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.
Inherited and probate jewellery, handled with care. Ask questions first, send photos on WhatsApp, post with a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, and receive a written, itemised valuation before anything is sold.
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)
How do you sell jewellery from an estate by post?Agree what the family is keeping first, then send photos on WhatsApp for a rough estimate. Request a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label and post the pieces from a Post Office counter. Every item is XRF-tested and you get a written, itemised valuation the estate can keep. Nothing is sold unless you accept, and anything declined comes back free.
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.
Ask before you post, always
You never have to commit to anything to start. Message us on WhatsApp or call, tell us roughly what you have, and send a few clear photos for a rough estimate. Nothing leaves your hands until you decide it should, and there is no obligation even then.
GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service. Wherever you are, you sell inherited and probate jewellery by post with a free tracked Royal Mail label. There is no shop to visit and no counter pressure.
Handled with care, at your pace
If you sell by post, use a tracked, signed-for service and a buyer who puts every offer in writing before anything is sold. GoldPaid sends a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label. 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. You receive a written, itemised offer after XRF testing to accept or decline, and declined items are returned free of charge.
Inherited jewellery is rarely just metal, and it is often being dealt with at a difficult time. You can ask questions for as long as you need and post only when you are ready. Once a written offer is issued it holds for a limited time, because metal prices move, and there is never any obligation to accept it.
If some pieces are sentimental, keep them. This service is for the jewellery the family has decided to sell, and for executors and solicitors who need a clear, itemised written record of an estate’s gold and silver.
What you can send
Inherited gold, silver, platinum and palladium jewellery, worn, broken or unworn
Mixed estate jewellery boxes, exactly as found
Inherited coins, watches and silverware
Hallmarked and unhallmarked pieces, XRF confirms the content
A box of inherited jewellery can hold solid gold, plated pieces and costume jewellery together, and it is fine to send one exactly like that. The XRF assay tells the difference reliably. Anything that turns out to be plated or costume is listed on your valuation with no offer, so you can see exactly what it was, and it is returned to you with the rest of your parcel free of charge. Nothing is thrown away, and nothing is melted before you accept a written offer.
One practical note before you post: open any lockets and look at the backs of watches. Photographs, locks of hair and inscriptions are easily missed, and they matter more than the metal. If you would rather we checked for you, say so in your WhatsApp message and we will look before anything else happens.
There is no need to sort, clean or identify anything. If you are clearing a property rather than handling an estate specifically, see house clearance jewellery buyer. If you are the son or daughter emptying the house yourself, clearing a parent’s house is written for that situation.
Found stamps, coins, medals or watches too?
An inherited box or an estate clearance often holds more than gold and silver. Stamp albums, coin tins, war medals, militaria and old watches turn up as well. GoldPaid buys the precious metals, and buys watches, coins, medals and stamps too, with free, photo-first guidance on the watches, coins, medals & stamps page. Send a photo on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value them before you post anything.
How it works
Ask first and send photos. Message us on WhatsApp with photos of your inherited and probate jewellery for a rough estimate. Ask anything; there is no charge and no obligation.
Request a prepaid Royal Mail label. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, tracked and signed for, usually within 30 minutes between 8am and 9pm. No printer? We send a QR code for the Post Office counter.
Post it when you are ready. Use any padded envelope. There is no deadline and no pressure.
Receive a no-obligation valuation. Every item is weighed and tested by XRF spectrometry at our Bristol office. You get a written, itemised offer, usually on the working day your parcel arrives, showing purity, weight and the figure.
Accept or decline. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer via Faster Payments. Decline and everything is returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for post.
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.
Each parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where every piece is weighed and XRF-tested. You receive a written, itemised breakdown: each item, its tested purity and weight, the rate used and the offer. It records the metal content and notes any significant stones. GoldPaid is the buyer, so it is not an independent or formal valuation for Inheritance Tax, but it is a clear record of what was offered and why.
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.
Postage and cover
Your parcel travels on 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 your items may be worth more, message us first and we can split them across more than one prepaid label, each with its own tracking number, at no charge. Full detail is on postage and cover, and is it safe to post gold? walks through posting valuables safely. 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.
Declining, made simple
A quick message is all it takes to decline, and you do not need to give a reason. Your items are then returned free of charge on a tracked, signed-for service, with no fee and no pressure to reconsider. What happens if I decline the offer covers it fully.
