A question costs nothing
Before you decide anything, send a few clear photos of your gold or silver on WhatsApp, or call. You will get an honest quick indicative figure 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. The flagship guide, selling gold by post in the UK, walks through how the whole thing works before you send a thing.
Brighton in context, and what we tend to receive from here
Brighton is the dominant city of the East-Sussex coast and sits at the centre of the BN postcode area. The household jewellery legacy in BN private hands is unusually broad: inherited Regency, Victorian and Edwardian pieces from the long Brighton seasonal-resort and royal-pavilion heritage, antiques-trade pieces from the long-running Lanes and North Laine quarter, working-life modern scrap from the wider city, and student and professional transient stock from a young, mobile population.
Brighton BN-postcode parcels often include antique-grade pieces sourced through the Lanes and North Laine antiques trade alongside the standard household mix; we flag every antique-grade item separately on the written offer in case period maker, hallmark or stone setting carry collector interest above scrap.
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.
A Brighton BN-postcode parcel from the East-Sussex city coast
Brighton uses the Royal Mail BN postcode area from BN1 through BN3 in the central city, covering the Lanes, North Laine, Kemp Town, Preston Park, Hanover and the Hove section. Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed handles any BN postcode on the standard next-working-day route into our address, shared with Hove, Worthing and Eastbourne.
BN-Brighton parcels are unusually broad in content. A Kemp Town probate parcel may carry Regency and Victorian pieces from the long seasonal-resort history; a Lanes-quarter parcel may include antique-trade stock with notable maker marks; a Hove retirement-belt parcel may carry the standard Edwardian and pre-war inherited pieces; a North Laine student parcel may include the modern and overseas gold a younger, mobile population accumulates. We separate every antique-grade and inscribed item on the written offer rather than treating it as plain scrap, in case maker, period or stone setting carry collector premium above the bullion figure.
From a Brighton Post Office counter the parcel routes overnight via the regional Mail Centre to our address. The thirteen-character Royal Mail tracking reference on the counter receipt is the only document you need. A phone photograph at the counter is enough to close the chain on your side until we confirm arrival on WhatsApp.
Brighton sits about 53 miles south of London Bridge by rail; the nearest specialist precious-metal buyers outside the city are in Hatton Garden in London. The prepaid postal route removes the journey altogether, your items travel insured, tracked and signed-for on Royal Mail's most-protected service, with a free tracked return if you decline the written offer.
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.
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
How long does a parcel from Brighton take to reach you?
Royal Mail Special Delivery from any BN-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 within working hours of arrival.
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 is insured up to £2,500 via Royal Mail Special Delivery. 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.