Sending something valuable through the post is the part of this process that makes people hesitate, and rightly so. This page sets out exactly what cover applies to your items, what the limits are, what you need to do to keep that cover valid, and what happens if something goes wrong. We have tried to be straightforward rather than reassuring, because a vague promise is worth nothing at the point you actually need it.
In short: every postal pack we send you uses Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, which includes compensation cover of up to £750 per parcel as standard. That figure is a ceiling, not an automatic payout, and it applies to each parcel individually rather than to your total sale. If your items are worth more than £750, you have options and they are explained below. Please read this page before you post anything, because a few small precautions taken beforehand make an enormous difference if a parcel is ever lost.
Your pack is sent using Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm. The service includes end to end tracking, a signature on delivery, and compensation cover for loss or damage of up to £750 per parcel. There is no cost to you for this cover, and there is no cost to you for the postage.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Service used | Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm |
| Standard cover included | Up to £750 per parcel |
| Maximum cover available | Up to £2,500 per parcel, purchased at a Post Office at your cost |
| Cost of postage to you | Nothing, the label is prepaid |
| Tracking | End to end, with signature on delivery |
| Return journey if you decline | Sent back by Special Delivery at our expense, or if not precious metal return postage is £12.95 |
Compensation is paid by Royal Mail under their terms and conditions, not by us. The cover limit is the maximum they will pay on a successful claim. It is not a valuation of your items and it is not a guaranteed sum.
The £750 limit applies to each parcel, so a single parcel containing £2,000 of gold is covered to £750 and no further. If it were lost, the remaining £1,250 would not be recoverable.
You have three ways to deal with this, and all of them are better than sending an over value parcel and hoping.
Please note that gold coins concentrate a great deal of value into very little weight. At recent gold prices a single full sovereign has been worth in the region of £700, which means one coin can use up almost the entire standard cover on its own. If you are sending sovereigns or other gold coins, please read our Sell Sovereigns page before you post.
The pack we send to you is empty. It contains packaging materials, instructions and a prepaid label, and it has no value beyond that. If it fails to arrive, simply contact us and we will send another one at no cost to you. Nothing is at risk on the outbound journey.
Cover becomes relevant only on the return journey, once your items are inside the pack and it has been accepted at a Post Office counter.
Cover is not automatic simply because you used our label. It depends on you posting the item correctly, and a claim can fail on any of the points below. Please take these seriously.
We strongly recommend that you photograph your items, laid out clearly, before you seal the pack, and note down the approximate weight of each piece if you are able to. It takes five minutes and it is the best protection you have.
The reason matters. Royal Mail assesses compensation claims on the basis of what an item cost to acquire, supported by evidence such as a receipt or invoice. Most gold sold through a service like ours was inherited, received as a gift or bought decades ago, so no receipt exists anywhere. That makes a claim harder to evidence than people expect. Photographs, weights, hallmark details and any old valuation or insurance paperwork you can find all strengthen your position considerably. We would rather you never need any of it.
Your Special Delivery label carries a tracking number, printed on the proof of posting receipt you are given at the counter. You can follow the parcel's progress on the Royal Mail website at any time, and you will be able to see when it has been signed for at our premises.
If tracking has not updated within two working days of posting, please contact us. We monitor incoming packs and will chase it with Royal Mail alongside you rather than leaving you to deal with it on your own.
Contact us as soon as you have reason to think something has gone wrong, and we will help you through it. Royal Mail requires claims to be made within a set period from the date of posting, so acting promptly matters.
You will need your proof of posting receipt, the tracking number, and whatever evidence of value you can provide. We will supply confirmation that the parcel was expected and had not been received by us. Compensation is assessed and paid by Royal Mail under their terms, and their decision is theirs rather than ours, but we will support your claim with everything we can.
Your parcel is signed for on arrival and taken straight to our secure processing area. Packs are opened and processed under CCTV recording, so there is a complete visual record of your parcel being opened, its contents being laid out, and every item being weighed and tested. This protects you as much as it protects us, because it means there is independent evidence of exactly what arrived rather than one person's word against another.
Your items are logged against your reference as soon as the pack is opened and are kept separately from other customers items throughout. Nothing is melted, altered, mixed with other stock or separated from its mount until you have accepted our offer.
Our CCTV recording is a security and record keeping measure and exists so that any question about what was received can be answered from the footage. If you ever need us to check the recording of your pack being opened, contact us and we will do so.
There is no obligation to accept. If you decline, we will talk it through with you first, then return your precious metal items within seven working days, along with anything else you sent in your pack. They are returned by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our expense, insured up to £750.
Items that are not gold, silver, platinum or palladium sit outside what we buy. If we cannot verify something as a precious metal, we will tell you and ask whether you want it back. Because these items fall outside our service, return postage for them is £12.95.
If we are unable to reach you within 36 days of receiving your items, despite reasonable efforts, your items will be sold and payment sent to your nominated account within three working days. Please see our Terms and Conditions for the full detail on returns, including how that price is determined.
| Value of items in one parcel | What we recommend |
|---|---|
| Up to £750 | Send as normal, standard cover applies |
| £750 to £2,500 | Split across multiple free packs, or buy enhanced cover at the Post Office |
| Above £2,500 | Split into several parcels, or visit one of our stores |
Royal Mail will not pay more than £2,500 on any single parcel, whatever its actual value, so splitting is the only way to keep a larger quantity fully within the limits.
If you cannot judge whether you are near the £750 threshold, weigh your items in grams and check the figures on our Today's Prices page for a rough guide. If you are anywhere close, split them across two packs. Extra packs are free, they arrive together, and there is no downside to being cautious.
You are also very welcome to call us on 01942 821515 before you post. Describe what you have and we will give you an honest view on whether it should go in one parcel, several, or come into a store instead.
Every pack is prepaid, tracked and covered up to £750 as standard, with free returns if you decide not to sell. Request as many as you need.
Nothing on this page varies or replaces Royal Mail's own terms and conditions, which govern the service and any compensation claim. Full details are available on the Royal Mail website. Cover levels and charges are correct at the time of writing and are set by Royal Mail rather than by us.