Is it safe to post gold? Cover, custody and privacy

In short

On a label Assaypost issues, the risk in the post is Assaypost's in both directions, from the Post Office counter until a returned parcel is delivered back to you. Assaypost makes any claim on the carrier itself. The service and its cover level are set out in writing before you post; no figure is published on this site yet. If a parcel is lost, what is owed is what the items were worth, not the carrier's figure.

Who carries the risk, and what the label covers

The label is ours, so we choose the carrier and the service, and the contract with the carrier is between us and the carrier (clause 3.2). That is why the risk in the post sits with us (clause 7.2). It runs from the moment the parcel is accepted at the counter until a returned parcel is delivered to you. You are never asked to claim, chase the carrier or prove anything to it.

The exact service and its cover level are set out in your confirmation, in writing, before you post anything. If that level looks low for what you are sending, tell us and do not post until it has been sorted out.

Not yet: No carrier, service or compensation figure is named for the label we issue, because the account has not been opened, and a figure printed beside a button has to be one we can produce on the day. The packing guide names the Royal Mail service to use on postage you buy yourself, and sends you to Royal Mail's own page for what that service pays. The carrier, the service, the ordinary limit and the higher limits that can be arranged go into this panel with the carrier's own page cited and dated. What else is blank, and why

The carrier's cover is how we insure ourselves. It is not a limit on what you are owed, and it is not something you have to claim under (clause 12.4). If a parcel on our label is lost or damaged, what we owe you is what the items were worth (clause 12.2): not what we would have offered, and not what the carrier pays us. If we cannot agree that figure, an independent valuer decides and we pay the fee (clause 12.3).

Compensation is the most a carrier will pay if it loses a parcel; it is not a valuation of your things and not insurance you have bought. Which Royal Mail service to use on your own postage, and where to read what it pays, are in thepacking and posting guide, and the lost or damaged parcel guide walks through what happens if the worst occurs.

If what you have is worth a lot

Tell us roughly what you are sending before you post, so the right service is used (clause 7.4). A set of photographs on WhatsApp, or a telephone call, is enough. Neither costs you anything. If you do not know, say that; it is a perfectly good answer.

If a large lot is split into two parcels posted on different days, ask us in writing to hold the first until the second arrives. The two are then offered on as one lot (clause 3.3). An honest mistake about what something turns out to be worth is never held against you (clause 7.4). Only knowingly sending far more than you told us can reduce what is paid after a loss, and only as far as not being told caused it.

The chain of custody, and what each stage leaves behind

StageOn the recordWhat happens, and who does it

Sealed at your endSeal numberA printed pack comes with a numbered tamper-evident bag: seal it and note the number, and it cannot be opened again without showing it. If you print a label at home, photograph the packed box before you tape it.

Posted and trackedPosting receiptHand it over at a Post Office counter. From that moment the risk is ours, and any claim on the carrier is ours to make, not yours (clause 7.2). Keep the receipt and its tracking number because they speed a trace, but losing them costs you nothing (clause 7.3).

Logged before it is openedPhotographsOn arrival the parcel is matched to your reference and photographed unopened: the outer packaging, any damage, and the seal and bag number where there is one. Only then does anyone cut it (clause 8.1).

Stopped if anything is wrongPhotographs as foundIf the seal or packaging looks opened, the parcel is damaged, or it weighs less than the carrier recorded, nothing more is done. It is photographed as it is, you are told first, and the carrier is told at the same time (clause 8.2).

Numbered, piece by pieceItem numbersEach item is given a number that stays with it through weighing, testing, your offer, and either the payment or the journey home. Nothing is tipped into a single heap of metal.

Locked away between stagesCustody recordItems are locked away whenever they are not on the bench, for as long as your offer is open. Nothing is melted, cut or altered before you accept (clause 4.4). What that storage is, and where, goes in this panel before the first parcel is accepted.

Out again, either wayPayment or trackingAccept, and you are paid by bank transfer to a UK account in your own name (clause 7.1). Decline, and everything is repacked, photographed and sent back tracked and signed for, at our cost, with the risk ours until it is delivered to you.

Diagram: what is written down and photographed before a parcel is opened. Every field is drawn empty; this records no real consignment.

Recording the opening

A camera running from before the seal is cut is the obvious answer to the question every seller wants to ask. It is not switched on yet, so it is not offered as a protection here. What exists today is the photographic record: the parcel as it arrived, its seal and bag number where there is one, and each item as it was unpacked. When recording is running, this page will say what is captured, who may see it, how long it is kept and how to ask for a copy or its deletion.

Your details are as sensitive as your gold

A parcel of jewellery tells someone what you own. Your name and address tell them where it is. Photographs of your things are stored privately, with no address on this website that serves them, and they are never used to advertise anything, not even cropped or blurred. Identity documents are kept apart from the case file, with access logged.

No analytics provider is running. If one ever is, it will see pages, not people: no item descriptions, no figures, no contact details. The privacy notice gives the lawful basis and how long each kind of record is kept, and the identity guide explains when we ask for ID and what happens to it afterwards.

Four things that make your parcel safer

Before you postCheck who you are posting to. How to check a postal gold buyer covers the public registers and what to read in the terms.
Before you tape itPhotograph the pieces laid out together. If what arrived is ever in question, your photograph is weighed alongside ours, not set aside (clause 8.5).
On the boxWrite nothing about the contents on the outside of the parcel.
At the counterHand it in at a Post Office counter, not a drop box, and keep the receipt until the matter is finished.

Is it safe to post gold? What happens to your parcel