Buying From Chards FAQ's

FAQ Video

This FAQ video explains how to buy gold and silver in the UK.

Do I Need to Book an Appointment?

If you would like to come to our showroom, an appointment must be made before you visit in order to comply with governmental guidelines and appropriate COVID safety guidelines.

If you would like to make an appointment please call 01253 343081 , or email [email protected]

I Can't Find A Product On Your Website!

If you can't find an item on our website, try using our search bar. If you are still experiencing troubles, please live chat us or phone us on 01253 343081 . 

If we don't have your chosen item in stock, we can add it to your wishlist and contact you as soon as the product is available. 

Do I Need An Account?

No you do not need a Chards account to place and order with us and you may complete your purchase as a guest.

Do You Send My Details to HMRC?

We do not actively send any information to HMRC unless requested. We are legally obliged to carry out customer due diligence and we take two forms of identification on orders of £5000 and £10,000 in a rolling 12-month period. For more information please read our payment and identification page along with our privacy policy. 

What Identification Do I Need?

For certain transactions you will need to provide us with two valid forms of ID; a proof of name and address.

We have detailed when you will need ID and what forms of identification you can use, but a driving licence, passport, utility bill and bank statement will usually suffice.

Do I Get a Product Certificate?

We will always indicate where a product is sold with a certificate, and when a product is supplied without one. If you are interested in pure investment options, i.e. metal content and bullion products, the additional price to pay for certificates may not be your fancy. 

Has My Order Been Processed?

You will receive an email confirming that your order has been placed, and another once the order has been accepted, with the confirmation of your order's despatch also being emailed.

If the ordered item is in stock it will be despatched within 48 hours. However, if the chosen item is "orderable" you will be contacted on a fortnightly basis regarding the progress of your order. If there are any issues with your order, we will contact you as soon as possible.

Is There a Minimum Order Amounts?

There is no minimum or maximum amount needed to make a purchase. However, online orders are restricted to £100,000. If you wish to invest more, please contact us on 01253 343081 .

Do You Guarantee a Buy Back Rate?

We will always offer a buy back price, so get in touch if you wish to sell to us!

Whilst we pay some of the best rates in the market, our buy back rates can change with our stock levels and the demand for appropriate products.

What Is Your Refunds Policy?

Investment coins and bars do not qualify for refunds as they are exempt from the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and therefore customers do not have the right to cancel their order once the order has been accepted. Investment products are those linked to the live metal price and if you are unsure whether your item is an investment product, please contact us on 01253 343081

If customers no longer wish to go ahead with their investment purchase, there is an option to sell the products back to Chards at our competitive buy back rates. 

Can I change My Order To Collect?

If you have placed an order, or multiple orders to be despatched to your address, or to be stored in our secure strong rooms, this can of course be updated to be collected from our showroom! If you would like to amend the details of your order, please call us on 01253 343081 and we will be happy to discuss any possible changes. 

Do You Accept Credit Card Payments?

At this present time, we do not accept credit card payments as we do not wish to pass on the higher processing costs of these cards to all of our customers. We can no longer be selective who we add a processing fee to as the bank lobby decided this was not good for their business. The change in law means we would have to raise premiums on all or some of our products to offset the costs of accepting credit cards, something we do not wish to do.

For those interested the processing of an Amex card is currently somewhere above 3% which is a non-starter for bullion bought and sold at a spread lower than this! 

Where Is Chards?

Since we first opened our doors over 55 years ago, we have been situated in Blackpool operating across three showrooms, the first at 10 Dale Street, then 521 Lytham Road and now 32-36 Harrowside.

In the earlier showrooms we were short of space but now we operate a larger facility with on-site strongrooms making space to index and catalogue somewhere over 20,000 product lines.We are currently situated at 32-36  Harrowside, Blackpool FY4 1RJ. If you are using a sat nav to find us, you will need to enter the slightly different post code FY4 1LY.  

What Does Orderable Mean?

Some of our bullion products will appear as "orderable". This means that whilst we currently don't have any in stock, we are able to confidently source these items from the secondary market. This essentially acts as a pre order, allowing you to purchase your desired bullion when the spot price is opportune, irrelevant of our stock levels. Whilst we can't offer an exact delivery date on these items, we will always offer an alternative that can be despatched as usual if you do not wish to wait. More often than not this will be the latest year coin often at a slighter higher premium due to the ease by which we can purchase from suppliers. Please note it costs us more ourselves to order the latest year coin!

How Do I Find Out My Tracking Number?

Within 48 hours of your order being confirmed and packaged ready for despatch you will receive your tracking number in an email.

Why Do You Charge For Postage?

Whilst it might have become somewhat expected for retailers to offer "free postage", there is no such thing. To do this we would have to increase our prices either via higher premiums or higher service charges. We believe this is evident when comparing out premium to those dealers who offer free postage, advertise and even run six figure advert campaigns in between sky news broadcasts. You can follow this link to price comparisons against UK dealers.

Why Does My Coin Look Different From The Photos?

Coins often appear different in photos compared to real life due to specific lighting techniques used to highlight their designs. Photographers often employ softbox lighting to reduce shine and overexposure, enabling intricate coin details to be captured. This controlled lighting method helps emphasize the coin's design, making it more visible and less reflective in photos.

What Is A Graded Coin?

Coin grades detail the condition and aesthetic appeal of a piece; both being integral to a collector willing to pay beyond the intrinsic value of the coin solely based on these two factors.

The better the overall quality of the coin, the higher the premiums attributed to the piece. To find out more and see examples of each coin grade, please see our page on coin grading.

What Is A Proof Coin?

A proof coin is one of the highest quality coins a mint produces. Due to the hand produced dies and incredibly high relief of each design, these pieces command a far higher price, but a flawless piece is expected.

Proof coins may not be ideal for the investor wishing to pay the lowest premium for bullion as the spectacular finishes do firmly place proof coins as a collector's item; however, these are still very much precious metal.  

Does Chards Offer FOREX?

Unfortunately, we do not offer a foreign currency exchange service. However, if you are selling precious metal to us, we are happy to pay you in a range of currencies such as USD, Euros & CAD, however this will depend upon the availability of the desired currency.  

Do You Buy Scrap Gold and Silver?

We buy everything from bullion coins, jewellery, medallions and stamp replicas. Chards is happy to buy any quantity of scrap, from a single piece upwards, without limit. If you have a large quantity of gold scrap to sell, we will accept your instructions on price, or offer you helpful advice on selling. We are one of the longest established and largest gold buyers in Britain.