Rough estimates where possible; your final offer follows inspection.
No obligation. Free tracked return if you decline. We aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance.
GoldPaid serves customers across Cumbria by post using a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label. You do not need to visit a shop. A parcel posted from anywhere in Cumbria normally reaches us the next working morning, tracked and signed for.
Send a photo on WhatsApp for a rough estimate where possible, or arrange to post your items for assessment. We confirm our purchase offer after inspection, and you decide whether to accept. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
Free Special Delivery label, usually within 30 minutesPurity tested in-house by X-ray (XRF)
Checked against the sources listed on this page on .
Does GoldPaid have a shop in Cumbria?No. GoldPaid is UK-wide and postal-only. Every Cumbria town served here uses the same prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, so no shop visit is needed anywhere in the county.
Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you.
Send photos of your items and any hallmarks. We give a rough estimate where possible; your final offer follows inspection. You do not need to arrange postage to ask us a question.
We arrange postage with you after our conversation.
Before you post
The questions people ask before they send anything, answered here rather than at the end of the page.
Can I ask first?
Yes. WhatsApp a photo to 07944 014111, 8am to 9pm, every day, and we reply with an idea of what it is worth. Nothing is posted until you decide.
Is it safe to post?
Your parcel travels by Royal Mail Special Delivery, 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.
How is it tested?
Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and tested with an XRF analyser, an X-ray test that reads the metal without marking it. Your written offer lists each piece with its weight, purity and figure.
What if I say no?
We return everything by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. Saying no costs you nothing.
When am I paid?
Only if you accept the written offer. 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.
How long does an offer last?
Each written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. If it lapses, we re-run it at that day’s rate.
Who am I dealing with?
GOLDPAID LTD, registered in England and Wales, run by founder Rocco Clayfield. Our office is at Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. We are postal only, so there is no counter to visit. Before we pay, we ask every seller for a photo of their passport or driving licence.
Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
The Ormside Bowl, silver-gilt from a Cumbrian churchyard
In 1823 an Anglo-Saxon bowl was dug up in what is now St James' Churchyard at Great Ormside. It is a double bowl of gilded silver and bronze, set with glass, made in the mid-8th century and perhaps Northumbrian. A Viking warrior's burial was found in the same churchyard in 1898, and one suggestion is that the bowl was looted from York and buried with him.
The bowl was among the first objects given to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, in 1823, before the Yorkshire Museum was built, and it remains in the museum's collection. Its outer shell is silver-gilt, and the gilding was applied after the rest of the decoration was finished. A strip of plain, ungilded silver once ran round the rim, though most of it is now lost.
Silver-gilt still turns up in family collections, on christening cups, brooches and napkin rings. A gold colour on the surface does not tell you what lies underneath. If a piece looks like gold but carries a silver mark, or no mark, mention both the colour and any stamp when you get in touch, and the test will show what the metal really is.
About the Cumbria county hub
Cumbria sits within England and covers the CA and LA postcode areas. Every town listed here is served by the same postal-first process: request a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, post the items, and receive a written no-obligation valuation. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. There is no GoldPaid shop or branch in any of these towns, and there never has been: the whole service runs by post, so nothing here depends on you travelling anywhere.
Towns in Cumbria we serve by post
Below are the 11 Cumbria town pages GoldPaid publishes, so each community can find its own postal-selling detail. Every one links to its dedicated page with the same postal process, the same honest cover wording, and the same written no-obligation valuation:
Nearby hubs also served by the same UK-wide postal process: sell gold by post from Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Dumfries and Galloway. Every hub uses the same free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, the same written no-obligation valuation, and the same XRF-measured basis for gold and silver metal content.
Ask first. Post later, or not at all.
You can ask as much as you like before anything is sent. Photos on WhatsApp give us enough to offer a rough estimate on your gold or silver, and we will tell you straight if something is not worth posting. Nothing moves until you say so.
Selling with GoldPaid is done entirely by post, anywhere in the UK. There is no shop to find and no pressure at a counter, because there is no counter.
How selling works here
Start on WhatsApp. A couple of clear photos of your gold or silver are enough for us to give you a rough estimate at no charge.
Claim your free postage. We issue a prepaid, tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery label, or a QR code for the Post Office.
Post in your own time. Any padded envelope works, and there is no deadline to meet.
Get a written valuation. Each item is weighed and read by XRF spectrometry, and the itemised offer is sent to you in writing, usually on the working day your parcel arrives.
Accept or walk away. Acceptance means payment by Faster Payments; declining means a free, fully tracked return.
Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and XRF-tested before the written offer is prepared.
