Declining an offer and getting your items back

01

What the itemised offer lists, and why the list comes first

A single figure for a parcel gives you nothing to check. A list does. Every piece that arrived gets its own line, described well enough that you can lay it beside your own list and see that the two match.

Item number and description

A reference and a short description, matched to the photographs taken as the parcel was unpacked.

What it weighed

Its weight on our scales as it arrived, with nothing taken off it or out of it.

What was left out of its weight

Stones, fillings, steel springs, blades, glass or a watch movement: what each is, how much of it was estimated, and why. The estimate is made with everything still in place. Nothing is taken off a piece to find out.

What the marks and the checks show

The hallmark as read, each check made and where on the piece, any test you asked us not to run, the fineness the checks indicate, and anything they could not establish, said plainly.

Worth more than its metal

A note on any piece that may be worth more to a specialist, an auction house or a dealer than as metal, with the reason in plain words, so you can take it there.

Pieces we do not buy, such as plated chains or dental crowns with no precious metal in them, still get a line of their own. That is how you know they arrived. They are left out of the offer and come back to you.

Under the list sits one figure for the whole lot, reached after everything in it has been weighed and checked. Nothing is taken off it afterwards: no testing fee, no handling fee and no charge for sending back what you decline. Clause 5 of the terms sets out what the offer must contain.

02

Accept, decline or ask for pieces back: nothing happens until you say so

An offer is a question, not a sale. To accept, you press the accept button on the offer we send you, or tell us in writing that you accept. Opening the email or following its link does not accept anything, and neither does silence. An offer left to lapse sells nothing, and your items stay where they are until you tell us what you want done with them.

• Accept, and the money is sent by bank transfer to a UK account in your name. The items become Assaypost's when the money reaches your account, not when it is sent.
• Decline, and the whole lot comes back by tracked, signed-for post at Assaypost's cost, with nothing deducted. You do not have to give a reason.
• Ask for pieces back. Name them and you get a fresh written offer for the rest. The first offer stays open on its original terms, so asking costs you nothing.

Your offer states how long it stays open and when payment follows a yes. Clauses 6.1 to 6.3 of the terms are the ones that govern accepting and declining.

03

What happens to your items while the offer is open

Until you accept, the items are yours and nothing is done to them. Nothing is melted, cut, filed, polished or taken apart, and no stone is taken out of its setting. Nothing is acid-tested, and no surface is cleaned or prepared, unless you agreed to it in writing for that piece. Anything you turn down comes back as it arrived, apart from any test mark you agreed to.

• Stones stay set. Their weight is estimated in place and the line says so.
• The figure does not drop while the offer is open. The one exception is something stated in the offer that turns out to be wrong; then you are told in writing what changed and why, and you can decline the lot there and then.
• Nobody rings to chase you. If you want longer, ask and the offer is held open, or re-issued on the same terms if it has lapsed, and your items stay untouched meanwhile.

04

How to query a line before you decide

If a line is not what you expected, ask before you accept or decline. Three things are most likely to surprise you: a weight lower than your kitchen scales showed, a fineness lower than a stamp claimed, and how much was left out for stones or fillings. Each line already gives its reason, and we will talk you through it.

1. Name the itemQuote the item number and say what you are asking about: the weight, the fineness, what was left out, or a note that the piece may be worth more than its metal.
2. Ask for the evidenceThe photographs taken as the piece was unpacked, its recorded weight and the results of the checks can be sent to you. They were made when the piece was examined, not prepared because you asked.
3. Ask for another checkWhere a fineness is in doubt, another check that leaves no mark can be made and added to the line, such as a density check on a solid piece. A test that could mark the piece is only proposed in writing, and only carried out with your written consent. The XRF guide explains what each method can and cannot settle.
4. Take the time you needA question does not cost you the offer. Say you need longer and it is held open, or re-issued on the same terms if it has lapsed.

If the answer does not satisfy you, ask for that piece back. It comes home at Assaypost's cost and you get a fresh offer for the rest, or you can decline the whole lot. If you think something has gone wrong, the complaints process has three stages, and nothing in your parcel is processed while a complaint about it is open.

05

Keeping one piece back and selling the rest

This is the part people do not expect, so here is how it works. Imagine a parcel of twelve things: broken chain and odd earrings nobody has thought about for years, and a ring that belonged to the sender's mother, which went in because they could not decide.

The offer arrives with twelve lines, one for each piece. Beside the ring is a note: it holds a stone we cannot judge, which a jeweller or gem valuer should see before the ring goes anywhere. Under the list is one figure for the lot.

The sender replies in one sentence: keep the ring out, and tell me what the rest would come to. A fresh written offer comes back for the other eleven pieces, with the first still open beside it. The new figure is worked out afresh for the eleven pieces as a lot, so it is not the first figure with the ring's share taken off, and the reason comes with it in writing.

The sender compares the two and chooses. The ring goes home by tracked post at Assaypost's cost, with the note about the stone, so there is something to show the jeweller. None of that needed a reason or an apology, and asking for a piece back is not treated as a complaint.

06

Returns go back free, tracked and signed for

Whatever you decline comes back by tracked, signed-for post at Assaypost's cost, whatever the reason and whatever it is worth. It is repacked into a fresh sealed bag and photographed as it goes in, as the offers, returns and payment page describes, and you are sent the tracking number when it leaves. Until the parcel reaches you, any loss in the post is Assaypost's, not yours.

• Returns go to the address you gave when the postage was arranged. If that has changed, tell us before the parcel goes.
• Pieces that are not bought, such as plated chains, come back with the rest. Nothing is thrown away on an assumption.
• When your return is posted, we tell you in writing and send the tracking number.
• If a return arrives damaged, keep all the packaging, photograph it as it arrived and tell us. The lost or damaged parcel guide explains what happens next.

07

Seller risks and exceptions

• Other buyers treating silence as a yes. Some terms treat silence, or a payment you did not send back in time, as acceptance. Read any buyer's terms for that before you post. Assaypost's terms rule it out.
• Return postage charged elsewhere. A charge for sending back what you decline pushes you towards yes. Here the return is at Assaypost's cost.
• Letting an offer lapse. Nothing is sold and your items stay put, but you then have to ask for a fresh offer or for the lot back. If you need longer, say so and the offer is held open.
• Taking pieces out changes the figure. A fresh offer for what remains is worked out afresh for that smaller lot, so it may be less than you expect. The first offer stays open, so asking costs you nothing.
• Stones and fillings. If what was left out of a piece's weight surprises you, ask before you decline. The reason is on the line and can be explained.
• An item on hold. If there are reasonable grounds to suspect an item is stolen, it is held rather than paid for, and you are told in writing. The responsible sourcing page sets out what starts a hold, what ends one and how long it can last. If we simply cannot confirm who owns an item, we do not buy it and it comes back to you. The rest of your lot is offered for or returned as usual.

08

When not to use the scrap route

This route is also wrong for anything you are not sure you want to part with. Asking for a piece back costs you nothing, but once you have accepted, a piece cannot be recalled. When in doubt, have it sent home. If the lot came from a relative, inherited jewellery covers what to hold back first, and what to have looked at before you sell shows which pieces to pick out before anything is posted.