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If you're considering buying or selling precious metals, selecting the right exchange is crucial to your success. It's essential to choose an exchange that is affordable, trustworthy, flexible, and well-reviewed by other users.
This can be a daunting task, given the plethora of options available in the market. Conducting thorough research is necessary to ensure you make an informed decision.
One standout option is the Orion Metal Exchange. This exchange offers a wide range of precious metals, catering to both investment and IRS purposes, making it a versatile choice for your needs.
Before we get started:
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About Orion Metal Exchange
Orion Metal Exchange opens its website with a robust "about me" page that offers an array of information on the company. They note that they offer full transparency, low/no fees, and live charting that enables individuals to constantly see the price of precious metals that they may be interested in buying or selling.
They also note a few items that they claim differentiates them from the competition. Chief among them is a full-service IRA department that is meant to help individuals buy and sell precious metals for their IRAs.
This service is meant to give customers additional piece of mind before buying precious metals as part of their retirement. Furthermore, Orion Metal Exchange says that they can make price guarantees to individuals who call and are interested in buying a metal.
Presumably, these guarantees would be in-line with current market conditions, but this guarantee is important, as it can ease the peace of mind that an individual may have when purchasing precious metals.
Orion lists its membership with a variety of professional exchange societies at the bottom of its website. Importantly, it also brags about its rating with a variety of independent review firms, including Trust Pilot, Google, and Consumer Affairs.
Finally, the company offers a variety of ways that individuals can get in touch with them to either ask more questions, place an order, or open an account. This includes phone calls, emails, or a contact form.
This flexibility is important, as many individuals - particularly elderly individuals who may be interested in buying precious metals - may not be comfortable opening an account or transacting business over the internet.
About the Founders of Orion Metal Exchange
Unlike other exchanges, Orion Metal Exchange does not get into specific information about its founders, though the About section of its website does note that its founders have more than forty years of experience in the field.
While information about their founders is certainly not required, it would be helpful if the website did give this additional background.
Orion Metal Exchange Pricing and Fees
Again, pricing and fees are not exactly available on the website. A FAQs section of the website does note that their fees are low and that the agency will work with you to establish a high-quality and low-cost program.
Unfortunately, specific fees are not listed. This is troublesome in any circumstance, but particularly for a company that brags about its transparency.
That being said, other reviews specifically noted that there were no fees for IRA set-up or storage as long as you open an IRA through Orion Metal Exchange.
Available Products and Services
There is no doubt that Orion Metal Exchange offers a vast array of services that can be very beneficial for individuals. This includes:
IRA investing with precious metals: Many complicated regulations limit the ability o an ordinary person to purchase precious metals on their own, then use those metals in an IRA.
Creating your precious metal IRA means you have to work with an approved brokerage and ensure that the metals are stored in an IRS-approved facility. Fortunately, Orion Metal Exchange can assist with that product.
More to the point, they have specific IRA agents that can walk you through the process of creating an IRA, then give you specific advice on how to do just that.
These IRA agents were noted by reviews to have ample experience in the area of IRA precious metals, ensuring that individuals who purchased IRAs had all of the information that they needed and were aware of the contribution limits to their IRA.
IRA information: It is also worth noting that the webpage lists very specific and customized information on how to open an IRA. It gives individuals access to a variety of IRA options and lists the tax benefits of opening a precious metal IRA. It is also clear about the potential challenges with precious metal IRAs, noting that there are still contribution limits and storage fees.
While this section of the website doesn't quite give access to the same information as a financial planner - for example, it doesn't list potential pitfalls of opening a precious metal IRA - it can still be very useful for individuals who want to learn more about a precious metal IRA.
Secured commercial deposits & storage: For collectors or individuals who want to purchase precious metals for other reasons, you're in luck: You can buy precious metals - for any reason - and secure them in Orion Metal Exchange's 3rd party storage facility. You can then access or get those metals at a time that you want or need them.
Insured home delivery: Individuals who are interested in buying precious metals can have those metals shipped directly to their homes. These deliveries are fully ensured. You can also work with the company to have the metals shipped to your third-party location.
Reviews noted that Orion was very flexible with their insurance options. Given that all shipping is fully insured, you should have no trouble finding a location to send your goods.
Free Buyback Policy: Again, something that makes Orion Metal Exchange stand out is its free buyback policy. The company claims that they will buy back any metals they sell you at no or minimal charge.
