How selling gold from Ashbourne by post works
GoldPaid serves customers in Ashbourne by post using a prepaid Royal Mail label. You do not need to visit a shop. Nothing about the service depends on a branch in Ashbourne; it is built so you never travel, never feel rushed, and never accept anything before you have read it in writing.
No pressure to begin with
There is genuinely nothing to commit to up front. A WhatsApp message with a couple of photos of your gold or silver gets you a quick indicative figure and an honest answer to any question. Whether you post anything is your call, made later.
GoldPaid has no high-street branches. It is postal-only and UK-wide, which is what keeps it lean and means you never have to travel.
Ashbourne in context, and what we tend to receive from here
Ashbourne is a Derbyshire market town at the southern gateway to the Peak District, known for its Georgian streets and its sloping market place. It is a settled country town serving a rural district. People in Ashbourne sell gold and silver by post, UK-wide, with no shop visit needed.
Market towns send reliable, ordinary jewellery, the gold of a settled working population, rarely collector stock and rarely sorted before posting.
The full process, start to finish
- Ask, then send photos. Message us on WhatsApp with a few clear photos of your gold or silver. Lay items flat, in daylight if you can, and include any hallmarks or carat stamps in shot. We reply with a quick indicative figure and answer anything you want to ask. There is no charge and no obligation.
- Request the prepaid label. When you are ready, we email a free Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label, tracked and signed for. No printer is needed: ask for a QR code and the Post Office counter prints it for you.
- Pack and post, tracked. Wrap items in any padded envelope or a small box, attach the label, and hand the parcel in over the Post Office counter so you get a receipt with the tracking number. Keep that receipt. There is no deadline.
- We weigh, test and value. On arrival each item is weighed on calibrated scales and tested by XRF spectrometry to confirm purity. You receive a written, itemised offer showing the weight, the purity, the rate used and the figure for each item.
- Accept or decline. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer on Faster Payments. Decline and everything is returned to you free of charge by tracked, insured post. The choice is entirely yours, and you do not need to give a reason.
New to posting valuables? Read the flagship guide on selling gold by post in the UK for a fuller walk-through of every step.
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 indicative figure, and how we flag anything worth knowing before you post.
- Hallmarks and assay marks. A close photo of a hallmark often shows the assay office mark and the fineness, which points to 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 indicative figure.
- 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 and are accounted for separately, so a photo helps us explain how they affect the figure.
How the offer is worked out
Three things set the offer, and all three are measured rather than assumed: confirmed purity, accurate weight, and the live market rate on assessment day. You read every figure in a written, itemised breakdown before you commit to anything. See how we value gold for the detail.
From a Ashbourne Post Office counter to our XRF bench
Posting from Ashbourne means posting from the DE postcode area, which Royal Mail handles the same way as the rest of Derbyshire. By Special Delivery, the parcel normally reaches our address the next working morning.
A box of odds and ends is valued exactly as carefully as a single ring. We photograph the contents on arrival, assay each piece by XRF for its true carat, and weigh them one at a time before any figure is written.
The Post Office counter receipt carries a thirteen-character Royal Mail tracking reference. A photograph of it taken at the counter is, in practical terms, the single document that protects you between the parcel leaving your hand and our written offer arriving in your inbox.
Postage and cover
Your parcel is insured up to £2,500 via Royal Mail Special Delivery. The label we send is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: tracked end to end, signed for on delivery, and arranged with that compensation cover per parcel. If you believe your items are worth more, message us before posting and we will arrange the right approach, whether that is additional cover or splitting items across more than one parcel. Full detail is on postage and insurance, and is it safe to post gold? walks through posting valuables safely.
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, insured service, with no fee and no pressure to reconsider. What happens if I decline the offer covers it fully.
The payment step
Acceptance triggers payment: a direct bank transfer by Faster Payments, to the account you give us. Nothing to bank and nothing to chase.
What we buy, and who tends to sell it from Ashbourne
Most enquiries from Ashbourne fall into a few familiar groups. Whatever you have, it is valued the same way: each item XRF-tested, weighed, and written up before you decide anything.
- 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.
- Inherited and probate jewellery. Pieces being cleared after an estate, a downsize, or sorting out a family home.
- Scrap gold. Odd, mixed-carat or unhallmarked pieces, each paid at its own measured carat rather than as a lump.
- Gold sovereigns and coins. Flagged separately on the written offer if a coin carries collector value above its metal content.
- 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.
Unsure where your items sit? A WhatsApp photo gets you a straight, honest answer before a label is ever issued.
Built to be trusted, not just believed
- Owner-run, with a named founder accountable for the service
- Every item XRF-assayed, the result shown to you in writing
- Free insured postage both ways, so a valuation is genuinely 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
Can I send photos before I post anything from Ashbourne?
That is exactly how most Ashbourne enquiries begin. A clear WhatsApp photo lets us give you a considered first view and settle any concerns before you decide whether to post at all.
How long does a parcel from Ashbourne take to reach you?
Royal Mail Special Delivery from Ashbourne normally reaches us the next working morning. We assess, XRF-test and weigh your items on the day they arrive and email the written offer the same day. If you accept, payment goes by Faster Payments and usually clears within minutes.
Can I ask questions before I post anything?
Encouraged. The first move is always a question or a photo. We will talk you through the assay, the cover and the return-if-you-decline process before you commit to posting anything.
How is the Royal Mail cover arranged?
Every label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, tracked end to end and signed for on delivery. Your parcel is insured up to £2,500 via Royal Mail Special Delivery; for items you think exceed that, contact us before posting so we can confirm the right option.
What happens if I do not accept the offer?
Your items are returned to you free of charge by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail post. There is no fee for declining, no pressure and no obligation to accept.
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 quick indicative figure 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.