
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.
Bideford in context, and how we handle what you send
Bideford and the surrounding North-Devon estuary towns sit in the EX postcode area on the Taw-Torridge estuary. The town had a long seventeenth- and eighteenth-century merchant-shipping economy. Coins are handled differently from scrap. A coin is tested for purity like anything else, but the date, mint and condition are checked first, because a collectable coin can be worth more than its metal.
A gold watch case is valued apart from its movement. The case is assayed and weighed on its own, and steel or base-metal parts are identified and left out of the gold figure rather than counted in.
The process, step by step
- Get in touch and show us. A WhatsApp photo of your gold or silver is all we need to give you an honest quick indicative figure before anything is posted.
- Get your free label. We send a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, fully tracked. If you have no printer, a QR code for the counter does the same job.
- Send it at your own pace. Wrap it in any padded envelope and hand it in at a Post Office whenever it suits you.
- See the written offer. We weigh and XRF-assay every item, usually on the working day your parcel arrives, then send an itemised breakdown showing exactly how the figure was reached.
- Decide. Say yes and the money is sent by Faster Payments. Say no and your items come straight back, free and tracked.
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 indicative figure.
- 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.
What the offer is built on
Three measured things set every offer: confirmed purity from an XRF assay, accurate weight on calibrated scales, and the live precious-metal rate on the day. You read each figure in a written, itemised breakdown before you decide anything. To see the rates that move the figure, check the gold price today and the silver price today.
A Bideford EX-postcode parcel from the Taw-Torridge estuary
Bideford and the surrounding North-Devon estuary towns sit in the Royal Mail EX postcode area, covering East-the-Water, Northam, Westward Ho! and Appledore. Special Delivery handles any EX postcode on the standard next-working-day route into our address.
Pack small items so they cannot shift in transit: jewellery in a sealed bag, that inside a padded envelope, and the envelope inside a plain outer box with taped seams. Nothing on the outside should name the contents. A parcel packed that way goes through the sorting machinery without a rattle, and plain packaging is the sensible choice for anything valuable travelling by post.
From a Bideford counter the parcel routes overnight to our address. The tracking reference on the counter receipt is your single document; photograph it at the counter and the journey is fully tracked on both sides.
Getting it here safely
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. We post you a Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label: tracked end to end, signed for, and arranged with that cover per parcel. If your items are worth more, the rule is simple: message us before posting and we will sort the right approach. There is more on postage and cover.
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.
How payment reaches you
Accept the offer and the money is sent by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance, straight to the bank account you provide. There are no cheques, no delays of that kind, and no strings.
The proof, not the promise
Anyone can say "best price". GoldPaid does not. Instead the process is laid bare: a measured XRF assay, calibrated weighing, the live market rate, and a written breakdown you read at home before you commit to anything. The reassurance here is structural, built into how the service works, rather than asserted in a slogan.
Common questions
How long does a parcel from Bideford take to reach you?
Royal Mail Special Delivery from any EX-postcode address normally reaches our address the next working morning. We weigh and XRF-assay your items the same day, and the written offer is emailed back to you during working hours on the day it arrives.
Can I ask questions before I post anything?
Yes, and we recommend it. Message us on WhatsApp or call, ask anything about the items, the cover, the testing process, or the return route if you decline. Nothing has to be posted until you are satisfied with the answers.
How is the parcel cover arranged?
The label we send is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, fully tracked 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. If your items may exceed that figure, send a rough total weight beforehand and we will confirm the appropriate postal option before any label is issued.
What happens if I do not accept the offer?
Your items are returned to you free of charge by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery. There is no fee, no pressure and no obligation to accept. You keep the XRF certificate and written offer as a record of what your gold is worth.
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.
Request a free prepaid Royal Mail label
Tell us where to send it. The label arrives by email, usually within about 30 minutes during working hours. Requesting one commits you to nothing: you get a written offer after the XRF assay, and if you decline, your items come back to you free.
Would you rather ask a question first, or send a photo? Message us on WhatsApp . It is the fastest way to get a sense of what something is worth before you post anything.
Related pages
- Sell gold by post UK
- Sell scrap gold
- Sell gold & silver coins
- Sell silver
- Sell platinum
- Sell bullion
- Sell diamond jewellery
- Probate & inheritance
- Gold & silver calculator
- Sell gold in Torquay
- Sell gold in Paignton
- Sell gold in Newton Abbot
- Sell gold in Barnstaple
- Sell gold in Ilfracombe
- All locations
- Gold price today, UK rates
- Silver price today, UK rates
- UK gold hallmark guide
- How we value gold
- Sell Cartier jewellery, watches and lighters
- Sell Georgian gold jewellery
- Sell Indian gold jewellery