Why they started...
Tesco have said that the reason they have developed the service in the wake of the strong gold price, was to offer customers a 'trustworthy service that is transparent and offers market-leading value'. We completely agree that the market needed more transparency and that it helps if people can deal with a company that they can trust. There are many companies that have set up in the wake of the strong gold price but the majority offer no transparency and are certainly not trustworthy!

What they are paying...
Unlike the majority of gold buying companies - especially the postal companies - Tesco are offering to pay 80% of the intrinsic gold value (correct on 4th March 2011). This is an extremely competitive offer, which is shown on their website where they compare themselves to H Samuel (approx 70%), H&T Pawnbrokers (approx 60%) and Postgoldforcash (Recommended partner of WHSmith) (approx 20%). Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly they do not compare themselves with us, as we pay at least 85%!

Comparison
There are benefits and drawbacks from both the service Tesco offer and the service we offer, for example, Tesco send you a free Gold Pack and postal envelope, they pay your postage and you get Tesco Clubcard points, we offer you none of these things but we do pay a higher percentage and differentiate between resaleable pieces and scrap, and we are happy to make an offer on diamond and gemstone set jewellery.
The table below shows a clear comparison between the two.

Comparison	Tesco	Chard
By Post	Yes	Yes
In Person	No	Yes
% Paid	80%	85%
% Paid for Bullion Coins	80%	90% - 100%
% Paid for Mounted Coins	80%	85% - 90%
% Paid for Gold Bars	80%	95% - 98%
Gold Bars	UK Hallmarked	All
Unhallmarked	Yes	Yes
Diamonds	No	Yes
Gemstones	No	Yes
Silver	No	Yes
Platinum	No	Yes
Gold Pack	Yes	No
Free postage	Yes	No
Free return postage	Yes	No
Returns	42 days	Next Working Day
Payment by cheque	No	Yes
Payment by cash	No	Yes (-1%)
Payment by transfer	No	Yes
Optional payment in euros	No	Yes
Optional payment in U.S. Dollars ($ USD)	No	Yes
Clubcard Points	Yes	No
Contract	Ramsden's	Chard
Maximum	£1,500	Unlimited
Online Calculator	Yes	No
Knowledgeable / Experienced Staff*	No	Yes
24hr Automated Call Centre	Yes	No
Speak to staff	Mon - Fri	Mon - Sat

Sources, Assumptions
* We're sure that the staff that check and / or test your gold have the knowledge and experience to do so. We are making this judgement based on a phone call today (Monday 4th April 2011) when we asked Tesco's call centre staff what they would pay for a sovereign. The lady we spoke to was extremely polite and relatively helpful but did not appear to know what a sovereign was and definitely did not know it's weight or alloy. It became apparent at this point that they were paying the same price per gram for sovereigns and 22ct scrap gold. Not only do we differentiate on price for resaleable gold - whether coins or jewellery - but we can also assure you that our staff know the weight and alloy for many gold coins, and that if they do not, we have plenty or resources at our fingertips to be able to find out!
The comparison prices on Tesco's website were in pounds; we have converted them into percentages of intrinsic value for a more objective and permanent comparison.
Some of our buying rates depend on market factors, and we have shown our representative price range where applicable.

Best or Second Best?
From the above information, we would reckon that for small amounts of old gold (say under £100 worth), you may be better off selling it to Tesco, because of their free postage. For larger amounts and higher values, then it becomes much better to sell to us, as we mainly pay 5% more than Tesco, and up to 25% more on some common items. In addition, we will buy and pay extra for high quality re-saleable items, diamonds, antique jewellery, coins, other precious metals.
It looks like Tesco come a close second to us. To get more money for your gold, deal with Chard, after all "Every Little Helps".

Don't Get Ripped Off
In recent months, we have noticed more and more advertisements from companies and individuals keen to buy scrap gold for cash.
Most of these recent start-ups use misleading and inaccurate claims in their adverts. Many give no indication of the price or percentage they actually pay, and our research shows that many of them pay no more than 50% to 60% of the actual value, and some as little as 10%, 15%, or even less.
While we would not claim to pay the absolute highest prices, we are certain that we pay more than 99% of our competitors!

Beware the £1 Billion Scrap Gold Buying Rip Off
Don't let yourself get ripped off by upstart cowboy gold buyers offering insultingly low prices for scrap gold.

Sending Gold Scrap by Post
You are welcome to visit our showroom to sell scrap, but it's also very easy to sell to us using the post. We have a page of advice about sending gold coins and scrap by post.

Scrap Gold Selling Advice
Our simple advice about selling scrap gold jewellery in the UK and elsewhere. Avoid get ripped off.

Not Only Scrap Gold
In addition to buying scrap gold, we also buy quality old jewellery, diamonds rings, watches, certificated diamonds, coins, medals, medallions, silver, platinum, and more.

Gold Selling Form
You may wish to print out our form to help make it easy for you to list goods you are posting to us for sale or offer.

We Buy Gold Coins

We Buy Krugerrands

We Buy Gold Sovereigns

We Buy Gold Bars