Got gold or jewelry to sell and worried about getting a fair price? Mail-in cash-for-gold services have grown into a credible option for sellers who can wait a few business days for payment. The trade-off: you ship your items, the buyer assays them, and you accept or decline the offer before any money changes hands.
Most established US mail-in buyers ship a prepaid, insured kit, weigh and assay your items on arrival, then send a written offer you can accept or decline. Payouts often beat walk-in shops because overhead is lower. Nothing is final until you accept, and if you decline, your items ship back free. Confirm the buyer’s BBB rating, return policy, and insurance ceiling in writing before shipping, and photograph every piece first.
This guide walks through how mail-in works, what to verify before you ship, and how three established US buyers compare. It also covers what to do if your items aren’t pure scrap gold (silver, diamonds, bullion coins, luxury watches) and the option to borrow against your gold instead of selling it.
Quick stats
| Metric | What sellers typically see |
|---|---|
| Payout vs walk-in | Mail-in services often pay more because overhead is lower and dealers compete on percentage of melt value rather than foot traffic. |
| Turnaround | 3 to 7 business days from kit request to payment, depending on shipping speed and buyer processing. |
| Insured shipping | USPS or UPS insured kits standard at established mail-in buyers. |
| Accredited buyers | Multiple buyers carry a BBB A or A+ rating with 10+ years of operating history. |
How mail-in cash-for-gold works
The process is the same across most reputable US buyers. There are five steps.
- 1Request the kitYou enter your address on the buyer’s site. They ship a prepaid, insured envelope or box, usually within 1 to 2 business days. Insurance levels vary by buyer, so check the declared maximum if you plan to ship high-value items.
- 2Pack and shipYou place your items in the kit, drop it at USPS or UPS, and keep the tracking number. Take photos of every piece before sealing the kit. This is your record if anything is disputed later.
- 3Receive your offerOnce the buyer receives the package, they weigh, test purity (acid, XRF, or both), and send you a written offer. Most established buyers commit to a same-day or next-day quote on arrival.
- 4Accept or declineIf you accept, payment is processed. If you decline, the buyer returns your items at no cost. Confirm this return policy in writing before you ship.
- ✓Get paidPayment methods commonly include ACH bank transfer, paper check, and PayPal. Wire transfer is sometimes available for larger transactions. Timing depends on the method you choose.
Compare 3 US mail-in buyers
| Buyer | Items accepted | Turnaround | Insurance | Payment methods | Return if declined | BBB | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CashforGoldUSA | Gold scrap, gold jewelry, dental gold, gold coins | Verify on their site | USPS insured kit | Verify on their site | Verify on their site | A+ | Sellers focused on gold scrap and jewelry who want a buyer operating since 2008 with $200M+ in materials processed |
| Diamond Banc Express | Gold jewelry, diamonds, luxury watches, designer pieces | Verify on their site | USPS or UPS insured kit (verify limit) | Verify on their site | Verify on their site | A+ | Sellers with high-value jewelry, branded watches, or who also want a loan option instead of an outright sale |
| reDollar | Gold scrap, silver scrap, bullion, jewelry, diamond consignment, antiques and art | Verify on their site | Insured kit (verify carrier) | Verify on their site | Verify on their site | A+ | Sellers with mixed inventory (gold plus silver, diamonds, or estate items) who want one buyer for everything |
All three are BBB-accredited with A+ ratings. Always check the live BBB profile and the buyer’s current terms page before shipping. What matters for your transaction is what’s stated in writing on the offer letter you receive.
Mail-in selling: the upside and the tradeoffs
- Usually pays more than a local walk-in shop, often 15 to 30 percent more, because overhead is lower.
- You see a written offer and decide with no salesperson and no pressure.
- Insured, tracked shipping both ways, and declined items ship back free.
- Reaches national buyers and specialists for diamonds, watches, and designer pieces you cannot find locally.
- Easy to line up several quotes and compare before you commit.
- You wait a few business days, it is not instant cash.
- You ship your items, so the carrier and the buyer both have to be ones you trust, even though it is insured.
- A sale is final once you accept, unlike a loan that lets you keep the piece.
- The payout is a share of melt or resale value, never full retail.
- You need to know your floor to spot a lowball, so estimate it first.
Beyond gold scrap: other items
Silver
If your lot is mostly silver flatware, jewelry, or scrap, reDollar handles silver directly through the same mail-in process. The sister brand Cash for Silver USA (same parent company as CashforGoldUSA) is set up specifically for silver-only intent. Silver pays less per gram than gold, so a kit’s insurance limit usually covers a much larger physical volume.
Diamonds (loose or set)
Loose diamonds and diamond-set jewelry have a different valuation path than scrap gold. The setting metal is weighed for melt, but the stone is graded separately on the 4Cs. Diamond Banc Express is built around this category; reDollar offers diamond consignment for larger stones; and Cash for Diamonds USA is the diamond-specific arm of the CashforGoldUSA family. Browse local jewelry buyers nationwide if you’d prefer in-person grading.
Gold bullion and numismatic coins
Bullion coins (American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, Krugerrands) and numismatic coins are usually best sold to a buyer who quotes against the spot price plus or minus a small premium, not against scrap weight. CashforGoldUSA accepts gold coins. For numismatic and rare coins, a specialist dealer often pays more than a mail-in scrap buyer. Browse coin dealers near you before you ship coins as scrap.
