Your offer, and what happens if you say no

What arrives when the checks are finished

One written offer, with your reference on it. It lists every piece that came out of your parcel, with its description and recorded weight, any weight left out and why, and the checks used (the terms, clause 5.1). It also records any test you asked us not to carry out, and the fineness indicated, or a plain statement that it could not be established, so you can read it against the box you packed.

The amount is one figure for the whole of what you sent, judged on what is actually there. It is not reduced while it is open unless something stated in it turns out to be wrong. If that happens you are told what and why, in writing, and may decline there and then (the terms, clause 5.2).

The figure on the offer is the figure you are paid. Nothing is taken off it afterwards: no handling fee, no testing charge, no charge for postage we arranged in either direction, and no charge for sending back what you decline (the terms, clause 5.3).

Saying yes, saying no, or keeping something back

Accepting is something you do deliberately: you press the button on the offer we send you, which says what it does before you press it, or you tell us in writing (the terms, clause 6.1). Opening the link is never acceptance on its own, and nor is anything your email system does automatically.

Declining is just as simple. Everything comes back by tracked, signed-for post at our cost, with nothing deducted. Nobody telephones to talk you round, and no second unsolicited offer follows.

You can also ask for particular pieces back: a ring someone in the family wants, a christening spoon, anything you have had second thoughts about since you packed it. You get a new written offer for what is left, which you are just as free to decline (the terms, clause 6.3).

Two things to know before you ask. First, the new offer is worked out from scratch for what remains, so it is not a simple deduction from the first. Second, asking never costs you the first offer: it stays open on its original terms for as long as it would have done, and you can go back to it even after you have seen the second.

Before you decide, you can ask about any piece on the list and get a written answer: what was checked, where, and what it showed. A question does not start a negotiation you then have to finish. You can also change your mind at any point before you accept and ask for everything back, at our cost (the terms, clause 6.4).

How long each part takes

We confirm the offer period in writing with every offer. If it lapses, your items stay where they are until you ask for a new offer or for the lot back. Need longer? Ask, and the offer is held open for as long as you need, or re-issued on the same terms if it has already lapsed, with no reason asked for (the terms, clauses 5.2 and 10.2).

Getting paid

Payment is by bank transfer to a UK account in your own name (the terms, clause 7.1), with your reference on it so you can recognise it. We do not pay cash. The rule protects you against fraud: it stops a parcel of someone's jewellery being turned into a payment to a stranger.

The items stay yours until the money reaches your account, not merely until it is sent. A transfer that went astray would otherwise leave you owning nothing and holding nothing.

Payment timing is stated on your offer, and we tell you when the money has been sent. See what you can check today

Before any first payment we ask for a photograph of one government-issued photo ID, and check that the name matches the account you give us. That applies to everyone, once. If the account is in a different name from your ID, for example a married name, or you are selling for an estate, for someone else or for an organisation, tell us before you post, and we confirm in writing, before anything is sent, what authority is needed and whose account is paid.

What the check involves, and what happens to the document afterwards, is in the identity and provenance guide. The rest of the checks, including when entitlement documents are asked for as well, are on the responsible sourcing page.

Getting your things back

Decline, and everything is repacked into a fresh sealed bag, photographed as it goes in, and posted back by tracked, signed-for post. You pay nothing, whether you asked for one piece back or the whole parcel, and you are sent the tracking number when it is posted. The risk stays ours until it is delivered to you, not merely until it is sent (the terms, clause 7.2).

Anything we do not buy, such as silver plate or a piece containing ivory, is left out of the offer and posted back at our cost (the terms, clause 11.1). The one exception is an item we have reasonable grounds to think is stolen, which is held rather than returned. If that happens you are told in writing, and the responsible sourcing page sets out what triggers a hold and how to challenge one.

If something goes wrong

Start with the person handling your sale, quoting your reference and saying which line you are asking about, on WhatsApp, by phone or text on 07369 296063, by email or by letter. If that does not resolve it, the complaints process sets out who looks at it next and where you can go afterwards. Nothing in the parcel is processed while a complaint about it is open. What a decline and a return look like in practice is in the declined offers guide.