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.
Foreign-hallmarked gold is bought the same way British gold is: on the XRF-assayed content, not the stamp. Turkish, Emirati, Italian, Indian, Saudi, German, American and Soviet-era pieces are all XRF-tested on arrival and paid on the confirmed alloy, whether the stamp reads 750, 875, 916 or 999. GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service with no shop: the parcel travels on a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label.
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)
Do UK gold buyers accept foreign-hallmarked gold?Yes. Foreign-hallmarked gold is bought on its XRF-assayed content, not on the stamp. Turkish, UAE (Dubai), Italian, Indian (BIS), Saudi and other overseas pieces are XRF-tested on arrival and priced on the actual alloy. A stamp of 750 that assays at 750 is paid at 18ct; a stamp of 916 that assays slightly below 22ct is paid at what is there. GoldPaid pays by Faster Payments to a UK bank account.
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 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 foreign gold, 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 is foreign gold valued in the UK?
How is foreign-hallmarked gold valued when sold in the UK?On the assayed content, item by item. The XRF analyser reads the actual alloy, gold, silver, copper, nickel, palladium, and reports the true fine-gold percentage regardless of the stamp. A Turkish 22ct bangle marked 916 is paid on what the assay actually finds, and if the reading is 91.7% you are paid on 22ct; if it is 90.5% you are paid on 90.5%. The stamp starts the conversation; the assay settles the offer.
Foreign carats and stamps you may see
Most foreign gold hallmarks follow the same millesimal system as the UK, parts per thousand of pure gold. The marks below are the ones you are most likely to find on gold bought abroad:
State oversight through the Darphane (Turkish State Mint) and Borsa Istanbul; historically a reliable stamp system. 22ct Turkish gold is common in UK diaspora sales.
UAE (Dubai)
750, 875 (21ct), 916, 999; often with a Dubai Central Laboratory mark
21ct (875) is the Gulf standard for wearable gold. DCL-marked pieces are reliable; older souk-marked pieces vary.
Italy
750, 585, 375; star + maker’s number + two-letter province code (e.g. ★ 123 AR)
Genuine assay tradition; Italian 750 pieces very consistently test at 18ct.
India
BIS hallmark (916 inside a triangle) since 2021; older 22K stamps are maker-declared
BIS-marked pieces reliable. Pre-BIS Indian gold varies, usually close to marked, XRF confirms.
Saudi Arabia
875, 916, 999; often maker-signed rather than office-marked
Independent assay is rare. Real gold content is usually close to marked but not certified, XRF settles it.
Germany / Austria
333 (8ct), 585 (14ct), 750 (18ct)
Reliable. 333 is a genuine German standard, unusual outside Central Europe.
USA
10K (417), 14K (585), 18K (750)
Karat stamps are maker-applied. Consistent for reputable brands, variable at the low end.
Soviet-era Russia
583 (14ct old standard), 585, 750, 958 silver
583 predates 1994, genuine 14ct but tests slightly above modern 585.
What happens, from first message to payment
A photo and a question. Send photos of your foreign gold on WhatsApp. We reply with a rough estimate and answer whatever you want to know.
A prepaid label, on request. Ask for the label when you are ready. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, tracked and signed for, or a QR code for the Post Office counter.
You post it. Any padded envelope is fine, posted whenever you choose.
We assess and write it up. Weighing and an XRF assay produce a written, itemised offer for you to read at home, usually on the working day your parcel arrives.
Your decision. Accept for payment by Faster Payments, or decline for a free, tracked, signed-for 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.
Valued on fact, not estimate
Your valuation rests on things we can measure. An XRF assay confirms the purity, the scales record the weight, and the live precious-metal market on the day sets the figure, with our margin already inside it. It is all shown to you in writing first. XRF testing explained covers how the assay works.
Every foreign-hallmarked piece is XRF-tested on arrival. The offer is set on the tested content, item by item, on the weight and carat we measure. A stamp that reads generously assays honestly; a stamp that reads modestly is paid on what is there.
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.
What about ID and payment for foreign gold?
The same UK anti-money-laundering identity checks apply to every seller, whatever the origin of the gold. Photo ID is required. Payment is by Faster Payments to a UK bank account in the seller’s own name. GoldPaid does not pay to overseas accounts and does not pay in cash. If the gold was legitimately brought into the UK by the seller (inheritance, gift, own purchase abroad), that is straightforward; a short note of how the pieces were acquired usually settles the provenance question in one message.
If the gold has not yet been imported into the UK, that is a customs matter and sits outside our process, HMRC guidance on bringing goods into the UK is the right starting point before you post anything to us.
How your parcel travels
Your items travel on Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, fully tracked 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 at no charge. See postage and cover for the full picture. 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.
Changing your mind is free
Declining costs you nothing. If the written offer does not suit you, say so, and your items come straight back by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery at our expense. No fee, no questions, no chasing. See what happens if I decline the offer for the step by step.
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.
Being paid
If you accept, we aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance, directly to your bank account. It is the last step, and a simple one.
What backs the offer up
XRF spectrometry on every item, not a counter estimate
A written, itemised breakdown before you decide anything
Free tracked postage in, free tracked return out
No countdowns, no pressure, no fabricated reviews
An owner-run business whose founder, Rocco Clayfield, answers questions himself
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.
Slightly less, because 21ct is 87.5% fine gold against 91.7% for 22ct, but both are valued against the same market on the same day. 21ct is the Gulf standard for wearable jewellery because 22ct is soft; both are perfectly good gold, and both are XRF-confirmed on arrival before the offer is set.
Does the stamp on Indian gold count?
Since 2021, Indian gold carrying the BIS hallmark (a triangle logo alongside the fineness number, usually 916) is genuinely assayed. Older Indian gold marks are maker-declarations, which usually match the actual alloy closely but are not independently certified. Either way, XRF confirms what is there and the offer follows the assay. If most of what you have is 22ct Asian gold from India, Pakistan or the Gulf, bangles, chains, sets, mangalsutra, jhumka earrings, the dedicated Asian gold page covers those specifics in more depth than this one.
Can I sell foreign gold coins to you?
Yes. Bullion-type coins such as Krugerrands and French 20 Franc Roosters are bought, and rare or historically significant coins can do better at a specialist coin auction. Send a photo of both sides on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value yours before you post anything. See sell gold coins and sell European gold coins.
Do you pay in the currency of the origin country?
No. Payment is by UK Faster Payments in GBP, to a UK bank account in the seller’s own name. If you need proceeds in another currency, your bank handles the conversion; we do not send overseas transfers.
Do I need special paperwork for foreign gold?
For UK-resident sellers with gold legitimately here, no, the same ID and short provenance note as any other sale. If the gold is being imported for the sale, HMRC customs rules apply and that sits with you and HMRC before the parcel enters our process.
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.
Speak to us before you 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.
A clear photo of the mark on WhatsApp gets you a rough estimate back before anything is posted. Every foreign-hallmarked piece is XRF-tested on arrival.