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.
Every offer is built from measured facts: confirmed purity, accurate weight, and the live precious-metal market on the day we test your items, with our margin already inside the figure. You see each figure in a written breakdown before you decide anything. See how we value gold and XRF testing explained for the full method.
Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. Your written offer applies the weight and purity we measure to the live precious-metal market, with our margin already inside the figure.
One parcel gets one written figure, itemised piece by piece. Your offer reflects the weight and purity we measure and the live precious-metal market on the day, with our margin already inside the figure, so nothing further is taken off. For coins, watches and signed or collectable pieces, send a photo on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value them before you post anything.
Cover in transit
The prepaid label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: full tracking and a signature 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. For higher-value items, please message us first so the parcel can be split across more than one prepaid label before it travels. Postage and cover explains it fully. If a parcel is lost on its way to us, the compensation claim goes to Royal Mail from you, the sender, using your Post Office receipt, and we give you our tracking records and help you make it. Lost parcels, step by step.
If you decide not to sell
There is never any obligation to accept. If the offer is not for you, simply decline, and we return everything free of charge by tracked, signed-for post, with no fee and no follow-up pressure. 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. If it lapses before you decide, we re-run it against the live precious-metal market on the day, at no charge. You can also accept part of a parcel and decline the rest, with no minimum and no penalty for splitting it.
Payment, once you accept
When you say yes to the written offer, GoldPaid aims to pay by Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of your acceptance, to your nominated account. You give those details only at the point you accept, never as a condition of getting an offer.
Where to next
Sell gold by post across Cumbria is the regional page for the same county: it explains why postal selling suits Cumbria and what GoldPaid buys, while this page is the index of the individual Cumbria town pages. Back to the national locations hub for the full list of UK counties, cities and towns GoldPaid serves by post.
Why sell by post with GoldPaid
Three differences from a counter sale. You see a measured valuation in writing, not a verbal estimate. You decide at home, with nobody waiting. And if you decline, the return is free, tracked and signed for, so obtaining the valuation costs you nothing.
Common questions
Which Cumbria towns are covered?
GoldPaid currently publishes 11 Cumbria town pages: Carlisle, Penrith, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Kirkby Stephen, Alston, Keswick, Kendal, Grange-over-Sands, Ulverston, Sedbergh, Kirkby Lonsdale. Each has its own page linked above. If your Cumbria town is not listed, the UK-wide postal service page covers every other address on identical terms: the process, the cover and the offer are the same wherever you post from.
How should I photograph my items before posting?
Lay each item flat on a plain surface in good daylight, then take one clear overall photo and a close-up of any hallmark or carat stamp. Photographing items next to a coin or a ruler helps show their size. From those photos we can usually read hallmarks, spot carat stamps and tell whether something looks solid or plated, which is enough for a rough estimate on WhatsApp.
Do I need to clean or polish my gold before sending it?
No. Please send items as they are. Value comes from the weight and purity of the precious metal, not the shine, and gentle wear, tarnish or small repairs make no difference to a postal valuation. There is no need to remove stones or dismantle anything either; set stones and non-gold parts are simply accounted for separately.
How is my parcel covered while it is in the post?
The prepaid 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 think your items are worth more than £2,500, message us first and we split them across more than one prepaid label.
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.
What we can check from your photos
Clear photos tell us a surprising amount before your gold or silver leaves the house. They are how we reach a sensible quick rough estimate, and how we flag anything worth knowing before you post.
Hallmarks and assay marks. A close photo of a hallmark usually shows two useful things: the mark of the assay office that tested the piece, and the fineness. Fineness is the purity number, and it tells us whether an item is 9, 18 or 22 carat gold, or sterling silver.
Carat and fineness stamps. Numbers such as 375, 750, 916 or 925 stamped on a clasp or band help confirm the metal before testing.
Approximate weight. A photo next to a coin or a ruler gives a rough sense of size and weight, which feeds the rough estimate.
Solid or plated. Wear at edges, a worn-through base metal, or marks like "GP", "rolled gold" or "EPNS" usually indicate plating rather than solid precious metal. We will tell you honestly if an item looks plated.
Stones and non-gold parts. Set stones, clasps, springs, watch movements and base-metal fittings are not precious metal, so we account for them separately. A photo helps us explain how they affect the figure.
A photo can only ever support an indicative figure. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. The firm offer is set only after an XRF assay confirms your specific items. The gold hallmark guide explains what the marks mean.
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.
A photo and a question are the whole first step. We reply with an idea of what it is worth, you decide whether to post, and you decide again, only after the written offer, whether to accept.