Questions, answered straight

You can work it out yourself in about five minutes, before you speak to anybody. Almost all family silver is silver plated, and plate is paid by the pound at a flat published price. Solid silver is worth many times more and often hides in the same drawer, which is why the marks are worth reading.

Our what is my silver worth page shows every common mark as a picture, tells you which pile each one belongs in, and then prices your weights at the published rates. It asks you for nothing: no email address, no sign-up, no phone number.

No, and the question deserves a real answer, because this industry earned its reputation. The mail-in operators of the late 2000s paid sellers a small fraction of melt value, and consumer investigations in Canada, the US and the UK destroyed them for it.

What we do differently, all checkable before you ship: our prices are published as plain dollar figures you can check before you mail a thing; every parcel is processed on continuous video; every payment comes with an itemized receipt you can audit line by line; and if you ask us first, we will tell you honestly what NOT to send. A buyer planning to lowball you cannot afford any of those four habits.

Yes. If you change your mind, we return your items by tracked courier at your shipping cost, and we tell you that exact cost in writing before anything ships back. Nothing ships back until you have agreed to that cost.

There is a real window for it. Every purchase is held intact, not melted, for 30 clear days, so a change of heart after your receipt arrives can still be acted on. Once items have been processed they no longer exist as items, which is exactly why the hold is there.

The cheaper path is still to decide before you ship, because return postage comes out of your pocket. Call, or email photos to contact@silverplatecanada.ca, and we will tell you honestly what to send and what to keep. Sterling silver, gold, dental gold, bullion and silver coins never even get that far: those are quoted in writing first, and nothing in those categories is processed until you approve the quote.

Your parcel is opened on camera, sorted by material, weighed, and paid at the published rates within 4 business days of arrival, with an itemized receipt emailed to you: every category, every weight, every rate, every dollar. Payment is by Interac e-Transfer or cheque. Settlements of $250 or more are processed free; settlements under $250 carry a $25 processing fee, which is why one consolidated shipment beats two small ones. We do not pay cash, PayPal or crypto, on purpose: clean, traceable payments protect both of us.

Yes, it is our headline product, and in Canada that makes us unusual: the major buyers refuse EP and EPNS in writing. We buy silver plated flatware at a flat $10.00 per pound, silver plated holloware at $7.00 per pound, and silver plated knives (non-magnetic handle) at $3.50 per pound, all published on our rates page. The honest background is in the guide, what is silverplate worth.

Quite a lot, and it all travels in the same box. Three groups, so you know which is which before you pack.

Published prices, posted before you ship: silver plated flatware, holloware and knives, marked pewter, brass and bronze, and copper-nickel. Every rate is on the what we pay page.

Quoted in writing before anything is processed: sterling silver, silver coins, gold jewellery, dental gold and bullion. Nothing in this group is processed until you approve the quote.

Bought, but with no posted price: aluminum, copper, copper wire, stainless steel, industrial solder, cell phones and circuit boards. Email contact@silverplatecanada.ca or note it on your label request and we will take care of you.

The one thing to leave at home is anything magnetic. If a strong magnet grabs it firmly, it is iron or steel and it has no value here, so it is not worth the postage.

No, and please do not polish silverplate. Every polish takes a little of the silver layer off with the tarnish, so a heavily polished piece has slightly less silver on it than it started with. Tarnish costs you nothing here. Polishing can.

It makes no difference to what you are paid either way, because published categories are paid by weight at a flat rate, not by how shiny a piece looks. Send it exactly as it came out of the cabinet. Do knock off loose dirt, and leave out anything wet or food-covered, but that is the whole of it.

Save yourself the afternoon and the polish.

Yes, and you should. One box is better for you than several, for two reasons.

First, sorting is our job, not yours. Every parcel is emptied and sorted piece by piece on camera, each category weighed separately, and every category appears as its own line on your itemized receipt. You do not need to bag things by metal or label anything.

Second, the fee rule rewards consolidating. Settlements of $250 or more are processed free, and settlements under $250 carry a $25 processing fee. One combined shipment clears that line far more easily than two small ones, and you only pay for one label.

One thing worth knowing: anything you might want back is cheaper left at home, because a return trip is at your shipping cost.

In the open, on camera, in a fixed order.

Every piece is checked with a magnet first, because magnetic items are steel and carry no value. Then we read the marks: EP, EPNS and hotel plate marks put a piece in the silverplate categories, while STERLING, 925 or a lion passant hallmark pulls it out for separate handling. Anything precious is tested with XRF, which reads the actual metal content in seconds without damaging the piece, so nothing rests on a guess or on someone's opinion of your item.

Each category is then weighed on its own and multiplied by the rate published on the day your parcel is processed. That arithmetic is printed on your itemized receipt, so you can check every line yourself. Sterling, coins, gold, dental and bullion have no published rate, so those come back to you as a written quote instead, and nothing in that group is processed until you approve it.

The full bench routine is on how we process your items.

Yes, by individual quote. Gold jewellery, dental gold, bullion and silver coins have no published grid on this site: email contact@silverplatecanada.ca or note it on your label request form. We contact you with a written quote before processing, and nothing in those categories is processed until you approve the quote. Decline and those items come back by tracked courier at your shipping cost, told to you in writing first.

