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Monday, December 2nd
Best Buy is an electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. They're a go-to store for anyone thinking of buying a TV, phone, speakers, computer, video game system, camera, drone, or any other type of electronic device. The company has over 1,200 domestic and international stores, but their inventory pales in comparison to what you can purchase from Best Buy online. You can buy just about any mainstream brand of electronics from Best Buy's website and have it delivered straight to your door.
A reasonable selection
The smallest type of safe you can purchase from Best Buy is a low profile cash box with a key lock for just $34.99. It's a really basic product without any fire safety features, but it would be a good way to organize money and keep it locked safe somewhere in your home if that's all you need. You can find Honeywell or Barska safes around 0.41 cubic feet with a digital keypad for under $100. A medium-sized safe with fireproof features is around $250 and with more features and larger sizes come higher prices. You can spend as much as $1,536.99 for a two-lock depository safe with a digital keypad. Although there aren't tons of choices for safes at Best Buy, there is a decent selection that includes enough for most people's basic requirements.
Inconspicuous lock boxes
Some fun and unique lock boxes we found at Best Buy were dictionaries and antique-looking books that can actually be opened up with a code to reveal a compartment for you to keep valuables. They are big enough to keep some documents, jewelry, and cash. It's the perfect, inconspicuous way to disguise a lock box. Just stick it on a bookshelf with other books or use it as decor and no one would suspect a thing.
Comprehensive product listings
For any home safe you're viewing on Best Buy's website, you'll be shown the price, availability, unfiltered customer reviews, whether or not the safe is water resistant, and a list of full specs like the lock type, exterior and interior product dimensions, warranty (usually a 1-year manufacturer's warranty), color, model number, and more. There are plenty of product photos to give you a good idea of exactly what the safe looks like from all angles too.
Delivery or pick-up options
You can either have your safe shipped to your home, or pick it up at your closest Best Buy store. A pickup and delivery date are shown upfront so you can choose which one is more convenient for you. If your local store has it in-stock, you could quickly purchase it online and head over in as little as 1 hour to get your safe and bring it home. You can narrow down your selection of safes or any other item from Best Buy based on your delivery preference.
15-day return window
If you spend over $35 on an order at Best Buy, your order will ship for free. If you need to make a return, be aware that Best Buy's return window is a bit shorter than most stores. Standard returns can be done within 15 days of purchase and can either be taken straight to your local Best Buy store or done online. If you log into your Best Buy account and locate your order, you can request a free prepaid shipping label to use on your return.
Read product reviews
Best Buy has an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau. We've found that with this store, it's best to rely on product reviews from their website to see if the home safe is high-quality and works well. Their third-party reviews are mixed and often refer to specific in-store experiences. People often make large, expensive purchases here, so that can result in even more vocal customers if they aren't completely satisfied with their shopping experience, and that's not likely to have anything to do with your home safe order.
Poor customer service communication
We will say that one issue that we've often seen (and experienced ourselves) with Best Buy is getting in touch with someone specific through customer service. For example, if you do an in-store pickup for a home safe and run into an issue with it, there isn't a way to call your local store directly. Best Buy's customer service team is all in one central location and doesn't allow you to easily contact an individual store. This makes for a less personalized experience and can cause issues.
An average choice
Best Buy is a reputable store that's popular for buying any type of electronics. Their selection of home safes isn't anything that we're overly impressed with, but it's a basic enough selection that if you're not looking to spend a lot of money and just want to protect some documents and other small valuables, what you find here would do the job. We also don't love Best Buy's short return policy and potential difficulties you could experience trying to talk with your local store. Because of this, they've earned an average rating from us.
There are quite a few reasons you might want to consider purchasing a safe for your home. We all have important documents like birth certificates, passports, deeds to our home, tax information, marriage certificates, social security cards, and more. So where do you store them? These are things you want easy access to, but don't want anyone else to get their hands on. Keeping them in a safe is a way to stay organized and ensure your privacy is protected in case of theft.
Aside from the risk of someone entering your home or rummaging through your things and stealing documents you don't want to lose, safes often can protect against natural disasters. Many home safes are fire-resistant and could preserve your valuables if the rest of your home were to burn down or be damaged by smoke. They can also protect against flooding, earthquakes, or other unexpected events that put your belongings at risk.
Most safes have a simple keypad for you to input your code whenever you need it opened. They usually come with a backup key in the event that you forget your code or just prefer not to use it. High-end safes may use fingerprint technology that allows access to what's inside. Pay attention to all the safety features listed with a particular safe so you know how to access its contents and what it can handle with respect to heat, water, and impact resistance.
You can get a small, simple safe to protect documents, valuable items, and cash for well under $300 through many retailers. However, if you have a lot of large items to store like firearms, you could easily spend up to a couple thousand dollars. Either way, you'll have the peace of mind that when you leave the house or go on an extended vacation, your most important personal property is well-protected. It's worth spending the money to get something high-quality that will withstand whatever potential threats you are concerned about.
We've done a lot of research about some of the best online retailers that sell safes and recommend keeping the following things in mind when you're shopping:
The experts at Top Consumer Reviews have researched the most important things you'd need to know about choosing a home safe. We hope this information helps you find something that gives you assurance about protecting your most valuable documents and belongings.
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