Where to sell silverware in Ontario
6 kinds of place buy silverware in Ontario: a specialist metal buyer, a jeweller or gold shop, a pawn shop, an auction house, an antique dealer, and an online marketplace. Metal buyers suit plate and mixed boxes. Jewellers and pawn shops suit gold and sterling. Auctions, dealers and marketplaces suit rare or complete sets.
The 6 kinds of buyer, compared
Silverware covers 2 very different things. Some is solid silver. Most is silver plate, a thin layer of silver over base metal. Who you sell to depends on which you have, and on whether a piece is worth more whole than as metal.
These are types of business, not named firms.
| Buyer type | What they take | What they pay on | How fast | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialist metal buyer This is what we are |
Silver plate, sterling, gold, pewter, brass, bronze, copper-nickel. Mixed and incomplete boxes are fine. | Metal content and weight, at rates published before you send anything. | We do not publish a turnaround time. You pick the route: post it, book a pickup, or bring it in. | Metal value only. A rare or signed piece is paid for its metal, not for its history. |
| Jeweller or gold shop | Gold jewellery. Some take sterling. Very few take plate. | Gold content by karat and weight. | Usually the same visit. | A drawer of plated flatware is normally turned away, and so is holloware. |
| Pawn shop | Gold, some sterling, the occasional tray or teapot. | What they think they can resell it for. | Usually the same visit. | An offer is a resale offer, not a metal offer. A loan against your silver is not a sale. |
| Auction house | Complete sterling services, signed pieces, silver by known makers. | Whatever the room bids on the day. | Weeks to months, plus a settlement period after the sale. | A seller's commission and lot fees come off the result, a lot can go unsold, and nothing is certain before the hammer falls. |
| Antique dealer | Decorative pieces and patterns they already have buyers for. | What they expect to resell it for, less their own margin. | Same visit, if they want it. | They choose. Plain plate, worn pieces and mixed boxes are usually declined. |
| Online marketplace | Anything you are willing to photograph, list, pack and post yourself. | What a private buyer offers. | Days to months, depending on who turns up. | You do all the work and carry the listing fees. Heavy holloware costs a lot to ship, and a damaged parcel is your problem. |
Which route suits which item
- A mixed box of plated flatware, trays and odd spoons. A specialist metal buyer. Many other buyers turn it away.
- Gold rings and chains. A jeweller, a gold shop or a metal buyer. Compare the rate per gram for the karat you have.
- Sterling flatware with no complete pattern. A metal buyer, priced off weight.
- A complete boxed sterling service, or a signed piece by a known maker. Try an auction house or an antique dealer first. See the section below.
- 1 or 2 pretty decorative pieces. An antique dealer or an online marketplace, if you have the patience.
Whoever you choose, ask for the rate in writing before you hand anything over, and ask what happens if you change your mind.
Sterling or plate? Read the marks first
Most people do not know which they have, and that is normal. Plate was made to look like sterling, and sold as the good silver for 100 years. The difference is worth real money: the same weight of solid silver is worth many times what plate is.
Turn each piece over and read the mark. The marks rarely lie.
Marks that mean silver plate
- EP, EPNS, EPC, EPBM
- A1, Triple Plate, Quadruple Plate
- Rogers in any form: 1847 Rogers Bros., Wm Rogers, Wm A Rogers, Rogers & Bro.
- Community and Community Plate
- Regency Plate
- Birks E.P.
Marks that mean solid silver
- STERLING or STER
- 925, .925 or 92.5
- 900, often on older North American pieces
- 800, common on European solid silver and often thrown out as plate because the number looks low
- The lion passant, a small walking lion stamped on English silver, usually beside a town mark and a date letter
The trap that catches almost everyone: 1847 Rogers Bros. is a founding date, not a year of manufacture, and not a silver mark. Everything under that name is plate. The reverse trap is just as common. A British piece with no word sterling on it, only tiny stamped pictures, is often solid silver that families assume is plate. Last thing: do not polish anything before you sell it. Polish takes a little silver off with the tarnish and changes nothing you are paid.
Pictures of every mark are on our what is my silver worth page, and the full sorting method is in our guide to sterling vs silverplate. If a mark is worn or missing, do not guess. Email a photo to [email protected] and we will tell you what it looks like.
