They live in Lille, Valenciennes, Maastricht or Aachen. They own a few pieces of inherited jewellery, coins received long ago, sometimes a family gold bar. And just as they consider selling them in Belgium, a little phrase heard here or there stops them cold: “You are not allowed to take that across the border.” Our clients report this phrase to us regularly, in countless variations. It shares the hallmark of every effective rumour: it is false, but it plants doubt. Let us calmly go through what Europe guarantees to everyone, what actually happens at the border, and what awaits you at a Belgian house.
The phrases we hear far too often
“Customs will confiscate your jewellery.” “Selling abroad is illegal.” “Over there, you will have no recourse.” These warnings almost never come from a lawyer or a customs officer. They come, more often than not, from a local professional, at the precise moment a client mentions the idea of comparing offers elsewhere. Let us say it without acrimony: a client who compares is a client who may leave. Discouraging the journey is not a conspiracy, it is a commercial reflex. But a commercial reflex has never made a rule of law.
The consequence, however, is very real: private individuals give up a few hundred euros, sometimes several thousand, on the strength of an unverified remark. That is precisely why this page exists.
What Europe guarantees to everyone
The free movement of people and capital is not a slogan; it is the legal bedrock of the European Union. Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union prohibits any restriction on movements of capital between Member States. Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands all belong to the Schengen Area, which abolished systematic checks at internal borders. According to Eurostat, more than a million and a half Europeans work in a different country from the one they live in.
People already cross the border for fuel, for shopping, for healthcare, for work. Selling something you own, at a licensed professional’s in a neighbouring country, falls under exactly the same freedom. It applies to the French, the Germans, the Luxembourgers, the Dutch, and to every resident of the Union.
Six rumours, six answers
“You are not allowed to cross the border with your jewellery.”
False. No law prevents you from travelling within the Union with your personal belongings. Your jewellery, your coins and your family gold travel with you, just like your watch or your wedding ring.
“Customs confiscate gold at the border.”
False. Spot checks do exist, as they do everywhere in Europe, and they are no trap: travelling with your personal belongings is not an offence. Confiscation punishes fraud and trafficking, not the private individual bringing along their grandmother’s jewellery.
“Selling in Belgium is reserved for Belgians.”
False. A European identity document is all it takes. The transaction is recorded by the book, and payment is sent by bank transfer to your account, whether it is French, German or Luxembourgish.
“You will be taxed in Belgium, on top.”
False. Belgium withholds nothing from a seller who is not resident there for tax purposes. The offer accepted at Dottignies is paid to you in full, free of any deduction whatsoever.
“Belgian prices hide fees.”
False. Here, melting and assay are free of charge, the offer is put in writing and can be compared freely. Everyone remains free to leave with their items, without paying a single euro in fees.
“If anything goes wrong, you will have no recourse abroad.”
False. A Belgian house is a registered, supervised and publicly rated business, not a lawless zone. European consumer law protects private individuals throughout the Union, and a public reputation can be checked in two minutes from home.
What really awaits you on this side
The best antidote to rumour is a transparent process. At the branch, everything happens in front of you: your items are weighed, then analysed by spectrometer before your eyes, metal by metal. You receive a written offer, calculated on the day’s price to the nearest gramme. You compare it freely. If it suits you, payment leaves by bank transfer in your name, backed by a clear written record of the transaction. If it does not, you leave with your items, and you will at least have learnt precisely what you own.
Ask yourself a single question: who is genuinely trying to protect you, the professional who tells you not to compare, or the one who carries out the analysis in front of you and puts the offer in writing?
Why so many cross-border sellers make the journey
Gold & Silver Company is not a middleman: it is a foundry and refinery, an assayer registered in the Guarantee Register of the Royal Mint of Belgium. The gold it buys is melted and refined in-house, with no intermediary link to pay along the way. A broker sells a price. A refinery masters the metal. That difference in model explains the difference in offer far more reliably than any supposed trick.
Geography does the rest. The Dottignies (Mouscron) branch sits right on the border: some twenty minutes from Lille, close to Tournai and Kortrijk. At Gold & Silver Company, we can see that the border no longer stops many people: our visitors come from Bordeaux, Nice, Paris, northern France, Flanders, Wallonia, and sometimes from much further afield, precisely because they have compared.
Coming in confidence
There is nothing to prepare. Come as you are, items as they stand: broken or dated jewellery, coins, fragments, bars with or without paperwork. There is no need to sort, clean or have anything valued beforehand. An identity card is all you need. For a substantial holding, a simple telephone call before the visit lets us arrange a discreet welcome with no waiting. The branch welcomes you at Dottignies (Mouscron), Rue Arthur Roelandt 22.
The border only exists in the words of those it suits. Europe erased it long ago. Your items belong to you, and so does your freedom to compare.
Frequently asked questions
I live in Lille, Paris, Bordeaux or Marseille: can I come and sell my gold at Dottignies?
Yes, wherever you are coming from in France. From Lille, Roubaix or Tourcoing, the branch is around twenty minutes away, and many of our clients from the Lille area drop in as neighbours: we have written a dedicated page for them. From Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille or any other region, the trip is easy to plan: bring your items and your identity card, the analysis takes place in front of you and the offer is handed to you in writing the same day. Some clients further away actually prefer to start off using the secure parcel, described a little further down.
Do I need to prepare anything before crossing the border with my jewellery?
No, nothing is required. Your items travel with you like any other personal belonging. Bring them as they are: broken or mismatched jewellery, coins, chains, fragments, with or without paperwork. There is no need to sort or clean anything; the analysis takes care of that. A valid identity card is enough to record the transaction by the book. If the whole lot is bulky or of high value, simply let us know before setting off: we will arrange a discreet welcome, with no waiting, and answer all your questions beforehand.
How can I check that a Belgian house is reputable before making the trip?
Exactly as you would in your own country, and without leaving home. The company number can be looked up in the Belgian public register, client reviews are public, and the assayer’s registration in the Guarantee Register of the Royal Mint of Belgium can be verified. Look too at what the house shows of itself: a genuine foundry and refinery documents its production facilities, its analysis method and the metal’s journey. We positively encourage this checking before you come: our foundry and refinery page details the industrial facilities, from melting to refining.
Will I be paid differently because I am not Belgian?
No, in no way whatsoever. The price is the same for everyone, indexed to the live gold price and displayed publicly. The calculation does not change according to your passport: the fineness measured at analysis, multiplied by the weight and by the day’s price, to the nearest gramme. The transfer goes to your bank account wherever in the Union it is held, whether in France, Germany, Luxembourg or elsewhere. You can also follow the gold price on our site before your visit, so you arrive fully informed.
What if I would rather not travel?
Travelling is never an obligation. Our secure parcel buying service lets you sell from a distance: you post your items yourself, you remain the sole sender and the sole beneficiary of the payment, the analysis is carried out on receipt and the offer is sent to you before any decision is taken. If it suits you, the transfer goes to your account, in your name. If it does not, your items come back to you. Many of our more distant clients start this way, then make the journey once trust has been established.
Can I send a parcel from France or another neighbouring country?
Yes, the secure parcel is designed precisely for distant sellers, from Paris to Marseille, as well as for our European neighbours. The principle: you contact us before sending to agree the arrangements, then you dispatch your items by registered post, at declared value, against signature on delivery. The assay is carried out free of charge within twenty-four hours of receipt, and nothing is melted or processed without your explicit agreement. You accept the offer and the transfer goes to your account, or you decline it and your items stay in the safe, at your disposal. The full procedure is set out on our dedicated page.
Updated 30 August 2026