Today, we’re going to look at Blanchard and Company. We’ll talk about their background, what they do, their pros and cons, and what to consider when making a decision to invest with them.
Here's a quick summary before we jump in.
Our Overall Rating
2.7/5
First Glance
Wide selection of bars and coins
Buy back metals feature
Lack of customer reviews
Questionable shipping methods
Who is Blanchard Gold?
For over 30 years, investors have come to Blanchard hoping to get their portfolios as robust as possible. Their staff is accommodating, too, as they’re experts with precious metals. Ask them any question you can think of about precious metals, and you can count on a comprehensive and helpful answer.
Based in New Orleans, Blanchard stands tall among investment education firms. They ensure their clients have all the info they need to start investing, with a slew of experts who know precious metals, economics, and investment strategies.
They teach you how to purchase precious metals to help your investments. When your portfolio is solely reliant on things like stocks and bonds, you’re at significant risk if the dollar declines in value. Blanchard also has reviews from important institutions like BCA and the BBB.
While Blanchard Gold has a lot of great things going for them, they aren't the best option for everything. If you want to purchase physical metals and store them yourself then Blanchard is a solid option, however, there are companies out there who have hundreds more 5 star reviews and specialize in 401k rollovers and setting up gold IRA's, which we'll get into shortly.
What Do They Offer?
Blanchard has a variety of offerings, primarily physical metals. They offer palladium, platinum, silver, and gold, in both bars and coins.
They have a buy-back promise, meaning you can resell the gold you buy from them directly to them. The price will match the market rate. This feature is standard with gold companies; however, it's great to have peace of mind when buying.
Customers can also sell gold goods to the company, which is a unique characteristic for gold firms. Track gold market prices to see how much you'll be able to get for your gold, and consider holding off a little bit longer if you anticipate the gold price going up soon.
Reviews and Ratings
There are some red flags with this firm that you should be aware of.
One concern is that they have only 3 reviews on Better Business Bureau. What's worse is they have a 1.33 out of 5 star average with those reviews.
They only have one review on TrustLink and it's a 1 star. There Google reviews are better at an average of 3.8 stars, however there are only 19 total reviews.
In fairness, not all customers leave reviews but only 23 total reviews for a company that's been in business for 30 years is a bit puzzling.
In contrast, take a company like Goldco Precious Metals. They have only been in business for 10+ years but have over 1000 5 star reviews from customers.
Customer reviews aren't the only thing to consider when investing with a company, however it's something you should definitely weigh into your decision.
Things We Like
Blanchard doesn’t have any Business Consumers Alliance complaints in the most recent three years.
Additionally, the great range of Blanchard offerings means an increase in customer satisfaction. They have valuable and rare coins and bars, in gold and silver.
The buy-back feature is also handy. In case you need to offload your gold or other items, you can avoid being stiffed.
Things We Don't Like
Although Blanchard has a great BCA rating in recent years, they have some complaints from the Better Business Bureau.
Unsatisfied customers took offense to Blanchard’s shipping and billing methods. While these issues have been handled on behalf of the BBB, it would be nice if they didn’t exist in the first place.
Ripoff Report also has some negative Blanchard takes. One customer was evidently deeply unhappy with how long they had to wait for their precious metals.
It took some 10 weeks for them to get their metals. This can cause a lot of stress and aggravation, especially if you're worried about your order getting lost. While delivery can take a while, it definitely shouldn’t take that long.
We mentioned it above, however it's important to mention again. This company should have more than 23 total reviews online if they've been in business 30 years.
That's very concerning and gives lots of people hesitation to work with them.
Are They Legit or A Scam?
The word scam is very harsh and should be taken seriously when evaluating companies. Blanchard Gold is most certainly a legit firm and offers great products.
Our main take away is that there are other companies out there that have thousands more publicly accessible, positive reviews which gives customers the confidence to invest with them.
If you want to purchase metals from Blanchard, then it's a solid option. But just like every decision, there are pros and cons.
If it was our personal decision, we'd be comfortable buying a couple ounces of coins or bars, however we wouldn't feel comfortable investing tens of thousands (or more) with them in an IRA or rolling over our 401k.
Are There Better Alternatives?
For buying metals in bar or coin form, Blanchard is a solid option. For IRAs or 401k transfers, there are much better alternatives based on customer reviews.
Here are the top 3 companies that can help you with gold-backed IRA's.
Final Verdict
There are lots of things we like about Blanchard. Besides their great products and services, they also do right by their customers. While their complaints are certainly concerning, the fact that they do their best to resolve them is encouraging. It shows a whole lot of humility, and it can give you a lot more faith in working with them.
Their lack of reviews is one of the most heavily weighted factors for us when we evaluate a company, which is why Blanchard only receives a 2.7 star rating overall. If they had 1000 5 star reviews like others, they would move into the 4 star category because they do have great qualities.
Reviews and ratings may be the thing you rely on, or they may not be the only thing that matters to you. It really depends on you and how you evaluate companies. So the decision on who to work with comes down to what your needs are.
Some companies are better than others for certain investments. Review the table above or read our article on IRA companies, or you can visit Blanchard Gold if you just want to buy a few ounces of metals.
We hope you found this article helpful and happy investing!