This would be different than many other exchanges, which do levy a fee for any buybacks. They will then provide you with all paperwork and give you a price guarantee on the metals that they are buying back from you.
What You Can Buy
The website offers an extensive array of products that collectors, investors, or retirees can buy. This includes the following:
The website offers dozens of gold coins that have been minted across the world.
The website offers many types of silver. It also offers silver bars, "based on availability."
Interestingly, Orion Metal Exchange offers more platinum products than gold or silver ones, a relative rarity among websites like these. It also has many platinum products from different countries, in addition to platinum bars.
At the moment, Orion Metal Exchange only offers two coins and bars.
Finally, as noted above, you can buy all of these products for the express purpose of funding a precious metal IRA. Orion Metal Exchange is full-service when it comes to an IRA, meaning they can work with you to set up a precious metal IRA that best fits your individualized needs.
However, you should keep in mind that these full-service individuals should not be confused with financial advisors. Their interest will be in selling you as many products as possible. As such, you need to work with a financial planner before making any retirement decisions.
Website Features & Resources
Orion Metal Exchange offers a series of resources to individuals who are interested in using their products or services. This includes:
Live pricing and historical chart information on the price of a variety of precious metals. This information is useful, and it can help to ensure that individuals are informed about prices before they spend a dime.
It's worth noting that this chart is relatively extensive: It tracks all four precious metals that Orion sells on the website. More to the point, it shows extensive, detailed information on the price of the metal that you may be interested in learning more about, going back up to thirty years.
A Gold & Silver investment guide. However, the information is gated: you have to give your name and contact information before accessing the guide. This means that you will begin to receive the company's marketing collateral.
This free investor kit will also come with other marketing collateral, including the opportunity to qualify for $20,000 or $30,000 in free metals - the website uses both numbers interchangeably at different points.
A FAQs page that answers many questions about gold, silver, precious metals, and the website itself. To its credit, the website is relatively honest and doesn't attempt to oversell users.
For example, in response to a common question - "What percentage of my portfolio should be precious metals?" - the website notes that many advisors recommend 10-20%, but that each individual needs to meet their own financial goals.
This is an honest answer and one that doesn't attempt to oversell. This FAQs page has information on buying precious metals in general, on buying precious metals from the Orion Metal Exchange page, and on taxes.
A scrolling list of the price of various precious metals. This price appears to be updated live, and given that the price of these metals moves 24/7, this information can be extremely useful if you are thinking about buying any precious metals.
A new tab that is a daily-updated blog, updated directly by Orion. This blog takes news stories and gives the company's spin and expertise on them. To be clear, these blogs are done for the purpose of selling you additional precious metals. However, the information contained in each blog entry appears to be well-sourced and useful.
As noted by numerous other reviewers, buying gold directly from the website is not possible unless you purchase more than $10,000. This is inconvenient for most users and average investors, who simply won't be buying that many precious metals. Instead, you have to call the company to complete this order.
Likewise, you can start the process of opening an IRA on the website but can't finish it. Instead, you have to fill out an application online, then wait or someone to call you.
Orion Metal Exchange Reviews
Reviews of Orion Metal Exchange are not hard to find, and you can find ratings for them on many different websites. Indeed, as noted, Orion brags about their ratings on the front page of their website.
An overview of their reviews reveals the following ratings:
As you can see, these reviews are ok. Commonly complemented areas of service offered by Orion included:
Final Thoughts
It is clear that the company offers a wide array of services, has excellent staff, and offers a level of customer service that goes well beyond what is normally found in organizations like these.
For individuals who want to make sure they are doing the best they can with limited resources - and particularly for retirement - that makes Orion Metal Exchange an option to consider.
At the same time, there are some troublesome aspects of the Orion Metal Exchange. The inability to find certain pieces of information - including on fees, pricing, and the founders of the Exchange - may give some individuals pause.
This lack of information - particularly on the pricing - makes it appear as if the operators of the Exchange have something to hide.
However, on the whole, this is a reasonable service. They offer many products, have staff expertise, and have a vast array of positive reviews that give widespread credibility to their organization.
Remember to read our list of the Best Gold Investment Companies to work with, before investing your hard-earned savings!
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Charles Turner
Hi, I'm Charles Turner, founder of Turner Investments. I created Turner Investments to provide education and guidance to individuals interested in personal finance.
My goal is to make Turner Investments a valuable resource for anyone looking to learn more about personal finance and make smarter investment decisions.