What we collect from labs and surgeries
- Failed and remade crowns, bridges and copings, with porcelain still fused on
- Casting sprues, buttons and excess from the casting well
- Old crowns and bridgework recovered chairside, decontaminated, with no tooth material attached
- PFM bonding-alloy scrap and white high-noble scrap
- Palladium-silver frameworks, clasps and partial-denture components
- Obsolete alloy stock, part-used ingots and mis-melts
Clean cast scrap is the core of the service. Each piece type is XRF-assayed and weighed separately, as on the consumer sell dental gold page, but with the settlement itemised per element rather than on gold alone. Anything due back to a patient remains the patient’s property, so send only scrap the practice or laboratory owns, and we ask about ownership on any consignment where that is unclear.
Palladium and platinum: what a visual sort misses
The commonest loss in dental scrap is not underweighing gold. It is white noble alloy thrown in the cobalt-chrome bin because it looks like base metal on the bench. Dental alloys carry palladium and platinum that no visual sort can see, which is why every consignment here goes through a multi-element XRF assay before any figure is written.
| Alloy family | Typical composition | What it means for value |
|---|---|---|
| High-noble yellow casting alloys | Often 60–75% gold, with palladium, platinum and silver alongside | The gold is obvious; the palladium and platinum next to it are not, and both are settled separately here |
| White high-noble and PFM bonding alloys | Roughly 40–55% gold with significant palladium | Looks like base metal on the bench; frequently the second most valuable stream in a lab consignment |
| Palladium-silver (Pd-Ag) alloys | Commonly 50–60% palladium with silver | No gold at all, yet real value; the stream a visual sort discards most often |
| Base metal (Ni-Cr, Co-Cr) frameworks | No precious metal | Identified by XRF and excluded honestly; nothing is paid on hope, and nothing noble is missed by eye |
The settlement basis is published, not implied: the written breakdown lists each element measured, the weight it applies to, the market rate used for that element on the day, and the figure it produces. Offers depend on inspection, weight, purity, condition and the market rate on the day, and porcelain, cement and base-metal substructure are weighed off rather than paid for.
Decontamination, packaging and what we refuse
Infection control is not negotiable. Recovered restorations leaving a surgery must be cleaned and disinfected under the practice’s own decontamination procedure before they are posted. The governing guidance is published rather than paraphrased here: HTM 07-01, Safe Management of Healthcare Waste, with the equivalent national technical memoranda in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the GDC’s Standards for the Dental Team. Your compliance lead, not your metal buyer, is the right authority on what may leave the building.
- Decontaminate recovered restorations before posting; material arriving visibly contaminated is not assayed
- No extracted teeth or human tissue, ever. A crown must be separated from the tooth before it is sent; teeth belong in the practice’s clinical waste stream
- No amalgam. Silver-grey amalgam contains mercury, is hazardous waste, and belongs with a licensed dental amalgam waste contractor
- No loose sharps: burs, broken instruments and endodontic files stay out of the parcel
- Seal scrap in a rigid screw-top pot, bagged, inside a padded envelope, with a slip naming the practice or lab and a contact number
How the collection works
- Start on WhatsApp. Send photos of the sorted scrap, grouped roughly by colour and type, for an honest indicative steer on what is worth sending. No charge, no obligation.
- Request the prepaid label. A free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, tracked and signed for, usually within 30 minutes during working hours.
- Post the sealed, decontaminated consignment. Hand it over a Post Office counter and keep the receipt with the tracking number.
- Multi-element XRF assay in-house. Each piece type is assayed and weighed separately, and you receive a written settlement itemised per element: gold, palladium, platinum and silver.
- Accept or decline. Acceptance is paid by bank transfer on Faster Payments within one working hour. Decline and the consignment is returned free by tracked, insured post.
Established accounts run on a rhythm. Most labs settle into a monthly or quarterly cycle with labels sent on a schedule, and, as with the charity-shop programme GoldPaid already runs, a free training session for practice or lab staff on separating noble from base scrap at the bench is part of the arrangement.
What GoldPaid can and cannot do
Can: piece-type assay of clean cast scrap, per-element settlement in writing, scheduled labels for recurring volume, and a straight answer on anything before it is posted. Cannot: GoldPaid is not a clinical waste contractor and does not provide waste-transfer documentation, does not accept amalgam, teeth or contaminated material under any circumstances, and works by post only, so larger consignments are split across parcels rather than collected by courier.
One more honest limit. Bench sweepings and grindings mixed with investment and abrasive under-read on a surface XRF assay, so on heavy sweep volumes a melt-and-assay refiner may return more than we can. Where that is true of your material, we say so before you post it. For sweeps in modest quantity alongside cast scrap, we assess and quote on what the assay supports.
Valued on fact, not estimate
Your valuation rests on three things we can measure. An XRF assay confirms the purity, a calibrated scale records the weight, and the live precious-metal rate on the day sets the price. It is all shown to you in writing first. XRF testing explained covers how the assay works.
Dental consignments are settled per element. The written breakdown lists the measured gold, palladium, platinum and silver by piece type, the rate applied to each element on the day, and the figure each line produces, so a practice manager or lab owner can reconcile the settlement line by line.
Postage and cover
Your parcel is covered by Royal Mail Special Delivery, with cover available up to £2,500 depending on the cover level used. The label we send is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: tracked end to end, signed for on delivery, and arranged with that compensation cover per parcel. If you believe your items are worth more, message us before posting. We will arrange the right approach, either extra cover or splitting the items across more than one parcel. Full detail is on postage and insurance, and is it safe to post gold? walks through posting valuables safely.
If the offer is not for you
Then nothing happens except a free return. We send your items back by tracked, insured post at our cost, with no fee for declining and no follow-up. A valuation is only worth having if you can turn it down freely, so you can. See what happens if I decline the offer.
The payment step
Acceptance triggers payment: a direct bank transfer by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance, to the account you give us. Nothing to bank and nothing to chase.
Built to be trusted, not just believed
- Owner-run, with founder Rocco Clayfield personally accountable for the service
- Every item XRF-assayed, the result shown to you in writing
- Free insured postage both ways, so a valuation is genuinely no-obligation
- Honest about its limits, including when a specialist would suit you better
- No fabricated reviews and no invented numbers, anywhere on the site
Common questions
Do we need to strip porcelain off failed PFM units first?
No. The assay is taken on exposed alloy, usually the fitting surface, and the ceramic is weighed off rather than paid for. Stripping porcelain at the bench loses metal more often than it reveals it, so send failed units as they are.
Can we send extracted teeth with gold crowns still attached?
No. Extracted teeth are human tissue and belong in the practice’s clinical waste stream. Separate the restoration, decontaminate it under your own infection-control procedure, and send the metal alone. Consignments containing tooth material are refused and the sender contacted before anything further happens.
How are palladium and platinum priced?
Per element, against the market rate for that metal on the day of assessment. The written settlement shows each element, the weight it applies to, the rate used and the figure it produces. As with everything here, offers depend on inspection, weight, purity, condition and the market rate on the day.
Do you take bench sweepings and floor grindings?
In modest quantity alongside cast scrap, yes, and we quote on what the assay supports. On heavy sweep volumes mixed with investment, a melt-and-assay refiner may genuinely return more, and we will tell you so before you post rather than after.
Can we set up a regular monthly collection?
Yes. Established accounts take prepaid labels on a monthly or quarterly schedule, with settlement per consignment, and a free training session for staff on what to keep at the bench. Message us on WhatsApp to set it up.
What if we decline the settlement offer?
The consignment is returned free of charge by tracked, insured Royal Mail post. There is no assay fee, no fee for declining and no follow-up pressure.