Cash for gold reviews

We conducted a mystery shop exercise to compare postal gold buyers in the UK to help consumers get a fair price for their unwanted gold jewellery. We used identical gold chains of 9ct gold.

We wanted to evaluate each postal gold buyer against the following criteria over and above how much we would get paid for selling our gold:

• What items do they buy?
• How do we send in our gold valuables?
• How much insurance will I get sending via post?
• How long does it take to get a valuation?
• When and how can I get a pay out?
• When and how does the gold buyer return my items?
• Do I have to pay to have my items returned?
• Where is the gold buyer based?
• What do their previous customers say about them?

Here are the findings of our research in detail.

Postgoldforcash.com

We requested a free selling pack from their website. On submission of the form we received an email straight away to confirm that our request had been received and a pack would be posted via 1st class post shortly.

The pack arrived the next day. It was nicely designed containing one letter to fill in and send back and another showing how payment should be made along with some trustmarks like their Trustpilot score and total customers paid to date. Postgoldforcash claim to have paid out over £30 million to over 200,000 customers since 2009 (this is more customers than any other of the gold buyers we reviewed).

We also received a padded postal bag to put our gold items into and send back along with the letter. The letter was pre-filled with our details which made sending back our gold quick and easy.

Once posted, we received a phone call early the next day (they were second fastest in our research) with an offer (£206) for our gold items. We then managed to haggle them up to a final total of £210.

We sold our gold and received a cheque within two days.

When we sold our pack we were also entered into a free prize draw to win £500. Sadly we didn't win, but tens of thousands have been paid out to date to lucky customers.

Extra information from their website

Postgoldforcash insure gold items during postage up to the value of £750. We understand that should we have sent items of a higher value, we could have paid a little extra at the Post Office to increase the insurance level to either £1,000 or £2,500. If they then bought our items, they would refund the extra insurance paid.

If we had been unsatisfied with our offer from Postgoldforcash, they would have returned our items free of charge within 5 days. However if someone sends in items of no value they will charge a £15 fee to have these items returned.

They offer an online price match guarantee, promising to match any price offered by other online gold buyers for scrap gold. Written evidence of offer must be provided, including weight of items, grade of metal, price offered and date.

Trustpilot rating: 4.7/5 stars (1,305 reviews)

Items bought: Gold, white gold, silver and platinum jewellery including earrings, necklaces and chains, pendants, rings, brooches, bracelets and bangles.

Based: Bournemouth

Goldmonkeys.co.uk

We requested a free selling pack from their website and received an email instantly to confirm that our pack was on the way.

In the email it said that if you send back your pack within two days, you'll earn an extra £10!

The pre-paid gold selling pack contained one form to complete, itemising what we were selling, how we'd like to be paid (bank transfer or cheque) and a signature, and an A4 piece of paper with instructions of what to do.

The paperwork was well presented and contained Trustpilot ratings and a National Association of Jewellers members badge.

Our form and gold was to be returned in a Royal Mail Special Delivery envelope.

After posting our pack, GoldMonkeys were the first to call us with an offer the next day (£186.15) plus despite not selling within 2 days, they also honored the £10 bonus.

We haggled on the price, and were given a final offer of £203.56. We sold our gold and received a cheque within 2 days.

Like Postgoldforcash, GoldMonkeys offer a price match guarantee, and would have beaten any other offer by £1 (if we had written confirmation). They also pay more per gram the more you send in, with thresholds at 0-49g, 50 - 99g, and then 100g +.

Extra information from their website

The Royal Mail Special Delivery envelope was insured up to the value of £750. If your gold is worth more than this then you can increase the insurance level up to £2,500 by ticking the appropriate circle on the back of the Royal Mail Special Delivery envelope. You will have to pay up to £3 extra for this, but GoldMonkeys will refund you the cost when they buy your gold.

Anything of greater value will need extra envelopes, so you'll need to get in touch with GoldMonkeys to discuss.

If you decide not to sell to GoldMonkeys then they will charge a £20 administration fee to have your items returned.

Trustpilot rating: 4.9/5 (194 reviews)

Items bought: All gold jewellery and most things gold, regardless of their condition.

Based: Bedford

SellGold.co.uk (Sell Gold Online)

We requested a postage bag via their website. We used the standard application form (which was a little hard to find) to keep similar to our process with all other gold buyers, however they also have an online calculator where we could submit the carat and weight of items we were sending in to get an 'instant valuation'.

The application form was quite extensive asking whether we wanted to receive a free prepaid royal mail bag to send us your gold, how we'd like to be paid & details of items we were sending in.

We received an email the same day confirming receipt of our application and an order reference number, although it was a little confusing as the email came from Gold Forever (this is the registered company, and is mentioned on their website if you dig into the content / footer).

We didn't think much of their Gold Pack. We received one basic letter and were given very little information about what they buy and why we should choose them. The return address on the Royal Mail Delivery Special envelop was G Forever UK Limited which also made us a little hesitant. When it comes to earning trust online, this company didn't really reassure us as their branding was inconsistent.

