In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
Gold is one of the few things which has kept its value in recent years - and as gold prices have been hitting record highs there's been a boom in postal gold companies offering to take unwanted trinkets off your hands and turn them into fast cash.
But the industry has recently come in for heavy criticism and last week the Office of Fair Trading announced that following complaints it will now be looking at the industry amid concerns consumer protection laws are being breached.
Postal gold companies put to the test
We decided to put the postal gold companies to the test - we bought five piles of scrap jewellery from a independent high street jeweller, all weighing 10 grams, with a melt value of £80 and a saleable value of between £50 and £65. We sent our parcels off to five postal gold companies and then waited for their valuations to come in.
Results
| Gold Company |
Amount which was offered initially |
Was the offer increased when we rejected their initial offer? |
| GotGoldGetCash |
£49.50 and then £54.45 |
No - though the amount was increased automatically as a result of gold prices rising overnight. |
| PostGoldForCash |
£41 by cash or £48 by bank transfer |
Yes - the cash offer stayed the same but bank transfer offer was increased to £55 and then again to £60 |
| Cash4Gold |
£20.85 |
No |
| Money4Gold |
£17.49 |
Yes - the offer increased to £52.46 |
| Postal Gold |
£17.30 |
No |
Postgoldforcash told us they offer a quick and personalised service. Gotgoldgetcash told us they offer a completely transparent service and customers can see what they'll be offered for the gold by visiting their website. Both said they offered good value to customers wanting to sell gold in this way.
Cash4Gold, Money4Gold and Postal Gold all insisted the prices were fair - they all said they offer a secure, discreet and convenient service and customers had no obligation to sell.
Before you sell your gold, on the high street or by post find out the value of what you're selling
The advice from the World Gold Council is to know exactly what you're selling.
Firms buying gold are well within their rights to offer you as little as they like, so you really need to get clued up before you sell. You can get your gold valued by a professional jeweller, or even do it yourself with a little bit of maths.
How much is your gold worth? How to value your gold...
- Firstly you need to look at the hallmark to find out how pure your gold is. Nine carat contains 0.375 gold, 18 carat contains 0.75 gold and 24 carat contains 0.99 gold.
- Then you need to work out its weight - the daily gold price is issued in a measure called troy ounces so you'll have to multiply the weight in grams by 0.03215 for a figure in troy ounces.
- You'll also need to know the world gold price in pounds per troy ounce on the day you're selling www.invest.gold.org has up to the minute prices in a range of currencies.
If you multiply those three figures together you'll know how much your gold is worth. Remember this is pure market value, you won't get this figure for it because the buyer will need to make a profit.
If in doubt shop around for the best price - or just hold on to it as an asset, gold is well known as a long term store of value and insurance policy both for good times and bad.
Golden rules
Wherever you're planning to sell your gold, shop around.
Don't accept an offer until you've calculated how much your gold is worth or had it valued by several people.
If you're selling your gold as scrap, antique and sentimental value will not be taken into account.
Lucy Siegle met viewer Mark Smart who for the past six years has paid a surface water drainage charge, as part of his water bill. 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~16~RS~)