Silver seller guide
How to find a reputable silver buyer, and six things to check before you send anything
Most silver buyers are legitimate, but choosing the wrong one can be costly. Here is how to check a buyer before you commit.
Why British Gold Exchange
40+
Years in the precious metals business
£0
Cost to request your free insured postal pack
24h
To receive your firm, itemised offer once your items arrive
100%
Of items returned free if you decline
Ready to get a valuation?
The short answer
A trustworthy buyer is transparent, properly registered and puts everything in writing
A reputable UK buyer will be a registered company you can look up, will verify your identity as part of its anti-money-laundering checks, and will pay you by bank transfer rather than cash. Be cautious of any buyer who cannot give you their company registration number, or who offers to pay in cash.
Trustworthy buyers also share the same habits. They publish their rates before you send anything, they return your items free and insured if you decline, they give you a full itemised written offer rather than a single total, and they have a long record of independent reviews you can check. These are the habits of businesses that have earned their reputation over thousands of transactions.
The most useful single check is to search the buyer's company name on Trustpilot or Google and read a range of reviews, not just the five-star ones. A legitimate buyer with thousands of transactions will have a substantial review history. A polished website with twelve testimonials on its own pages offers much weaker reassurance.
What affects it
Six things to check before sending your silver
How it works
From first contact to payment
Request your free pack
We dispatch your free pack the next working day, with a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label. There is no cost and no commitment.
Send your items
Pack your items in the packaging we supply and hand them in at a Post Office. They are insured up to £2,500 from then until they reach us. For items worth more, please contact us first.
Receive your offer
A firm, itemised offer arrives within 24 hours of your items reaching us. Every piece is photographed, logged and assessed by our specialists.
Get paid
If you accept before 3pm on a working day, you receive a same-day bank transfer. If you decline, we return every item free of charge, with no questions asked.
Common questions
Questions we hear most
Does British Gold Exchange carry out anti-money-laundering checks?
Yes. We comply fully with anti-money-laundering regulations, including identity verification for transactions above the relevant HMRC threshold, and we pay only by bank transfer.
What ID will I need to provide?
For transactions above certain values, anti-money-laundering regulations require us to verify your identity. We will ask for photo ID (passport or driving licence) and proof of address. For smaller amounts, we record your details as part of our anti-money-laundering checks.
What if I've already sent my items to a buyer I'm unsure about?
Email them straight away so there is a written record. Ask for written confirmation of their insurance, a tracking update and their returns policy. If they do not respond, contact Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk) and your bank for advice on recovering your items.
Are there upfront fees with a legitimate buyer?
No. The free pack, transit insurance and insured returns are all provided at the buyer's cost. Any buyer who charges you before assessing your items is not operating legitimately.
What does an itemised offer letter look like?
It should identify each item separately and show its weight (to at least 0.1g), its tested purity, the price per gram applied, the calculation and the total for that item, followed by a grand total. If your offer doesn't show this breakdown, ask for it.
Get started
Sell to a buyer with 40 years of reputation to protect
Published rates, insured postage, free returns and a full written offer on every transaction. Request your free pack and see the process for yourself.