Luxury watches
A Rolex, Patek, Cartier, or other branded watch is rarely worth selling for its metal content. The brand and reference number carry most of the value. Diamond Banc Express buys luxury watches at brand-aware prices, so before you request any cash-for-gold kit, get a brand-aware quote, because a scrap quote on a working luxury watch will leave significant money on the table.
Selling something high-value? Our recommended buyer
For a diamond, designer jewelry, or a luxury watch, the stones and the brand carry most of the value, and a scrap quote leaves money on the table. For those items the buyer we recommend is Diamond Banc, a national jewelry buyer and lender. Trained gemologists price the piece on its full resale value, you get the offer in writing, and the same insured mail-in process applies. If you would rather not sell, they also lend against the piece so you can keep it.
Trust signals to look for
Before mailing anything, verify each of the following on the buyer’s site or a third-party source.
- BBB rating A or A+ with the accreditation badge linking to a live BBB profile, not a static image
- 10+ years of operating history under the same business name (or transparent disclosure of any rebrand)
- USPS or UPS insured shipping kit with the declared insurance maximum stated in writing
- Return policy if you decline the offer, including who pays return shipping (the buyer should)
- Same-day or next-day quote once the package is received and logged
- Clear payment timeline for ACH, check, and PayPal, stated before you ship rather than after
A clean kit also charges no item fees, no assay fees, and no restocking fees. The buyer makes money on the spread between their offer and the resale value, not on extras tacked onto the seller side.
If you’d rather not sell permanently
Selling isn’t the only way to turn gold into cash. A gold loan lets you borrow against your item and reclaim it once you repay. The buyer holds your piece as collateral, you receive a percentage of its value upfront, and you pay interest until you redeem it. See our guide to loan-against-gold options for a breakdown of how loan terms compare to outright sales and when each makes sense.
Prefer to handle the transaction face-to-face? Browse walk-in buyers nationwide with map, hours, and filters by item type. Walk-in offers and mail-in offers are both worth getting before you commit to either path.
Know your minimum first
Before you mail anything, work out what your gold is worth at the current spot price for its weight and karat. That gives you a floor: any offer well below it deserves a second opinion.
What is your gold actually worth right now?
Enter your weight and karat into our gold value calculator and get an instant estimate from the live gold price. It even shows what each kind of buyer, from mail-in services to dealers and pawn shops, typically pays, so you know your number before you ship. Free, about a minute, no signup.
Calculate my gold’s valueKnowing your floor turns “is this offer fair?” into a number you can compare against any quote, mail-in or walk-in.
FAQs
How long does mail-in take from start to finish?
Most sellers see 3 to 7 business days from the moment they request the kit to the moment payment hits their account. Kit shipping (1 to 2 days), your packing time, return transit (2 to 3 days), assay and quote (same day to 1 day), and your payment method (instant for PayPal, 1 to 3 days for ACH, longer for check) all factor in.
What if I do not accept the offer?
Established mail-in buyers return your items at no cost if you decline. Confirm this in writing on the buyer’s terms page before shipping. The return shipment should be tracked and insured, same as the outbound kit.
Is mail-in safer than walk-in?
It depends on what you mean by safer. Mail-in carries shipping risk, which is covered by insurance up to the declared limit. Walk-in carries the risk of leaving a public location with cash. Both are legitimate paths; the right one depends on your item value, your timeline, and your comfort with each set of trade-offs.
Are there taxes on selling gold jewelry?
The IRS treats gold as a collectible. Profits over your cost basis may be subject to capital-gains tax, with collectibles capped at a rate of up to 28 percent rather than the lower long-term rate on most assets. For inherited jewelry, your cost basis is typically the fair market value at the date of inheritance, and many pieces resell for less than that, so there may be no taxable gain at all. Talk to a tax professional for amounts that meaningfully affect your return. The IRS guidance is at irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409.
Can I sell broken jewelry or dental gold?
Yes. Broken chains, single earrings, bent rings, and dental gold are all bought at scrap value based on weight and purity. The buyer does not care about the condition because the metal gets melted. CashforGoldUSA accepts dental gold; most established buyers do.
What if my item is appraised lower than I expected?
Two common reasons: the karat stamp does not match the actual purity (older or imported pieces sometimes test lower), or the weight includes non-gold components like stones, clasps, or backings that are deducted. Ask the buyer for the test method and the deducted weight in writing. If the numbers do not add up, decline the offer and get a second quote.
Compare offers from established mail-in buyers
Three mail-in buyers, each BBB-accredited and operating for over a decade. Listed alphabetically, no ranking implied.
CashforGoldUSA
Specialist mail-in buyer for gold scrap, jewelry, and dental gold. Operating since 2008 with over $200M in materials processed.
Diamond Banc Express
Mail-in arm of Diamond Banc, focused on gold jewelry, diamonds, and luxury watches. Sale or collateral loan options available in select metros.
reDollar
Broad-category mail-in buyer covering gold, silver, bullion, diamond consignment, antiques, and art. Useful when your lot is mixed.