Last updated: 19 August 2026
1. Overview
These terms govern your use of the InstaSilver buying service. By submitting items to us you agree to them, so please read them before you post anything.
InstaSilver is a trading name of InstaGold Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 16460157. Registered office: Unit 3 Parkway Link, Kettlebridge Road, Sheffield S9 3AJ.
2. What we buy
We buy solid silver and gold from private individuals and trade customers: flatware, hollowware, jewellery, coins, bullion, and broken or incomplete pieces. Condition does not affect what we pay, because we buy the metal content.
We do not buy silver plate, EPNS, EPBM, Old Sheffield Plate, gold plate, rolled gold or gold-filled items. These carry a coating a few microns thick over base metal, with no recoverable precious metal, so we cannot make an offer on them. If they arrive with a submission we identify them and return them to you free of charge.
The minimum submission value is £50. Below that we cannot process a lot economically.
3. How the service works
- You enter the weight and purity of your items and see a live quote, calculated from the current spot price.
- You accept that quote, which locks your rate for 48 hours.
- A free tracked Royal Mail label is issued to you immediately, as a QR code on screen and by email.
- You post your parcel within the 48-hour window.
- On arrival we open, weigh and XRF-test everything, and calculate your payment on the tested weight and purity at the rate you locked.
- We pay you, or where section 4 requires it, contact you first to confirm a revised figure.
There is no separate acceptance step after testing in the normal course of events. The price is fixed when you accept your quote; only the physical metal is confirmed on arrival.
4. Quotes, pricing and the rate lock
Rates. Silver is paid at 80% of the live spot price (XAG/GBP), flat across every purity and every quantity. Gold is paid at 80% of the first £100 of gold value in your submission and 90% of the value above that (XAU/GBP). Where a submission contains both metals they are calculated separately and added together.
The rate lock. When you accept a quote we hold that rate for 48 hours. Post within that window and we pay at the rate you locked, however the market moves while your parcel is in transit. If you do not post within 48 hours the rate expires and you are re-quoted at the price prevailing when you return.
What is confirmed on arrival. Your final payment is calculated on the weight and purity we measure, applied to your locked rate. The price is never revisited.
Deductions. We pay only for recoverable precious metal. Stainless and carbon steel knife blades, the pitch, resin or plaster filling in weighted handles and bases, wooden, bone and composite handles, glass and ceramic liners, base-metal fittings, and gemstones are removed before weighing. Any deduction is itemised for you.
Differences from your estimate. Small differences between your estimate and the tested result are settled automatically, in either direction: if the tested weight is higher than you estimated, you are paid more. Where the tested value is materially lower than your estimate we contact you to confirm the revised figure before paying. You may accept it, or decline and have your items returned free of charge. If you tell us at submission that you are estimating, we test and pay on the tested result without further confirmation.
Items with no offer. Items that are not genuine precious metal have no offer and are returned to you free of charge under section 7.
5. Payment
Payment is made by Faster Payments bank transfer within 48 hours of your parcel reaching us and passing testing, on working days. Where testing completes after 3pm on a Friday, payment is made on the next working day.
We pay only to a UK bank account in the name of the seller as given at submission, or in the name of the estate or named executor where a submission is made on behalf of an estate. We do not pay in cash, by cheque, by cryptocurrency, or to a third party.
You provide your bank details to us directly when your payment is due. We do not ask for them at submission and we do not store card details at any point.
6. Postage and cover
The label. We issue a free Royal Mail tracked and signed-for label, as a QR code you show at any Post Office. No printer is needed. The same service is used to return items to you if you decline.
Cover. Each consignment is covered up to £5,000. If a parcel is lost in transit we make good the agreed value up to that limit. We do not accept consignments worth more than £5,000 on a single label: please contact us first so we can arrange multiple labels for larger lots.
On arrival. Every parcel is opened and weighed on camera. That recording, together with Royal Mail tracking and the recorded posting weight, is the basis on which any claim for loss or shortfall is assessed. Claims must be raised within 14 days of posting.
Packing standard. You are responsible for declaring the value accurately and for packing your items adequately. Adequate means: each piece wrapped individually; the wrapped items placed inside a sealed plastic bag; that bag placed inside a double-walled cardboard box; every void filled so nothing moves; and every seam taped. Our packaging guide sets this out in full.
Evidence of packing. For submissions with a quoted value above £1,000, full cover requires photographs of the packed parcel: one of the open box with contents wrapped and padded, and one of the sealed box. Upload them at instasilver.co.uk/track before posting. Below £1,000 photographs are not required, though we recommend them.
What is not covered. We are not liable for loss or damage caused by inadequate packing. Where a parcel above £1,000 is lost or damaged and no packing photographs were provided, we may reduce or decline cover to the extent that the loss is attributable to how it was packed. We will not decline a claim solely because a photograph is missing where the loss plainly had another cause.
You must have the right to sell the items you send us. By submitting, you confirm that they are yours to sell, or that you have the authority of the owner or the estate.
7. Returns
If you decline our offer, or if we cannot buy some or all of what you send, your items are returned to you free of charge, tracked and insured, normally within 2 working days.
This applies without exception, including where items turn out to be plated or not precious metal at all. Honest uncertainty about what you own is normal and it costs you nothing: if you are unsure about a piece, send it and we will tell you what it is.
We reserve the right to decline future submissions from anyone who repeatedly and deliberately misrepresents what they are sending.
8. Identity checks and financial crime
We carry out identity checks at the payment stage, not at submission. Getting a quote and a postage label requires no identity verification.
Our baseline check is that payment is made only to a bank account in the seller's name, matched to the details given at submission. Your bank has already verified your identity to open that account, which makes it a meaningful anchor. For higher-value lots, or where anything about a submission gives us cause for concern, we require a document or photograph-based identity check before releasing payment, and we may hold payment until it is completed.
Because we pay by bank transfer rather than in cash, we do not operate as a High Value Dealer under the Money Laundering Regulations. The checks described here are our own policy rather than a registration requirement, and we apply them to reduce the risk of handling stolen goods or the proceeds of crime.
We keep records of transactions and of any identity checks for at least six years. We may refuse or suspend any transaction that raises concerns, and we may report suspicious activity to the relevant authorities. Where we do so we may be unable to tell you the reason.
Further detail is set out in our anti-money laundering policy.
9. Limitation of liability
Our total liability to you in connection with any submission shall not exceed the value of the items returned to you or the offer made, whichever is greater, subject to the £5,000 consignment limit in section 6.
We are not liable for losses arising from delays caused by Royal Mail, force majeure events, inaccurate declarations by you, or technical failures outside our reasonable control.
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
10. Complaints, your data and governing law
Complaints. Contact us at hello@instasilver.co.uk. We acknowledge complaints within 2 working days and aim to resolve them within 5 working days. If we cannot, we will tell you why and give you a date.
Your data. How we handle personal data is set out in our privacy policy, which includes how to make a data protection complaint and your right to raise it with the Information Commissioner's Office.
Changes. We may update these terms. The version that applies to your submission is the one published when you accepted your quote. The date at the top of this page shows when it last changed.
Governing law. These terms are governed by English law, and disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. Nothing here affects your statutory rights.