Orion Metal Exchange Review

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Orion Metal Exchange is a Los Angeles-based precious metals dealer that sells gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, and helps investors set up self-directed precious metals IRAs.

Founded in 2017 by Jacob Blalock, the company has built its reputation on a commission-free buyback policy and live online pricing, two things that a lot of competitors in this space still don't offer.

This review looks at what Orion actually provides, how its fees and minimums compare, what current customers say, and where the gold market sits right now for anyone considering a purchase.

Key Takeaways

• Orion Metal Exchange holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and a 4.9 out of 5 score on Trustpilot.
• The company charges no commission on buybacks, a policy most competitors don't match.
• Gold traded above $4,000 per ounce in July 2026, up roughly 19% from a year earlier, which changes the math on any new purchase.

What Orion Metal Exchange Sells

Orion operates in four metals: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. You can buy coins and bars directly through their online shop, or you can call their IRA department to roll retirement funds into a self-directed precious metals IRA.

That second part is where most of their business seems to be. Once you have an account, Orion also offers insured home delivery and third-party depository storage. Everything runs through a licensed custodian for IRA accounts, since the IRS doesn't let you store IRA metal in your own home.

Here's the thing that trips people up: you can't open an account entirely online. You have to call. Orion's number is 1-800-559-0088, and phone hours run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Pacific. For a company built around transparency messaging, the phone-only account setup feels a little old-fashioned. It's also standard practice across the entire gold IRA industry, so Orion isn't unusual here, just not exceptional either.

Company Snapshot

The minimum investment figure is worth a note. Different review sites list different numbers, some say $5,000, others cite $10,000.

Orion doesn't post a hard minimum on its own site, so the real number likely depends on the representative you talk to and what you're trying to buy or roll over. Call and ask before you assume either figure applies to your situation.

Jacob Blalock, Orion's founder, isn't new to this industry. Before starting Orion in 2017, he worked in senior roles at other precious metals firms, including Patriot Gold Group, and has been described in industry writeups as a senior account representative at Lear Capital earlier in his career.

Orion's marketing points to more than 40 years of combined experience among its founding owners, which lines up with an operation built by people who'd already spent years selling metal before opening their own shop.

That background shows up in how the company talks about pricing transparency.

Fees and the Buyback Policy

Most precious metals dealers charge a fee to sell you metal and another fee when you sell it back. Orion only charges on the way in.

Their buyback program doesn't add a commission, so what you get back reflects the market price at the time of liquidation, not the market price minus a cut.

That's a real advantage if you plan to hold for a few years and eventually cash out, since buyback fees at some competitors run several percentage points.

Orion doesn't publish a fee schedule with exact percentages. Instead, pricing is built into the spread between what they pay for metal and what they charge you.

This is common in the industry, but it means you won't find a simple fee table on their website the way you might for a brokerage account. Call for a quote on the specific product you're considering.

A few things Orion does that competitors sometimes skip:

Where the Gold Market Stands Right Now

Gold has had an unusual run. As of July 21, 2026, spot gold traded around $4,082 per troy ounce, up nearly 19% from the same date a year earlier, according to Trading Economics data.

Earlier in the month, prices dipped below $4,000 before climbing back above that level by July 20. In 2025 alone, gold set 53 new all-time highs and the metal's annual average price rose 44% over 2024, closing the year near $3,431 an ounce, per figures reported from the World Gold Council.

Analyst forecasts for the rest of 2026 vary quite a bit. Standard Chartered projects a full-year average near $4,488 an ounce, with Q4 climbing toward $4,750.

JP Morgan has published a more aggressive call, putting gold at $6,300 by year-end, tied partly to expectations around Federal Reserve leadership changes and continued central bank buying.

Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Société Générale have each issued their own targets in the $6,000 to $6,200 range for later in the year. None of these are guarantees.

Gold moved on geopolitical headlines throughout mid-2026, including tension around shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, and that kind of volatility cuts both ways.

Here's a quick comparison of where gold has traded across recent points in 2026:

For context on long-term returns, gold has averaged roughly 7.9% annually since 1971, compared to 10.7% for the stock market over the same stretch.

Gold tends to outperform during periods of high inflation or economic stress, and underperform when equities are running strong.

That trade-off matters more than any single dealer's fee structure when you're deciding whether to buy at all.

Silver, platinum, and palladium don't get the same daily headline treatment as gold, but they matter for anyone building a diversified metals position through Orion.

 Silver has historically moved with more volatility than gold on a percentage basis, often amplifying gold's moves in both directions.

Platinum and palladium are tied more closely to industrial demand, particularly automotive catalytic converter production, which means their prices respond to manufacturing data in a way gold generally doesn't.

 Orion sells all four metals, so a buyer isn't limited to gold coins if the goal is broader diversification within a physical metals allocation.

Customer Reviews: What People Actually Say

Orion's review profile is one of the stronger ones in this industry. The Better Business Bureau lists a perfect 5-star average across 52 reviews with zero registered complaints.

Trustpilot shows a 4.9 out of 5 rating from several hundred customer reviews.

 ConsumerAffairs has accredited the company since 2018, and reviewers there consistently mention specific representatives by name, walking through 401(k) rollovers, explaining spot price versus premium, and following up after transactions closed.

That last detail matters more than it sounds. A lot of gold IRA complaints in this industry center on customers not understanding the difference between the spot price of a coin and the premium they're actually paying.

When reviewers say a rep showed them that math directly, it suggests the sales process isn't built to obscure the markup, at least based on what customers report.

One repeated theme across ConsumerAffairs, Trustpilot, and Google reviews: almost nobody describes high-pressure tactics.

Several reviewers specifically noted they weren't pushed into a decision on the first call, which stands out in an industry where cold-call pressure tactics have generated real regulatory attention in recent years.

Where Orion Comes Up Short

No dealer is perfect, and a few things are worth flagging plainly:

None of these are dealbreakers by themselves. They're the kind of thing you'd want to know going in rather than discover mid-transaction.

Is Orion Metal Exchange Worth It?

For investors who want a human on the phone walking them through a rollover, and who value a fee-free buyback over hunting for the absolute lowest markup on day one, Orion is a reasonable choice.

Investors who want to complete every step online without ever picking up a phone will find better options elsewhere.

Given current gold prices sitting near record territory, anyone considering a purchase through Orion or any dealer should treat the timing decision separately from the dealer decision, since the two are not the same question.