Is it safe to post gold? How selling gold by post works

The short answer

• Ask questions and send photos before you post anything.
• Hand the parcel in at a Post Office counter: the receipt is your proof of postage.
• Keep the receipt until you are paid or your items are back.
• Check the buyer’s company number at Companies House and read its terms on returns.
• Get the offer in writing before anything is melted.

Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed is tracked end to end, needs a signature on delivery, and, under Royal Mail’s compensation policy, it is the service that pays compensation for money and jewellery. Your items remain yours while they travel, and they travel at your risk: if a parcel is lost, the remedy is a compensation claim to Royal Mail, and the claim is made by the sender, which is you, using your proof of postage. That is exactly why the things that make it genuinely safe are within your control: post at a staffed Post Office counter, keep the receipt, use the right postal service for what you are sending, tell us first if your items may be worth more than the cover on the label, and deal only with a buyer who lets you ask questions first and returns your items free of charge if you decline.

That last point matters most. A safe transaction is not just about the post. It is about who is at the other end. The rest of this page walks through both: the postal mechanics, and how GoldPaid runs its UK-wide postal gold buying service so you never have to post blindly.

You can ask before you post anything

The single biggest reassurance is also the simplest: you do not have to commit to anything to start. Send a photo on WhatsApp or call, tell us roughly what you have, and you will get a rough estimate and answers to any questions, before a label is even requested, let alone a parcel sent.

Nothing leaves your hands until you decide it should. There is no pressure, no countdown, and no obligation. If you are not comfortable, you do not post.

How the postal cover works

Items are sent on Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, fully tracked and signed for. The compensation cover that applies depends on the Special Delivery service level used, so GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post, and can arrange a suitable approach for higher-value parcels.

Two things keep you protected: keep your Post Office receipt (it carries the tracking number and is your proof of postage for any claim), and ask first if you are unsure what cover level suits what you are sending. The full detail is on postage and cover.

What happens once your parcel arrives

Your parcel is addressed to GoldPaid’s staffed office at Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. It is signed for on arrival and opened there, and we message you to confirm what arrived against the description you gave when you asked for the label. Every item is then weighed and tested by XRF spectrometry, a non-destructive method that reads the metal content, with no acid and no scratching. You then receive a clear, written, itemised offer showing the purity, weight, rate and figure for each piece.

You can see exactly how this works on how we handle your parcel, XRF testing explained and how we value gold.

What happens if you decline

There is never any obligation to accept. If the written offer is not for you, you simply decline, and GoldPaid returns everything to you free of charge by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery. No fee, no follow-up pressure. You only ever commit at the point you explicitly accept. The full return process is on what happens if I decline the offer.

The written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. Nobody chases you for an answer, and if the offer lapses before you decide, it is re-run at the day’s rate, so nothing forces a same-day decision. You can also accept part of a parcel and decline the rest, with no minimum acceptance and no penalty for splitting it, so keeping one piece and selling the others is a normal thing to do here rather than an exception.

Who is at the other end

The postal risk is only half the question. The other half is who receives the parcel. GoldPaid is the trading name of GOLDPAID LTD, registered in England and Wales, registered office 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. It works from a staffed office at Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, at the same address, and it is owner-run: the founder, Rocco Clayfield, answers the phone and the WhatsApp line himself. There is no counter and no walk-in service; items are received only by prepaid tracked label.

What that means in practice is checkable rather than asserted. The company record is public at Companies House. The written offer shows the assayed purity, the payable weight and the rate used for each item, so the arithmetic is yours to check. Every seller sends a photograph of UK photo ID, whatever the parcel is worth: that is GoldPaid’s own practice rather than a legal obligation, because payment is by bank transfer only and no cash is handled. More on that in payments, cash and money laundering rules and about GoldPaid.

How to post gold safely, a practical checklist

1. Photograph your items first. A quick photo of everything before you pack it is your own record.
2. Wrap each piece individually in tissue or bubble wrap so nothing moves or scratches in transit.
3. Use a small rigid box or padded envelope and seal every edge with strong tape.
4. Keep the packaging plain. No mention of the contents anywhere on the outside.
5. Use Royal Mail Special Delivery, the prepaid label GoldPaid sends is exactly this service.
6. Keep your Post Office receipt with the tracking number until you have been paid. It is your proof of postage.

How to judge any postal gold buyer, not just us

Safety is also about choosing well. Whichever buyer you approach, look for:

• A buyer who lets you ask questions and send photos first. No pressure to commit blind.
• A clear, written no-obligation offer you see before any money changes hands.
• A stated, free returns policy if you decline, and clarity on how items come back.
• A transparent testing and valuation method, not a vague “we’ll let you know”.
• Tracked, signed-for postage and clear guidance on proof of postage and cover.
• Honest language, be wary of fake urgency, “guaranteed highest price” claims, and pressure tactics.

GoldPaid is built around every one of these. See postal versus high street for how the postal route compares, and what we buy for what you can send.

The longer version of that checklist, including the terms-and-conditions clauses worth searching for before you post and the checks you can run on any buyer in ten minutes, is in red flags: how to tell a postal gold buyer is not worth using. If you have already posted and something has gone wrong, the escalation routes and the deadlines that apply are set out in what to do if something goes wrong.

Read more before you decide

Common questions