What we pay, and how selling to us works
Our rates are published before you send anything, and they are the same for everyone. Silver plate, pewter, brass and copper-nickel are flat rates that do not move day to day. Solid silver and gold are priced live from the metal market, off weight.
| Item | We pay (CAD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Silver plated flatware (forks, spoons, serving pieces) | $10.00/lb | Flat rate |
| Silver plated holloware (teapots, trays, candlesticks) | $7.50/lb | Flat rate |
| Silver plated knives (non-magnetic handle) | $3.50/lb | Most of a knife is blade and filler, not plate, so knives have their own rate. |
| Sterling and 925 silver, 900 silver, 800 silver | Live rate | Priced live from the metal market, off weight, so the figure moves through the day. Today's figures are on our rates page. |
| Gold jewellery, 10K to 24K | Live rate | Priced live from the metal market, off weight, by karat. |
| Pewter (marked) | $10.00/lb | Flat rate |
| Brass and bronze | $2.50/lb | Flat rate |
| Copper-nickel | $2.50/lb | Flat rate |
| Anything magnetic (iron, steel) | No value | Run a magnet over everything first. If it grabs firmly it is steel and earns nothing. Already packed? Leave it in and we recycle it at no charge. |
Put your own weights against these rates →
3 ways to sell, from anywhere in Ontario
- Post it. Request a discounted prepaid shipping label online, pack your box and drop it off with our courier. The label cost comes off your payment.
- We collect it. Within about a 2 hour drive of Mississauga, book a pickup. Type your address to see the fee first. It comes off your payment.
- Bring it in. Book a drop-off at 2687 Slough St, Mississauga. There is no shipping label and no courier cost.
What happens to your silverware
- Every parcel is opened and documented on continuous video.
- Every piece is sorted, weighed and tested, and each category is paid at its own rate.
- As part of our anti-money-laundering (FINTRAC) compliance program, we ask every seller for photo ID.
- Payment is by Interac e-Transfer, with an itemized receipt showing every category, weight, rate and dollar, so you can check it line by line.
- Everything we buy is held intact and unmelted for 30 clear days before it is processed. After that it is melted or shredded and the metal is reused.
- Change your mind inside those 30 days and your items go back by tracked courier at your shipping cost.
The 1 fee we have, published up front: settlements of $250 or more are processed with no fee. Settlements under $250 carry a $25 processing fee. If you are near that line, send everything in 1 shipment instead of 2 small ones.
When we are the wrong answer
We buy for metal value only. We melt and shred. We are not an appraiser and we do not give appraisals. That makes us the wrong choice for some items, and better you hear it now than after the box is gone.
Take these somewhere else first:
- A complete boxed sterling pattern set, with the service for 12 intact in its fitted chest. There is a separate market for complete named patterns, through collectors, dealers and auction houses. We pay for the silver in it, so once it is broken up for metal that market is gone.
- A signed or collectable piece. Early Sheffield plate, unusual Victorian figural pieces, railway and hotel silver, and work by a named silversmith all have their own market.
We cannot tell you what any of those would sell for. Nobody honestly can. What we can tell you is what we would pay for the metal, so you have 1 firm number to compare against. Email photos to [email protected] before you pack and we will say plainly whether a piece belongs at a dealer or an auction instead of in our box. That check costs nothing, and it beats paying for a return trip.
Common questions
Where can I sell silverware in Ontario if I do not live near Mississauga?
You can sell from anywhere in Ontario without driving. Ask for a discounted prepaid shipping label online, pack your silverware and post it with our courier. If you are within about a 2 hour drive of Mississauga you can book a pickup instead. You can also book a drop-off at 2687 Slough St, Mississauga.
How do I know if my silverware is sterling or silver plate?
Turn a piece over and read the mark. EP, EPNS, EPC, EPBM, A1, Triple Plate, Quadruple Plate, Rogers, Community, Regency Plate and Birks E.P. all mean silver plate. Sterling, 925, 900, 800 and the small walking lion mean solid silver. If the mark is worn or missing, send us a photo and we will tell you what it looks like.
What is silver plated flatware worth in Ontario?
We pay a published flat rate of $10.00 per lb for silver plated flatware, $7.50 per lb for plated holloware and $3.50 per lb for plated knives with a non-magnetic handle. Marked pewter is $10.00 per lb. Brass, bronze and copper-nickel are $2.50 per lb. Sterling silver and gold are priced live from the metal market, off weight, so those figures move. Weigh your piles at home and the calculator on our homepage adds it up.
Do you buy incomplete sets, odd spoons and mixed boxes?
Yes. You do not need a complete set and you do not need to sort it. Put it all in 1 box. Every piece is sorted and tested on camera, and each category is paid at its own rate. Anything magnetic is steel, has no value, and is recycled at no charge.
What if I change my mind after I send my silverware?
Every purchase is held intact and unmelted for 30 clear days. Tell us inside that window and your items go back to you by tracked courier at your shipping cost, and we tell you that exact cost in writing before anything ships. If you have already been paid for an item you want back, that payment comes back to us first.
Silver Plate Canada • silverplatecanada.ca • (416) 799-7528 • [email protected] • 2687 Slough St, Mississauga, ON