They were the 4th fastest to get back to us with an offer. The original offer was in line with the rest of the market (but lower than their online calculator) and when asked if they could improve the offer, it was increased by a measly 87p to £180.00.

We sold our gold and received a cheque within two days. They also initially tried to charge us £2 for a cheque payment, but subsequently waived this fee.

Extra information from their website

Their Royal Mail Special Delivery envelope is insured up to £500.

They have a store in Wolverhampton that you could visit to sell your gold for cash.

They do accept gold which is not hallmarked, however, if any items are found to be gold plated or not to contain any precious metals, they reserve the right to make a reasonable charge for time spent testing such items (max £20).

Should you decline their offer then they charge a £15 P&P fee for return of items.

Trustpilot rating: 3.7/5 (1 review)

Items bought: Rings, necklaces, bracelets, broaches, earrings. Watches, chains, cufflinks, tie pins. Coins and commemorative ware. Dental crowns and bridgework. Bullion bars. Trophies, medals, and cups.

Based: Wolverhampton

Cash-4-Gold.co.uk

We requested a free gold pack from their website. It was a nice simple form with contact details only required. We didn't receive any confirmation email.

When the pack arrived it came from a company called Gold Converter.

Sadly, there is no mention of the website on the pack, and Gold Converter is only mentioned in the website's terms and conditions. This makes things very confusing indeed! Who am I selling my gold too and can I trust them? You shouldn't need to dig around the smallprint for reassurance.

The letter received was very basic and looked like no time had been spent designing it, again making the service feel cheap and unprofessional.

On the plus side, a bubble wrap bag was included to help protect the items sent.

We received our first offer a day after they received our gold (and after all other gold buyers we tested) which came in at a disappointing £120.00. We declined this offer and spoke to them again a day later where the offer was upped to £142.00.

Due to the sheer difference between this offer and all others, we declined their offer and had our gold sent back to us within two days.

Extra information from their website

Their gold pack had return insurance up to £750 in value.

They claim to match any price offered, but you have to provide an original copy of the offer made with buying company’s letterhead, weight of item, grade/carat of item, price of offer and the date of quote. That's a lot of effort!

Should you choose not to accept their offer, your items would be returned to you at their cost. But if your parcel has no precious items then they will not send the items back and it may attract cost of £25 for disposal or return.

Trustpilot rating: No rating

Items bought: Gold coins, rings, earrings, brooches, necklaces, chains, pendants, bracelets, cufflinks, bangles and platinum and palladium scrap.

Based: London

Gold2Pounds.com

We ordered a G2P pack online. The form was straightforward and we were enticed by the chance to win £1,000.

We received an email the next day saying our pack was on it's way, and were given a customer reference number.

When the pack arrived, it contained a generic letter with no pre-filled details which made completing the form that much longer compared to the other gold buyers.

After sending off our gold, we weren't called and were only sent an email with a very small offer (only £89.14) the next day, which was significantly lower than all of the other gold buyers we contacted, almost 50% less! They were the third fastest to contact us in our research.

Following an email exchange, Gold2Pounds did up their offer significantly on second contact to £127.34 (nearly 50% increase on their first one!) however, this was still a long way short of the others. We decided to have our gold returned due to the low price offered and it arrived within 2 days of our request.

Extra information from their website

The G2P selling pack is insured up to £500. If you believe your gold jewellery or other property is worth more than £500.00 they recommend that you insure your shipment for more at your own expense using any carrier you choose.

Trustpilot rating: 3.9/5 (3 reviews)

Items bought: Gold, silver, platinum, palladium including rings, gold chains, necklaces, earrings, charms & bracelets, cufflinks, pins, brooches & watches, coins & collectibles, silver flatware, cups, trophies, gold dental crowns & bridgework

Based: London

What we've learned from this research

The price gold buyers are willing to pay for the same item can vary wildly. It also seems that to get the best price you need to haggle a bit. If someone has pitched their initial quote low then on asking for a revised quote they'll jump up a lot - if they've been fairer then the rise will be minimal (but always worth asking!)

If you're interested in shopping around it can seem a bit of a hassle to get the paperwork needed for a gold buyer to price match someone else - but possibly worth it if you have a lot of gold to sell and you want to sell to a specific buyer.

From the gold buyers we've researched there are some who operate in a very trusted manner - good branding, lots of positive customer reviews and a consistency of message across all their contact points - whereas others made us a little nervous and less trusting of what will happen to our gold.

Posting your items back via Royal Mail Special Delivery will give you at least £500 insurance cover if it gets lost or stolen during posting, but some gold buyers will give you a little extra protection plus offer packaging which is a bit more substantial to protect your items during transit.

If you're unhappy with an offer some gold buyers will charge a fee to have it returned, but most will charge if you send in items of no value, so make sure you're sending in suitable items with precious metal contents!

Overall, if you're looking for some quick cash and have unwanted gold jewellery lying around that you no longer wear, the price of gold is at a great price right now so you could make some decent money!