How selling gold and silver by post works, step by step

In short

Assaypost buys gold, silver, platinum and palladium by post in the United Kingdom. You send photographs and get a rough idea back, free; if you go ahead, we arrange the postage with you and confirm the service and its cover in writing before anything is sent. Every piece is listed, weighed and checked for its metal before one written offer is made for the whole lot, which you accept and are paid by bank transfer, or decline and get everything back at our cost.

Send photographs

YouPhotograph what you have and send it on WhatsApp to 07369 296063: the whole lot in one picture, the marks close up, anything with a name on it. If you are selling for somebody else, or for an organisation, say so now. No WhatsApp? Ring or text the same number, 6am to 10pm, seven days. No obligation.
WeA person reads the pictures and writes back with a rough idea: what the marks suggest, what looks plated or filled, what might be worth more whole than melted, and whether it looks worth posting at all. A photograph cannot prove what anything is made of, so this is not an offer and not a valuation.

Post it, when you are ready

YouIf you decide to go ahead, tell us, and say roughly what is going in so the service suits it. Pack it so nothing moves, put nothing on the outside about the contents, hand it in where your postage directs, never into a postbox, and keep the receipt. Post whenever it suits you, or stop without owing anything.
WeWe arrange the postage with you and confirm the service, its cover and your reference number in writing before anything is sent, then watch the tracking. On postage we arrange, the risk in the post is ours from the moment you hand it over.

Request received
We have your request to post. We arrange the postage with you and confirm the service, its cover and your reference number in writing before anything is sent.
Postage details sent
The postage details are with you. Post when it suits you; there is no deadline and nothing is owed if you change your mind.
In transit to us
Tracking shows the parcel moving. Keep the posting receipt somewhere safe until everything is settled.

Assessment and one offer

YouNothing, unless we write to you. If the parcel arrives opened, damaged or not as you described it, we stop and tell you before going any further. When the offer comes, read it, query anything, and take the time you need.
WeThe parcel is photographed sealed, then opened, and every piece is numbered, described, photographed, weighed and checked for its metal. Anything that looks worth more than its metal is set aside, and the offer tells you so and suggests where to have it seen. Nothing is cut, melted, polished or taken apart, and no stone is removed, before you accept. You then receive the list of what arrived and one written offer for the lot, with anything we think you should not sell to us named on it.

Received and seal recorded
It has arrived. We photograph the outer parcel and any damage, and the seal number where a sealed pack was used, before anything is opened. If it looks opened, damaged or light, we stop and tell you first.
Weighed
Every piece is given a number of its own, described, photographed and weighed before any other check starts. Each coin gets its own line; coins of the same standard may be weighed as a group.
Tested
Every piece is checked for its metal: marks are read under magnification, a magnet is used, and density is measured in water on solid pieces where that would help. Pieces with pearls, opals, glued stones, movements or anything water could harm are not put in water without asking you first. An acid test is used only if you agree to it in writing, and your offer records which checks each piece had.
Checked for value beyond the metal
If something may be worth more whole than melted, it is set aside, and before any offer you are told it may be worth more to a specialist, an auction house or a dealer, so you can take it there.
Offer issued
The list of what we received and one written offer for the lot are sent to you. Read them, query anything that looks wrong, and take the time you need.

A tamper-evident bag, if one is sent with your postage, and its arrival log, drawn with both number fields empty, so no seal number here belongs to anyone.

Your decision

YouSay yes, say no, or name the pieces you want back and get a new offer for the rest. Whichever it is, you say it; silence is never taken as agreement.
WeIf you accept, the money goes by bank transfer to a UK account in your own name; payment timing is stated on your offer, and we tell you when it is sent. If you decline, everything is repacked, photographed and posted back by tracked, signed-for post, at our cost and with nothing deducted.

Offer accepted by you
You have said yes. Only then does anything go any further.
Offer declined by you
You have said no. Nothing is sold, and everything is packed to come back to you.
Payment sent
The money is sent to the UK account in your own name, carrying your reference so you can recognise it. The items become ours when it reaches your account, not before.
Items returned to you
Everything you kept is repacked, photographed and posted back to you, tracked and signed for, at our cost.
Closed
Nothing of yours is left with us. The photographs, descriptions and check results stay on file for the period the privacy notice sets out, so you can ask about them later.

The two things only you can do

Silence never counts as yes

An unanswered offer never becomes an acceptance; your items stay as they arrived, untouched, until you say what should happen to them. Each offer states how long it stays open. If it lapses, nothing changes for your items: they wait, untouched, until you ask for them back or for a new offer. Need longer? Say so and the offer is held open, with no reason asked for. The terms set all of this out.

You can also keep something back. If you want one ring returned and would sell the rest, say so and we send a new written offer for what is left. The second offer is worked out from scratch, not taken as a share of the first, and asking for it never costs you the first, which stays open as long as it would have done. Offers, returns and payment sets out how that works, and what happens if you want to query something first.

If you would rather be sure before you post

Send a few photographsSending photographs gets you a rough idea in writing: what the marks suggest, whether anything looks plated, filled or weighted, and a warning if a piece may do better somewhere other than a buyer of metal. It is free and commits you to nothing.
Read what a test can and cannot showThe testing page sets out each method, what it can settle, and what your offer says when a test could not settle something.
Ask an awkward questionIf the guides and the glossary do not answer it, ask. A question about a particular item is easier to answer with a photograph attached, and the reply comes from the person who would handle the parcel.

Worth reading before the parcel goes

Looking after your parcelPosting safely and cover: the seal record, the photographs, and who carries the risk in the post.
The limits of a testWhat the tests can and cannot show, and why a surface reading is never the whole answer.
PackingThe packing guide: boxes, tape, and what not to write on the outside of the parcel.
WorthSelling gold by post and selling silver by post set out what decides what each metal is worth, and why no figure is quoted before the pieces are in hand.

How selling by post works, from photographs to payment