Why charity shops use a postal buyer
Charity shops regularly receive donated gold, silver and jewellery that is hard to price on the shop floor and easy to undersell. GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service. Your shop or head office posts the items, every piece is XRF-tested, and you receive a written, itemised valuation so the funds raised reflect the real metal content. There is no need to travel to a buyer and no counter pressure.
What makes this hub different from the city and training pages
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How it works for your shop
- Ask before you post. Message us on WhatsApp or call. Tell us roughly what has been donated, mixed jewellery, broken chains, coins, silver cutlery, and we will explain how it works for your charity.
- Send photos on WhatsApp. A few clear photos let us give a rough estimate before anything leaves the shop. No charge, no obligation.
- Request a prepaid Royal Mail label. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label, fully tracked and signed for. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. If the lot may be worth more than £2,500, tell us first and we can split it across more than one prepaid label at no charge. No printer in the shop? We send a QR code for the Post Office counter.
- Receive a written, itemised valuation. Each item is weighed and tested by XRF spectrometry. You get a breakdown showing every item, its purity, weight, the rate used and the offer.
- Accept or decline. Accept and the charity is paid by bank transfer. Decline and everything is returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for post. No fee, no questions.
What decides your offer
Every parcel is opened at our Bristol office and each piece is handled on its own. Nothing is averaged across the parcel.
- Weight. Each item is weighed on scales. Stones, steel springs, non-gold clasps and cores are not paid as gold. The written breakdown explains the payable metal weight for each item, rather than treating everything on the scales as precious metal.
- Purity. Each item is tested with an XRF analyser, which reads the metals at the points tested without marking the item. A surface reading alone cannot establish the composition of a plated or filled piece. Hallmarks, construction and different components all need to be considered alongside the test.
- The market on the day. Gold and silver are priced against the live precious-metal market at the time your parcel is assessed, not at the time you posted.
- Condition and intact value. Broken is fine and does not reduce a metal offer. Where a piece is worth more intact (a named maker, a collectable coin, a locket with provenance) we tell you before testing, so you can choose.
- Anything that is not gold or silver. Plated, rolled-gold and base-metal items are listed on the offer at nothing and returned to you free. We never quietly keep them.
Why we do not publish a per-gram price list. A single printed rate hides the things that change the figure: hollow versus solid, stones, mixed carats in one bag, a mark that does not match the metal. We would rather show you the weight, the tested purity and the figure for each item, in writing, and let you decide. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
What you see before you decide. A written, itemised offer by WhatsApp or email: every item, its weight, its tested purity, and its figure. Accept and we aim to pay by bank transfer within one working hour. Decline and the whole parcel comes back by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. No fee, no deduction, no questions.
Sorting donated jewellery
You do not need to sort or identify anything before posting. Hallmarked and unhallmarked items, costume pieces mixed in with real gold, single earrings, broken chains. Send it all. XRF testing identifies the precious metal in each piece and separates out costume and plated pieces at no cost. Confirmed gold, silver, platinum and palladium are paid on their own lines, and bulk costume jewellery is weighed and bought by the kilo. For a full list of what is bought, see what we buy.
A transparent valuation your trustees can rely on
Every offer is built from measured purity, payable weight and the live precious-metal market on the day. Charity pricing is set separately under GoldPaid’s charity terms. The written breakdown is suitable for charity record-keeping, reconciliation and audit, see how we value gold for the full method and XRF testing explained for how purity is confirmed.
Postage, cover and how the parcel is handled
The label we send is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, tracked end to end and signed for on delivery. Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. If a donation may be worth more than that, message us before posting and we will arrange the right approach. See postage and cover and how we handle your parcel for the full detail.
If you decide not to sell
There is never any obligation to accept. If the valuation is not right for the charity, decline and everything is returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for post, the full process is on what happens if I decline the offer.
Getting the charity paid
Once the written offer is accepted, payment is made by bank transfer using Faster Payments, directly to the charity’s nominated account. You keep the itemised breakdown for your records.
Why sell to GoldPaid
GoldPaid is a small, owner-run UK business built on one promise: show the working. Every item is weighed and XRF-assayed, and every offer is itemised in writing. Postage is free and tracked both ways, and there is never a countdown or a hard sell. If something is worth more to a specialist than to us, we say so.
Common questions
How is payment made to the charity?
By bank transfer using Faster Payments, directly to the charity’s nominated account, once the written offer is accepted. You receive an itemised breakdown for your records and reconciliation.
Do you provide a record of what was bought?
Yes. Every assessment comes with a written, itemised breakdown showing each item, its confirmed purity and weight, the rate used and the offer, suitable for charity record-keeping and audit.
What if some items turn out not to be precious metal?
Costume and plated pieces are identified by XRF at no cost and listed on their own lines. Bulk costume jewellery is weighed and bought by the kilo, a service offered to charities only, never to individual sellers; anything the charity would rather keep comes back with any declined items by tracked, signed-for post.
Not the question you had? The full GoldPaid FAQ covers the rest, from postal cover and ID checks to what happens if you decline the offer.
Speak to us before you post
Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you. We give a rough estimate where possible and arrange postage with you after our conversation. Your final offer follows inspection.