How selling gold by post across the Cotswolds works
GoldPaid serves customers across the Cotswolds by post using a prepaid Royal Mail label. You do not need to visit a shop. There is no GoldPaid branch anywhere in the Cotswolds, and there does not need to be: the service is built so the parcel does the travelling, not you, and so every decision is made by you at home.
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.
the Cotswolds: why selling by post suits it
The Cotswolds and the Severn Vale run through Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, a region of honey-stone wool towns and a long, comfortable domestic legacy of inherited gold and silver.
Cotswold towns are small and the lanes are slow; a postal valuation removes the drive to a city jeweller.
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 a photo tells us, and what it cannot
Before your gold or silver is posted, a few clear pictures let us give you an honest quick indicative figure and point out anything you should know.
From a good photo we can usually read the hallmark and any assay office mark, spot carat or fineness stamps such as 375, 750, 916 or 925, judge approximate size and weight against a coin or ruler, and tell whether an item looks solid or plated. Marks like "GP", "rolled gold" or "EPNS", or base metal showing through worn edges, usually mean plating. Set stones, clasps and non-gold fittings are not precious metal, so we explain separately how they affect the value.
The 8 the Cotswolds towns GoldPaid covers by post
Every town below has its own page setting out the postal process, the postcode routing and the timings for that area. GoldPaid covers all of them on identical terms, with the same free insured label and the same written, XRF-confirmed offer.
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.
How your parcel is protected
Your parcel is insured up to £2,500 via Royal Mail Special Delivery. Your items travel on Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: fully tracked, needs a signature on delivery, arranged with that compensation cover per parcel. Worth more than that? Tell us before you post, and we will either arrange extra cover or suggest splitting the items across separate parcels. See postage and insurance for the full picture.
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, insured post, with no fee and no follow-up pressure. The full return process is on what happens if I decline the offer.
Being paid
If you accept, payment follows by Faster Payments, transferred directly to your bank account. It is the last step, and a simple one.
What GoldPaid buys across the Cotswolds
Wherever you are in the Cotswolds, GoldPaid buys the same range of gold and silver, valued the same way: each item XRF-tested, weighed and written up before you decide. The most common items are:
- Broken and worn gold jewellery. Snapped chains, single earrings, bent rings; condition makes no difference, we pay for the metal.
- Inherited and probate jewellery. Pieces 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.
- 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 alongside any gold.
- Unwanted jewellery of any kind. Gifts never worn, pieces from a past relationship, anything sitting unused in a drawer.
Whatever you have, the first step is the same: a clear photo on WhatsApp and an honest indicative figure in reply, with no obligation to go further.
Why sellers choose GoldPaid
GoldPaid is a small, owner-run UK business built on one promise: show the working. Every item is XRF-assayed and weighed on calibrated scales, every offer is itemised in writing, postage is free and insured both ways, and there is never a countdown or a hard sell. If something is worth more to a specialist than to us, we say so.
Common questions
Which the Cotswolds towns does GoldPaid cover?
GoldPaid covers every town and address in the Cotswolds by post on identical terms. The 8 town pages on this hub are simply the most-requested areas; wherever you are in the Cotswolds, the service and the cover are the same.
How long does postage take from the Cotswolds?
Royal Mail Special Delivery normally reaches us the next working morning. We XRF-assay and weigh your items the day they arrive and email the written offer the same day; acceptance triggers a Faster Payments transfer.
How is my parcel insured?
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 be worth more, message us first and we will confirm the appropriate postal option before you post.
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 at any stage.
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.