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.
Deciding when there is more than one of you
The written offer is a document, not a phone call. It is emailed as a dated, itemised list with a reference: each item, its tested purity, its payable weight, the rate used and the figure. Forward it to whoever needs to see it. The offer attached to it holds for a limited time, because metal prices move; if it lapses while the figure is being circulated, it is re-run at the day’s rate. There is no follow-up call.
You can also accept part of a parcel and decline the rest, with no minimum and no penalty, so a family that wants to keep two pieces and sell the other fourteen can do exactly that in one transaction. Anything declined comes back free of charge on the same tracked, signed-for service. Payment goes to the account you nominate, including an estate account.
The offer carries the date we test the pieces, not the date of death. If the estate also needs the metal value at the date-of-death rate, say so and it is added as a separate figure. Our page on estate jewellery for probate explains what that figure is, and when an independent valuer is the better choice.
Who this helps
This helps families dealing with a relative’s jewellery and wanting it valued fairly and without pressure, executors and solicitors administering an estate who need a documented record of its precious metal, and anyone who would find a discreet postal service easier than a shop visit at a hard time, wherever in the UK the estate sits. If you are the executor and this is the first estate you have administered, start with the executor’s guide to valuing and selling estate jewellery, which walks through the order the job is best done in.
If the estate needs a figure, not a sale
GoldPaid buys gold and silver, so any figure we give is not an independent valuation. For a valuation from someone with no interest in buying, use a registered valuer: the NAJ Institute of Registered Valuers directory lists jewellery, watch and silverware valuers, and RICS Find a Surveyor lists RICS-regulated firms for antiques and art. HMRC’s IHT400 Notes say to tell the valuer you want the open market value of the items at the date of death. Our page on a free written metal figure for estate jewellery compares it with our paid XRF Probate Pack and a registered valuer.
The payment step
Acceptance starts payment: we aim to send a Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of your acceptance, to the account you give us. Nothing to bank and nothing to chase.
What we do not buy from an estate, and ID
What we pay nothing for. GoldPaid pays nothing for costume jewellery or gold-plated, gold-filled or rolled-gold pieces as precious metal, because they hold none that can be recovered. There is no need to sort them out of estate gold first. Any such pieces in your parcel are listed at nil on the written offer and returned free of charge by tracked post, whether you accept the offer on the rest or decline it. The full list, and where those items can go instead, is on what we don’t buy.
ID and ownership checks. Every seller sends a photograph of UK photo ID, a passport or a driving licence, whatever the parcel is worth. We check the name and address on the Royal Mail label against the name on the bank account, and ask you to confirm that the items are yours to sell. GoldPaid only buys from sellers aged 18 or over. Why we check, and what the law does and does not require, is set out on payments, cash and money-laundering rules.
How an estate lot is valued
Where an estate parcel mixes metals and carats, each metal and purity is worked separately, then totalled on one written valuation: 9ct chains and rings, an 18ct wedding band and sterling silver pieces are each valued on the metal they hold, and sovereigns and other coins go on the written offer coin by coin.
Each figure reflects the weight and purity we measure and the live precious-metal market on the day. Send photos on WhatsApp for a rough estimate, or see how we value gold for the full method.
Who stands behind the offer
Owner-run, with founder Rocco Clayfield personally accountable for the service
Every item XRF-assayed, the result shown to you in writing
Free tracked postage both ways, so a valuation carries 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
Is this a formal probate valuation for tax purposes?
No. It is a written, itemised record of the metal in each piece, any significant stones, and a no-obligation offer to buy, dated the day we test. GoldPaid is the buyer, so the figure is not independent. For the estate, GOV.UK asks what jewellery would have fetched if sold, valued on the date of death, and suggests checking similar items on online marketplaces (GOV.UK). HMRC’s IHT400 Notes say you do not have to get a professional valuation for ordinary household and personal goods where publicly available data gives you a value, and advise one if you think any item may be worth more than £1,500, or you are not sure. The options are set out on estate jewellery for probate.
Can payment go to an estate account?
Yes. Once you accept the written offer, we pay by Faster Payments to your own account or to an estate account. We aim to release payment within one working hour of your acceptance.
We want to keep some sentimental pieces, is that a problem?
Not at all. Send only what the family has decided to sell. If you do post something and then change your mind, you can decline and it is returned free of charge.
