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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth?No shop visit needed from Plymouth. The prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label arrives by email; any UK Post Office counter accepts it. You stay at home; the parcel does the travelling.
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.
Devonport silversmiths, Exeter marks and The Box's coins
Silver made in Plymouth Dock, as Devonport was once called, could be sent to the assay office at Exeter, which closed in 1883. One recorded maker is Edward Ramsey, listed as a goldsmith and jeweller at 51 Fore Street, whose silverware was assayed at Exeter between 1840 and 1859 under a mark of RAM over SEY.
The Box, Plymouth's museum, holds around 4,500 coins, tokens and medals. They include a 1777 gold medal of the Royal Society and the first ever Albert Medal, awarded to Samuel Popplestone for a sea rescue at Start Point, while the maritime collections include Robert Falcon Scott's silver-gilt christening cup.
Local makers like Ramsey show why marks deserve a close look before anything is sold. An Exeter hallmark places the testing no later than 1883, and a readable maker's mark can make a small spoon of more interest to collectors than its weight suggests. Plain, unmarked or worn items are assessed on tested silver content instead.
How selling gold from Plymouth by post works
GoldPaid serves customers in Plymouth 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 Plymouth, 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 a PL-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.
You never have to commit to anything to start. Message us on WhatsApp or call, tell us roughly what you have, and send a few clear photos for a rough estimate. Nothing leaves your hands until you decide it should, and there is no obligation even then.
GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service. Wherever you are, you sell gold or silver by post with a free tracked Royal Mail label. There is no shop to visit and no counter pressure.
How selling works here
Start on WhatsApp. A couple of clear photos of your gold or silver are enough for us to give you a rough estimate at no charge.
Claim your free postage. We issue a prepaid, tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery label, or a QR code for the Post Office.
Post in your own time. Any padded envelope works, and there is no deadline to meet.
Get a written valuation. Each item is weighed and read by XRF spectrometry, and the itemised offer is sent to you in writing, usually on the working day your parcel arrives.
Accept or walk away. Acceptance means payment by Faster Payments; declining means a free, fully tracked return.
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.
Valued on fact, not estimate
Your valuation rests on things we can measure. An XRF assay confirms the purity, the scales record the weight, and the live precious-metal market on the day sets the figure, with our margin already inside it. It is all shown to you in writing first. XRF testing explained covers how the assay works.
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 a PL postcode
The PL postcode area covers Plymouth 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.
Postage, tracking and cover
Every parcel uses Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, tracked from the counter to our door and signed for on arrival. 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 anything you think is worth more, contact us first and we split it across more than one prepaid label rather than send it in one parcel. The detail sits on postage and cover and is it safe to post gold?. 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.
No obligation, ever
You are free to walk away at any point before you accept. Decline the offer and everything is repacked and returned to you free of charge, fully tracked and signed for. There is no assessment fee and no sales pressure afterwards. The detail is on what happens if I decline the offer.
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.
Getting paid
Once you accept your written offer, we aim to pay by Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of your acceptance, directly to your account. No cheques to wait on, no conditions attached.
What you see before you decide
GoldPaid makes no price-beating claims. You get the XRF reading, the weight and the figure for every piece in writing, and you decide at home.
Common questions
How long does it take from Plymouth?
From a Plymouth Post Office, Royal Mail Special Delivery is a next-working-day service. Items are normally assayed and weighed the day they arrive, the written offer is sent the same day, and once you accept we aim to send the Faster Payments transfer within one working hour of acceptance.
Can I ask questions before I post anything?
Please do. The first step is a question, not a parcel. Send a photo on WhatsApp or ring us with whatever is on your mind, and post only when you have the answers you want.
How is the Royal Mail cover arranged?
Message us on WhatsApp before you post if you think the items are worth more than £2,500, and we will confirm the right option. Otherwise the label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, tracked the whole way 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.
What happens if I do not accept the offer?
Nothing happens to your items if you decline. They go back to you free of charge, by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery, and that is the end of it.
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.
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.
Drop us a WhatsApp message with a photo, or call. The whole sequence is opt-in step by step, and the written offer is the first moment any decision matters.
