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 is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service, and you sell from Lincoln by post: no shop visit, no pressure. Ask your questions first, send photos on WhatsApp, post with a free tracked Royal Mail Special Delivery label when you are ready, and decide only after you have seen a written offer.
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)
Checked against the sources listed on this page on .
Do I need to visit a shop in Lincoln?No. GoldPaid serves customers in Lincoln by post using a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label. You do not need to visit a shop. The label is sent to you by email and you post your items from any UK Post Office.
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.
Lincoln's Viking-age mint and a jeweller's legacy at the Usher Gallery
In Viking times Lincoln had its own mint, by far the most important in Lincolnshire, and by the end of the 10th century it was comparable in output to York's.
The Usher Gallery exists because of a Lincoln jeweller's son. James Ward Usher, born in the city in 1845, was the son of James Usher, who founded a jeweller and watchmakers' business on Lincoln High Street in 1837. He collected watches, porcelain, English silver, enamels and portrait miniatures, and on his death in 1921 he left funds for a gallery to house them. It opened in 1927, and its decorative arts collection includes silver, enamel and jewellery.
Usher's watches and silver were kept for their craftsmanship as much as their metal. When you sort pieces to sell, set aside anything signed, unusual or made by a recorded maker, and have it looked at on its own. Plain or broken gold and silver can then be tested and weighed in the ordinary way.
How selling gold from Lincoln by post works
GoldPaid serves customers in Lincoln by post using a prepaid Royal Mail label. You do not need to visit a shop. We do not run a shop or branch in Lincoln, and we do not need to: you never have to travel, you are not committed to anything until a written offer is in front of you, and you are free to turn it down.
From an LN-postcode address, the sequence runs like this.
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.
The first step is a conversation, not a commitment. Send a photo of your gold or silver on WhatsApp, or call, and you will get a rough estimate and a straight answer to anything you want to ask. You decide what happens next.
Because GoldPaid works entirely by post across the UK, you do all of this from home, in your own time. No shop, no queue, and nobody watching over your shoulder while you think.
Where the figure comes from
We measure purity with XRF, weigh every item, and value it against the live precious-metal market on the day we test, with our margin already inside the figure. Every one of those numbers appears in the written breakdown you receive before deciding. The full method is on how we value gold.
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.
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.
Posting gold from an LN postcode
The LN postcode area covers Lincoln and the districts around it. A parcel handed in at any Post Office counter inside that area joins the same Royal Mail Special Delivery pipeline; Royal Mail does not run a different track based on where you post from.
Check your branch’s opening hours on the Post Office branch finder, and keep the counter receipt: it carries the tracking number.
Cover in transit
The prepaid label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: full tracking and a signature on delivery. 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. For higher-value items, please message us first so the parcel can be split across more than one prepaid label before it travels. Postage and cover explains it fully. 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.
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, signed-for service, with no fee and no pressure to reconsider. What happens if I decline the offer covers it fully.
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.
Why sell by post with GoldPaid
Three differences from a counter sale. You see a measured valuation in writing, not a verbal estimate. You decide at home, with nobody waiting. And if you decline, the return is free, tracked and signed for, so obtaining the valuation costs you nothing.
Common questions
How long does it take from Lincoln?
Posted from Lincoln by Special Delivery, a parcel normally arrives with us the following working morning. We usually XRF-test and weigh it the same day, send the written offer by email, and aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance.
Can I ask questions before I post anything?
Yes. That is the whole idea. WhatsApp us a photo or phone us with whatever you want to know about the assay, the cover, the timing, or the decline process. Posting is the step after you are comfortable, never before.
How is the Royal Mail cover arranged?
The label we send you is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, fully 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. If your items may be worth more than £2,500, tell us first and we can split them across more than one prepaid label at no charge.
What happens if I do not accept the offer?
If the offer is not for you, the items are posted straight back to you, free of charge, tracked and signed for. There is no decline fee and no obligation 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 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.
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 rough estimate 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 and attach the label. 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 and tested by XRF spectrometry to confirm purity. You receive a written, itemised offer showing the weight, the purity and the figure for each item, usually on the working day your parcel arrives.
Accept or decline. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer via Faster Payments. Decline and everything is returned to you free of charge by tracked, signed-for post. The choice is entirely yours, and you do not need to give a reason.
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.
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 rough estimate, and how we flag anything worth knowing before you post.
Hallmarks and assay marks. A close photo of a hallmark usually shows two useful things: the mark of the assay office that tested the piece, and the fineness. Fineness is the purity number, and it tells us 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 rough estimate.
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, so we account for them separately. A photo helps us explain how they affect the figure.
A photo can only ever support an indicative figure. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. The firm offer is set only after an XRF assay confirms your specific items. The gold hallmark guide explains what the marks mean.
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.
Message us with a clear photo of your items on WhatsApp, or call. There is no obligation at any stage and the only commitment is your decision to accept a written offer once you have seen it.
