How selling gold from Oakham by post works
GoldPaid serves customers in Oakham by post using a prepaid Royal Mail label. You do not need to visit a shop. The absence of a local branch is deliberate; it keeps the process slow enough for questions and removes the pressure of a face-to-face counter.
Start with a question, not a parcel
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 an honest quick indicative figure 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.
Oakham in context, and what we tend to receive from here
Oakham is the county town of Rutland, England's smallest county, with a historic castle hall and a surviving butter cross. It is a settled market town serving a small, quiet rural county. Oakham residents sell gold and silver by post, UK-wide, with no shop visit needed.
Parcels from a country market town usually carry inherited family pieces rather than collector stock, the everyday gold of a long-settled rural community.
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, 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 insured.
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.
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.
From a Oakham Post Office counter to our XRF bench
The LE postcode area covers Oakham and the surrounding Rutland district. A parcel handed in at any Post Office counter inside that area joins the same Royal Mail Special Delivery network and normally reaches our address the next working morning.
Most parcels carry several different items at once. Each is handled separately: photographed as it arrives, identified by carat with the XRF analyser, and weighed individually, so a mixed box is valued piece by piece rather than as a single lump.
Keep the counter receipt. Its thirteen-character tracking reference pins your parcel to the dated Royal Mail consignment, and a phone photograph taken before you leave the counter is enough to close the chain on your side.
Postage, tracking and cover
Your parcel is insured up to £2,500 via Royal Mail Special Delivery. Every parcel uses Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, tracked from the counter to our door, signed for on arrival, and arranged with that compensation cover. For anything you think exceeds it, contact us first; we will arrange a suitable approach rather than leave a parcel underprotected. The detail sits on postage and insurance and is it safe to post gold?.
Changing your mind is free
Declining costs you nothing. If the written offer does not suit you, say so, and your items come straight back by tracked, insured Royal Mail post at our expense. No fee, no questions, no chasing. See what happens if I decline the offer for the step by step.
Getting paid
Once you accept your written offer, payment is made by bank transfer using Faster Payments, directly to your account. No cheques to wait on, no conditions attached.
What we buy, and who tends to sell it from Oakham
The parcels we receive from Oakham tend to come from a handful of situations. If one of these sounds like yours, the linked page goes further into it.
- 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.
What backs the offer up
- XRF spectrometry on every item, not a counter estimate
- A written, itemised breakdown before you decide anything
- Free insured postage in, free tracked return out
- No countdowns, no pressure, no fabricated reviews
- An owner-run business with a named founder who answers honestly
Common questions
Can I send photos before I post anything from Oakham?
That is exactly how most Oakham 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 Oakham take to reach you?
Royal Mail Special Delivery from Oakham 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.