Sorting is part of the service. You do not need to identify or separate anything before posting.

How XRF sorts a mixed parcel

Each piece is laid out and XRF-tested. The reading gives us the verified purity (375 for 9ct, 750 for 18ct, 916 for 22ct, 999 for 24ct, 925 for sterling silver). Pieces that read well below 375 are usually plated or a low foreign standard such as 333, and the offer says which. Each is reported on its own line so you can see what was tested as what.

Silver pieces (sterling 925, Britannia 958) are also valued and offered separately if you want to sell them. Costume and plated pieces are returned at our cost if you would rather keep them.

The written offer format for mixed lots

For mixed parcels, the written offer typically looks like a table: piece description, weight, tested purity, deductions (stones, clasps, non-gold parts), gold weight, offer amount. Each piece is on its own line. There is no averaging.

You can accept any combination, in any order. "Sell rings 1 and 3, return ring 2, sell all the chains, return the brooch" is a perfectly good acceptance reply. Bank transfer covers everything you accept, and we aim to send it within one working hour of your acceptance.

How to post a mixed lot safely

1. Empty everything into one tray and photograph the whole parcel in daylight.
2. WhatsApp 07944 014111 with the overview photo and an estimate of how many pieces.
3. We confirm the prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label sized to the parcel.
4. Place chains in their own bags so they do not tangle further.
5. Pad the parcel well and drop at the Post Office counter.
6. On arrival we lay everything out, sort, test and weigh.

For a mixed lot worth more than £2,500, message first. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used, so GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post, including splitting the consignment over more than one prepaid label. The postal process handles multi-parcel sends as one offer.

Estate and executor parcels

For deceased-estate parcels, the written offer is itemised so the executor has a clear record for probate. We can also email a PDF summary on request. Photo ID is required from the seller on every transaction, estate parcels included, and we tell you at the start. Otherwise the process is the same: photo, label, test, written offer, accept or decline.

For dealer parcels (jewellers and antique dealers clearing trade stock), itemisation is by piece, by carat and by tested weight. Trade-volume sellers can be set up with a recurring label arrangement on request.

Items often mistaken for gold in mixed lots

Several things pass for gold in a drawer: 9ct-stamped curb chains where the body is gold-plated copper, 18ct-stamped rope where only the clasp is solid gold, "yellow metal" Victorian pieces that turn out to be pinchbeck or rolled gold, and silver chains tarnished dark enough to look like gold under a drawer lamp. None of these lower your offer because we test each piece. You are not paid less because other pieces in the parcel were plated.