What if we decline the offer?
Everything is returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery, along with payment for anything you did accept. There is no fee and no follow-up pressure.
What happens to pieces that turn out not to be gold or silver?
The XRF assay identifies them, they are listed on your valuation with no offer so you can see exactly what they were, and they are returned to you with the rest of your parcel free of charge. Nothing is thrown away, and nothing is melted before you accept a written offer.
We are not ready to decide yet. Is there a deadline?
No. Nobody will chase you. The written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move; if it lapses while the family considers it, it is re-run at the day’s rate. You can also simply wait to post until the family is ready; requesting a label commits you to nothing.
Can I sell inherited gold jewellery before probate is granted?
In England and Wales an executor named in a valid will has authority from the date of death, so can sell household jewellery before the grant of probate. Some buyers and banks still ask to see the grant, and GOV.UK advises not making financial plans until probate is granted (GOV.UK), so waiting is the cautious course where the estate is large, taxable or disputed. An administrator (where there is no will) has no authority until letters of administration are issued. Where there is no will, the closest living relative can apply to become the administrator (GOV.UK). Scotland uses confirmation instead. Once a piece has been passed to you as a beneficiary, it is yours to sell. Full estate details, on IHT400 with schedule IHT407 for jewellery, are needed if Inheritance Tax is due or one of GOV.UK’s listed conditions applies; GOV.UK says most estates are excepted estates (GOV.UK). General information, not legal advice; our guide to probate and death certificates has more.
Does the estate pay Capital Gains Tax if it sells jewellery?
Only on a gain. The estate is treated as acquiring each item at its market value on the date of death, so a sale at or below that value produces no gain (HMRC HS282). Even where there is a gain, a personal possession sold for less than £6,000 is outside Capital Gains Tax (GOV.UK). Personal representatives get the annual exempt amount for the rest of the tax year of death and the 2 tax years after it, and above it the rate for them is 24%. Ask the estate’s accountant if a sale may produce a gain. General information, not tax advice.
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.
Can I sell a parent’s gold under a Lasting Power of Attorney?
Can I sell a parent’s gold on their behalf under a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?Yes, if it is a property and financial affairs LPA, it has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, and the sale is in the donor’s best interests under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. An LPA is legally binding only in England and Wales. GoldPaid pays only to an account in the donor’s name, keeps a copy of the registered LPA with the transaction record, and can accept the parcel from the attorney’s address.
It must be a property and financial affairs LPA, not health and welfare. GOV.UK describes the property and financial affairs LPA as the one for decisions about money and property (GOV.UK).
It must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. An attorney cannot start acting until it is, and a registered LPA is stamped ‘validated-OPG’ (GOV.UK).
The sale must be in the donor’s best interests.Section 4 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets out what an attorney must consider, including the donor’s past and present wishes and feelings, beliefs and values. GOV.UK adds that an attorney must not use the role to benefit themselves.
Payment goes to an account in the donor’s name. We pay by Faster Payments to the donor’s own account, never to the attorney’s. GOV.UK tells attorneys to keep the donor’s money and property separate from their own.
Send a certified copy of the registered LPA with the parcel. The original stays with the donor. Under section 3 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971 a copy can be certified by the donor, a solicitor, an authorised person, a chartered legal executive or a stockbroker. We keep it with the transaction record.
Keep the paperwork clean. Our written record shows the donor as the seller and the attorney as the person acting for them. GOV.UK asks attorneys to keep records of their actions.
This is general information about how an LPA sale works, not legal advice on whether a particular sale is in the donor’s best interests. For a significant sale, ask a solicitor first. If a Court of Protection deputy acts instead of an attorney, the court order sets what is allowed, so tell us before you post and the paperwork can match it.
Other guides for estates and inherited jewellery
Each of these answers a different part of the same job. Pick the one that matches where you are.
When you are ready, there is one step to take: request a free prepaid Royal Mail label, or send photos on WhatsApp first if you would rather ask before posting. Every piece is XRF-tested and you receive a written, itemised valuation. Nothing is sold unless you accept it, and anything declined comes back free by Royal Mail Special Delivery. For everyday gold that is not part of an estate, the general route is selling gold by 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.
Send a photo on WhatsApp, ask anything, and request your free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label when you are ready. No pressure, no obligation, free tracked return.