Inbound shipping is yours, so insurance is your choice: add declared-value coverage if you wish, and always use a tracked service. Carriers limit or exclude that coverage on jewellery and on anything more than half precious metal by weight, so sterling silver, gold, bullion and silver coins travel tracked rather than insured. Silverplate is only a few percent silver and is not affected. Our discounted shipping labels are tracked door to door, and the label cost is simply deducted from your payment.

From the moment your parcel arrives, it is opened and documented on continuous video, so what arrived, what it weighed and what it tested as are all on the record. The full mechanics are on the security page.

You do, and we would rather say that plainly than bury it.

When you request a label we email you a discounted shipping label, tracked door to door, and the cost is simply deducted from your payment. You never pay anything up front and you never pay us separately. If you would rather use your own carrier or add counter insurance, that is entirely your choice: address the parcel to Silver Plate Canada, 2687 Slough St, Mississauga, ON L4T 1G2.

Why not free? Because free shipping is never actually free. Somebody pays for it, and in this trade it is paid for out of the rate per pound. We would rather post the higher rate and let you see the shipping line on your receipt than quietly fold it into a lower price and call it a gift. You can check both numbers before you ship a thing.

It is also why one consolidated box beats two small ones: one label, one fee check, one receipt.

Yes. Bring everything to our drop-off location:

(416) 799-7528

Book a time first. Book a drop-off time It takes a few taps and it means someone is there to meet you. Calling works just as well.

Everything after that is identical to the mail-in service: your items are sorted and weighed on camera, sterling and coins are tested with the XRF, published categories are paid at the published rates within 4 business days with an itemized receipt, and sterling silver, gold, dental gold, bullion and silver coins are still quoted to you in writing before anything is processed. There is no shipping label and no courier cost coming off your payment.

Dealers, pawn shops, auctioneers and estate liquidators bringing a large load: say roughly what is coming when you call and we will plan the unload with you. Drop-off details and directions.

Nothing, for a while. Purchased items are held intact, not melted, for a waiting period after purchase, and every parcel is logged in a purchase register. The hold is 30 clear days, which is the period the City of Mississauga sets for second-hand goods, and where a municipal bylaw sets a longer hold for the location your items were received at, we follow the longer one. A hold plus a register is what keeps stolen goods out of the stream, and it means a mistake can still be undone during the window.

After the hold, material in the published categories enters the legitimate refining stream through the recycling facility this service is run from, and the silver and other metals are recovered and reused. That is the honest end of the story: these are recycled metals, not resold antiques.

Which is exactly why the pre-ship check matters. If a piece is signed, or a complete set from a known maker, it can be worth more whole than melted. Send us photos at contact@silverplatecanada.ca before you ship and we will say so plainly, even when the answer is keep it or take it to an auction house.

Every parcel is processed on continuous video from sealed box to scale, with the waybill in frame. Your receipt itemizes every category and weight, so it can be checked line by line against the published rates. If you ever question a line item, the video exists. The full bench routine is on how we process your items, and chain-of-custody details are on the security page.

That is the normal case, not the exception. Start with our picture guide to the marks, which shows what each stamp means and which pile it belongs in. Beyond that, two good options. Before you ship: email photos to contact@silverplatecanada.ca and we will tell you plainly what you have and what it is worth sending, including when the honest answer is keep it. Or send the mixed box: every piece is sorted on camera, sterling is tested with XRF, published categories are paid at their posted prices on your itemized receipt, and sterling, silver coins, gold and bullion are quoted in writing. Just remember: anything you are unsure about parting with is cheaper kept out of the box, because a return trip is at your shipping cost.

Your label is emailed to you. You ship whenever you are ready; the label does not expire. Once your parcel arrives, payment goes out within 4 business days with your itemized receipt. The longest part is usually the parcel in transit, not anything at our end.

Weigh your items on a kitchen scale and let our what is my silver worth page do the arithmetic, or do it yourself: for silver plated flatware, multiply the pounds by $10 (holloware by $7, knives by $3.50). Sterling silver, silver coins, gold and bullion are quoted in writing instead; every published price is on the what we pay page. Remember the fee rule: settlements under $250 carry a $25 fee, so one consolidated shipment beats two small ones, and remember that shipping is yours, so a very small lot may be better combined with the rest of the drawer.

For most parcels, no. For larger transactions, Canada's anti-money-laundering rules require us to verify identity, and we do that with standard remote ID methods, quickly and privately. We also keep a purchase register and hold every purchase for 30 clear days before melting, which is the period the City of Mississauga sets for second-hand goods, and where a municipal bylaw sets a longer hold we follow the longer one. Stolen goods have no home here.

No, and be wary of anyone who blurs this. An appraisal estimates value for insurance or resale. We are a metal buyer paying published rates, and your receipt documents a real purchase. That is exactly why the pre-ship photo check matters: a signed piece or complete set from a known maker can be worth more whole than melted, and if you email a photo to contact@silverplatecanada.ca first we will say so plainly before you ship.

Silver Plate Canada is a mail-in buying service operated from a working metals recycling facility in Mississauga, Ontario. Your parcel comes to that facility, is processed on camera, and the metal we buy enters the legitimate refining stream. More on the about page.