Before you post anything
The first step is a question, not a commitment. Send a photo on WhatsApp or call us. We will give you a rough estimate where possible on what you have and explain how the process works for your items. There is no charge and no obligation, and nothing leaves your hands until you decide to post.
The four steps
- Ask first, then get your free postal label. Message us on WhatsApp with a photo, or call with any questions. Tell us roughly what you have (broken chains, old jewellery, coins, scrap, silver) and we explain how it works for your items. When you are ready, we send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, usually within 30 minutes between 8am and 9pm. No waiting for a pack to arrive.
- Wrap it up and post it. Use any padded envelope. There is no special pack to wait for. Attach the label (or show the QR code at the counter) and hand the parcel in at a Post Office, keeping the receipt. It travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, 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. A larger lot can be split across more than one prepaid label at no charge.
- In-house XRF assay and a written offer. Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and XRF-tested. XRF reads the metals in an item without marking it. You receive a dated, itemised written offer showing purity, weight, the rate used and the figure.
- Accept or decline. Your call. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer using Faster Payments, straight to your account; we aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance. Decline and we return everything free of charge by tracked, signed-for post. There is no pressure and no fee.
How your parcel is protected
Every label we send is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, tracked end to end and signed for on delivery. 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 you believe your items are worth more than that, message us first: we split the consignment across two or more prepaid labels at no charge and confirm each tracking number with you. You can read the detail on postage and cover and how we handle your parcel.
How we arrive at your offer
Every offer is built from three measurable facts: confirmed purity, accurate weight, and the live precious-metal market for that purity on the day we assess your items, with our margin already inside the figure. You see each figure in a written breakdown before you decide anything. The full method is on how we value gold.
Wherever you are posting from
The four-step process for selling gold by post is identical whether the parcel starts in a market town, a coastal village, a Snowdonia settlement or a harbour town. Every county carries the same free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, the same written no-obligation valuation, and the same rates for gold and silver metal content. See the national locations index for the full list of county hubs.
How you are paid
Payment is by Faster Payments bank transfer to the account you nominate, once you have accepted your offer. We do not pay in cash and we do not pay by cheque, so we handle no cash at any point and are not an HMRC-registered high value dealer. What that means, and which registrations we do and do not hold, is set out on payments, cash and money laundering rules. The payment mechanics are on payment methods.
What our one-working-hour aim means. We aim to send payment by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance, and our working hours are 8am to 9pm, every day. Faster Payments run at weekends, so a Saturday acceptance is not held until Monday. Very occasionally a bank’s own cut-off delays arrival until the next morning.
How long does the whole process take, end to end?
We aim for the money to reach your bank within 24 hours of posting. We use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, test your items promptly on receipt, and aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance. The 24-hour target is an aim, not a guarantee: it depends on posting before the local cut-off, the applicable working-day delivery service, prompt acceptance, completed identity checks and bank processing.
- Before posting. Please send us photos on WhatsApp and we will help you. Your free label is usually emailed within 30 minutes during our contact hours.
- Post before the cut-off. Hand your parcel over at a Post Office counter and keep the receipt. Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed follows the delivery commitment for the service and destination used; working days and local cut-offs matter.
- On receipt. We promptly inspect, weigh and test your items, then send an itemised written offer. You decide whether to accept; there is no pressure to meet our payment target. The written offer states how long it remains valid.
- After acceptance. We aim to send your bank transfer within one working hour. Our overall aim is money in your bank within 24 hours of posting, subject to delivery, your acceptance, completed identity checks and bank processing.
- If you decline. We return your items free by tracked, signed-for post. Return delivery is separate from the payment target.
The 24-hour target is an aim, not a guaranteed deadline. Posting after the cut-off, weekends, bank holidays, delivery exceptions, complex consignments or checks can extend it. Take as long as you need to decide on your offer. We explain any delay we know about, and bank processing can affect when funds appear in your account.
Common questions
Can I bring my gold to a shop instead?
There is no shop to visit. GoldPaid is postal only and UK-wide, so there is no counter and no high-street rent to pay for, and the same service wherever you live. You send a photo first, post with a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label when you are ready, and nothing is decided until a written offer is in front of you.
Is it safe to post gold for valuation in the UK?
Yes, when the parcel travels by Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, which is tracked end to end and signed for on delivery. 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. At GoldPaid the label is prepaid and free. Parcels are signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is tested by XRF on a Thermo Scientific Niton XL2 without marking it. If you decline the offer, everything is returned free by tracked post.
What happens after I accept or decline a GoldPaid offer?
After XRF assay GoldPaid emails a dated written valuation showing the carat, weight, rate used and total. If you accept by reply, payment goes by Faster Payments to your nominated UK bank account, and we aim to send it within one working hour of your acceptance. If you decline, your parcel is returned free of charge by tracked Royal Mail Special Delivery. There is no fee for declining, no reason required and no follow-up pressure. You can ask questions on 07944 014111 or goldpaiduk@gmail.com, answered 8am to 9pm, seven days.
How long does it take to be paid for gold through GoldPaid?
We aim for the money to reach your bank within 24 hours of posting. We use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, test your items promptly on receipt, and aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance. The 24-hour target is an aim, not a guarantee: it depends on posting before the local cut-off, the applicable working-day delivery service, prompt acceptance, completed identity checks and bank processing.
Do I have to commit to anything before I post?
No. You can ask as many questions as you like first, and send photos on WhatsApp for a rough estimate where possible. Nothing leaves your hands until you choose to post, and even then there is no obligation to accept the offer.
Do I need to know what my gold is before I post it?
No. You do not need to identify the carat, the weight or even whether something is gold: the XRF assay and the scales confirm all of that when your parcel arrives. Send a photo first if you would like a rough estimate where possible. Anything that turns out not to be gold, silver, platinum or palladium is listed at nil on the written offer and returned free.
What if I do not have a printer?
We can send a QR code instead of a label. You show it at the Post Office counter and they print the label for you. No printer needed.
I have sovereigns or other gold coins. Are they valued as scrap?
Send a photo of both faces of your coins on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value them before you post anything. Sovereigns and other gold coins are identified by date and mint mark, and nothing is decided until a written offer is in front of you.
What happens if I decline the offer?
Your items are returned to you free of charge by tracked, signed-for post. There is no fee and no follow-up pressure. The full return process is set out on what happens if I decline the offer.
How long do I have to decide?
There is no pressure to decide quickly. The offer arrives by email, dated, and holds for a limited time because metal prices move; if it lapses before you decide, it is re-run at the day’s rate. If you want to talk it over with family first, or wait until an executor or a sibling has seen it, that is normal and nobody will chase you.
Can I accept some pieces and decline the rest?
Yes. Every item is priced separately on the written offer, so you can accept part of a parcel and decline the rest. There is no minimum acceptance and no penalty for splitting it, and anything you decline comes back to you free on the same tracked, signed-for label as everything else.
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.