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 buys gold and silver from Alnwick by post, with no shop to visit. From Alnwick you never travel and never face a hard sell. Photos and questions go first on WhatsApp, the free prepaid Royal Mail label comes next when you want it, and the written offer is read at home before anything is settled.
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 I need to visit a shop in Alnwick?No shop visit is needed from Alnwick. The prepaid Royal Mail label comes by email and any UK Post Office counter accepts it. You stay at home; the parcel does the travelling.
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.
How selling gold from Alnwick by post works
GoldPaid serves customers in Alnwick by post using a prepaid Royal Mail label. You do not need to visit a shop. We hold no counter in Alnwick, and the postal route is the only one we offer, because it lets you ask first and decide last, in your own time.
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.
Before you decide anything, send a few clear photos of your gold or silver on WhatsApp, or call. You will get a rough estimate and a straight answer about hallmarks, the postal cover, the XRF assay or the free return if you decline. None of it commits you to posting.
GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service with no branches. Our main page on selling gold by post in the UK sets out the label, the XRF test, the written offer and the payment in one place.
Who sells gold and silver from Alnwick, and how is it tested?
Alnwick is a Northumberland market town beside Alnwick Castle, with a cobbled centre and a long history as the seat of the Percy family. It is a settled town in the rural north of the county. Selling from Alnwick is done by post, anywhere in the UK, so there is no shop to visit.
Start with a photograph on WhatsApp. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing, and it gets you an informed view of what you have while the items stay in your own house.
You ask, we steer. WhatsApp us photos of your gold or silver; you get a rough estimate and no pressure to go further.
We send the label. A free Royal Mail Special Delivery label arrives, tracked and signed for, with a QR-code option if you cannot print.
You post when ready. No countdown. Use whatever padded packaging you already have.
We test, you decide. We weigh and XRF-assay every item, then send you the written offer, usually on the working day your parcel arrives. Accept it for a Faster Payments transfer, or decline it for a free 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.
Reading your items from photos
A clear set of photos of your gold or silver is enough for a useful first look. Lay items flat in good light and get close to any small stamps.
Hallmarks. Close shots of hallmarks reveal the assay office mark and fineness, which indicates the carat of gold or whether silver is sterling.
Carat stamps. Stamps such as 9ct, 18ct, 375, 750 or 925 confirm the likely metal before any testing.
Rough weight. Photographed beside a familiar object, items give us a fair sense of weight for the rough estimate.
Solid versus plated. Worn edges showing base metal, or marks such as "GP" or "EPNS", point to plating. We say so plainly rather than letting you post something of little value.
Stones and fittings. Stones, watch parts and base-metal clasps are valued apart from the precious metal, and a photo helps us explain that clearly.
Treat any figure from a photo as indicative. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market, and are confirmed only after an XRF assay. The gold hallmark guide covers what each mark means.
What the offer is built on
Every offer is measured: confirmed purity from an XRF assay, accurate weight, and the live precious-metal market on the day we test, with our margin already inside the figure. You read each figure in a written, itemised breakdown before you decide anything. For how the market moves and what it means for selling by post, see the gold price and selling by post and the silver price and selling by post.
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. For scrap and broken items, scrap gold value explains how the figure is reached.
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.
How does a parcel travel from Alnwick to GoldPaid?
Royal Mail groups Alnwick into its NE postcode area, alongside neighbouring parts of Northumberland. Whichever counter in that area you use, a Special Delivery parcel normally reaches our address the next working morning.
When a parcel holds several pieces, none is treated as filler. Each is tested for carat by XRF and weighed on its own, so a single offer can carry a dozen separate lines.
The proof of posting is the counter receipt, and the part that matters is the thirteen-character tracking number. With a photo of it on your phone you can follow the parcel yourself and check our arrival email against it.
Getting it here safely
We email you a Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label, usually within 30 minutes between 8am and 9pm: tracked end to end 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. Print the label at home, or ask for a QR code and the Post Office counter prints it for you. If your items are worth more, message us before posting and we split them across more than one prepaid label. There is more on postage and cover. 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.
No obligation, ever
You are free to walk away at any point before you accept. Decline the offer and everything is repacked and returned to you free of charge, fully tracked and signed for. There is no assessment fee and no sales pressure afterwards. The detail 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.
How payment reaches you
Accept the offer and we aim to send the money by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance, straight to the bank account you provide. There are no cheques and no strings.
What we buy, and when selling from Alnwick makes sense
GoldPaid buys in a handful of clear situations, set out below. If one of these sounds like yours, the linked page goes further into it.
Broken and worn gold jewellery. Snapped chains, single earrings, bent rings, tangled or clasp-less pieces. Condition makes no difference; we pay for the metal.
Scrap gold. Odd, mixed-carat or unhallmarked pieces, each paid at its own measured carat rather than as a lump.
Gold sovereigns and coins. Send a photo of your coins on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value them before you post anything.
Silver. Hallmarked tableware, cutlery, coins and jewellery, weighed and valued alongside any gold.
Unwanted jewellery of any kind. Gifts that were never worn, pieces from a past relationship, anything simply sitting unused in a drawer.
Not sure which fits? Send a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you what you have, with no obligation to go further.
What you see before you decide
GoldPaid makes no price-beating claims. You get the XRF reading, the weight and the figure for every piece in writing, and you decide at home.
Common questions
Can I send photos before I post anything from Alnwick?
Absolutely. A WhatsApp photo is the first step we recommend for anyone in Alnwick. It lets us talk you through the items and the process before a label is ever issued, with nothing leaving your home.
How long does a parcel from Alnwick take to reach you?
From Alnwick, Special Delivery normally reaches us the next working morning. The assay, the weighing and the written offer normally all happen on the day of arrival, and if you accept the figure we aim to send your bank transfer by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance.
Can I ask questions before I post anything?
Of course. The first step is a question, not a parcel. Send a WhatsApp message or call with any concern, and post only once you have the answers you want.
How is the Royal Mail cover arranged?
The postage is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, tracked the whole way and signed for. Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used; flag higher-value items in WhatsApp before you post and we will confirm the right option.
What happens if I do not accept the offer?
Nothing happens to your items if you decline. They are posted straight back, free of charge, by tracked and signed-for Royal Mail. No fee, no pressure, no obligation and no follow-up.
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.
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.