How to post your items to GoldPaid

Step by step

1. Request your label. Message GoldPaid on WhatsApp or call. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, or a QR code for the Post Office counter if you have no printer.
2. Photograph your items. A quick photo of everything before you pack is your own record.
3. Wrap each piece individually in tissue or bubble wrap so nothing moves or scratches.
4. Use a small rigid box or padded envelope and seal every edge with strong tape. Keep the packaging plain. No mention of the contents.
5. Attach the label (or show the QR code) and hand the parcel in at any Post Office.
6. Keep your proof of postage receipt with the tracking number until you have been paid.

How do I package gold for posting?

A few practical extras. Cotton wool or kitchen paper is fine for padding if you have no bubble wrap. Chains sit flatter and travel better if you fasten the clasp first and lay the length in a loose S-shape rather than balling it up. Rings and small pieces belong in individual grip-seal bags before they go into the outer packaging, because a stray earring back can escape a corner in transit. Even a single sovereign posts safely inside a small padded envelope.

Can I use my own packaging?

• Padded envelopes and small rigid boxes both work. The label sticks to either.
• Rigid is better for coin lots and heavy chains; padded envelopes are fine for everything else.
• A single layer of bubble wrap around each piece, then a padded outer, is the standard belt-and-braces approach.
• Keep the parcel small and inconspicuous. A shoebox draws more attention than a jiffy bag and buys you nothing.

What should I photograph before I seal the parcel?

• Group shot. Everything laid out flat on a plain surface, so the count is unambiguous.
• Item close-ups. One per piece. Include the reverse of anything with wear or damage you want on record.
• Hallmark close-ups. A ruler or a coin in shot gives a sense of scale to the marks.
• Home-scale weights. Photograph the scale reading with the item on it, in whole grams. Kitchen scales are imprecise but the photo shows you sent something the buyer weighed against, see what a kitchen scale can and cannot tell you.
• Sealed parcel with label attached. Proves what left your house, in the packaging you sent it in.

It takes about ten minutes. It is not distrust of the buyer: it is the evidence a loss claim needs, and it settles disagreements before they start. The claim mechanics themselves are in what happens if Royal Mail loses your gold parcel.

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.

After you have posted

Your parcel is tracked end to end. On arrival it is signed for and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and XRF-tested, and you receive a written offer, see how we handle your parcel. If you accept, payment follows by Faster Payments; if you decline, your items come back free of charge.

Common questions