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Buy a Safe Review

Monday, December 2nd

2024 Home Safe Store Reviews

Buy a Safe Review 1.5 Star Rating

Buy a Safe

1.5 Star Rating
  • 21 product categories
  • 30-day return shipping
  • Free shipping on most orders

Buy a Safe has dedicated themselves to stocking the most effective security items and safes in today's market. They strive to offer high-quality solutions at affordable prices from industry-leading brands like Cobalt, First Alert, Honeywell, Protex Safe Company, Winchester, and Hayman. Buy a Safe was founded in 1991 and launched their website in 2002. They have over 30 years of experience in the industry and strive to provide customers with top-rated safes.

Lots of categories, small inventory

Buy a Safe doesn't have the prettiest website, but it gets the job done. They have a long list of product categories, telling us that this company knows their stuff. In theory, you can choose from biometric safes, can safes, cash boxes, exit alarms, fingerprint safes, gun safes, key cabinets, specialty-diversion safes, wall safes, home safes, and many more products. However, we quickly found that even though there are a lot of product categories, the choices in each category are limited. For example, there are only 4 biometric safes, 1 cash box, no fingerprint locks, 3 key cabinets, and 2 wall safes. Quite a few categories have no results at all, so overall the inventory from Buy a Safe isn't that impressive (or it's not kept well-stocked).

Mix of safe types for your home

The biggest selection we found was in the "Home Safes” category. This is a mix of products from other categories that could reasonably be used in your home. The least expensive choice is the Protex Electronic Wall Safe for $322.75 and the most expensive is the AMSEC Burglary Rated Fire Safe for $2,980. In between these two options, there are 32 choices of floor safes, burglary safes, and cash safes, mostly coming in around $1,000. We wish there was a way to sort by features so you could quickly choose something that's fire-rated, fits the dimensions you want, and uses a keypad (or whatever your specific requirements may be). Rather, you'll have to click through the individual choices and read about their specifications.

Basic description

Each product listing shows one or two photos of the product and a basic description of the item with details like the door thickness, burglary rating, lock type, dimensions, and more. You aren't able to see the shipping time frame before adding it to cart or any customer reviews. Buy a Safe doesn't specifically say how much you have to spend in order to get free shipping, but we found that most safes could be delivered for free.

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25% restocking fees

The return policy for safes purchased through Buy a Safe is pretty standard, with one exception. Customers have 30 days to send back their safes (and are responsible for return shipping costs). However, all returns will come with a 25% restocking fee, which is a big bummer. This could add up to hundreds of dollars. So it's safe to say that if you shop here, make sure you don't plan on returning anything.

No customer feedback

The Better Business Bureau doesn't have a rating for Buy a Safe. This is especially disappointing since Buy a Safe doesn't have customer reviews on their products. Even taking third-party reviews into account, there is almost nothing to go off as far as customer satisfaction. It doesn't seem that Buy a Safe is a growing and thriving company, so there isn't much to find regarding people's experience with shopping here. If the company wanted to improve and build their business, customer reviews would be a great place to start.

Disappointing

Buy a Safe has so much potential, but we were severely let down. Between their small inventory, lack of product reviews, 25% restocking fee, and overall poor website presentation, we won't be making this a go-to place to buy home safes and wouldn't recommend it for you either.

Where is the Best Place to Buy a Home Safe?

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.

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Home Safe Store FAQ

Nowadays most safes are made out of steel. The steel walls are usually a few centimeters thick and are sometimes double-layered to protect whatever is inside. Depending on the purpose of the safe, it could be surrounded by concrete or be made of different gauges of steel to protect the contents if exposed to pressure or extreme heat.
You can find a safe in nearly any size you need. If you're just using it for storing papers, jewelry, or a handgun, you could buy a small safe that fits on a shelf or in a drawer. For large items, you can buy a safe as big as 6.5 ft. tall or more that takes up more space. A big safe could not be carried away by burglars or easily moved by anyone else in the home. The best thing to do is take an inventory of everything you want to protect and purchase a safe big enough to hold all of those things with a little extra room left over.
If you're looking to keep your valuables safe from fire or water, make sure you buy a safe that is labeled specifically for these purposes. Pay close attention to the fire-resistance rating on any given safe you buy because this lets you know how long the safe can withstand the heat from flames. Some will begin to melt within an hour while others can last up to 4 hours being surrounded by fire. For water-resistance, it is best to keep valuables in a waterproof container within the safe and make sure the safe you buy was manufactured to protect against water damage.
Anything in your home that you consider valuable and worth protecting should be stored in a safe. For example, if you have a family heirloom that you want to keep in good condition, it would be smart to keep it in a safe where it is away from people and protected from the elements. For families with guns, safes are a great way to keep children and visitors away from the potential dangers of playing with firearms. Other items like jewelry, important legal documents or cash could also be kept in a safe in case there is an emergency with the home or a home invasion.
If you're worried about forgetting the code to your safe or losing the key, it is best to consult a professional locksmith rather than attempting to bust your safe open. For those concerned about their safe being compromised or taken by a home intruder, the good news is that it takes a lot of effort to crack a safe open. Without knowing the code to a safe, you would have to try to smash through the steel which could take a lot of time. The chances of someone coming at random to your home and being able to collect the valuables you have locked away, is highly unlikely. However, it is best not to advertise that you have a home safe, let alone disclose its location.
The cost of your safe depends entirely on what the safe is for, what it is made out of, the size, and the security measures required to get into it. For a small, light-weight safe that could be moved around and comes with a simple keypad lock, you could spend as little as $50. However, if you want a fireproof, waterproof, multi-security feature, steel safe that's 6 ft. tall, you'll easily spend over $1,000. The cost to protect your valuables is worth it in the long-run when you buy a heavy-duty safe for your home.
Most home safes come with either a digital number keypad, dial/combination, or lock and key feature for opening and closing it. Unless you have the key or know the code to the safe, essentially it cannot be opened. Some safes are disguised into walls, behind cabinets or paintings, and others are bolted to the ground. They are meant to be somewhat hidden and impossible to open unless you are the owner of the safe.
Safes are not so much bulletproof as they are bullet-resistant. If they are made of thick steel, they should be able to take a few rounds of bullets without causing any harm to the contents inside. Shooting at the combination or lock of a safe will not blast the door open like you see in movies. Shooting a gun at a home safe will cause damage, but it would take knowing the combination to successfully open the safe entirely.
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Continued from above...

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:

  • Selection. Are there a variety of different home safes to choose from? Does the company clearly outline the features like interior lighting, heat resistance, size, and other unique design features? Find a company that has a good range of sizes so you make sure you find something that is spacious enough to comfortably fit everything you need inside.
  • Price. Are there plenty of options for you to choose from in a range of different prices? Does the company ever run major sales that could help you save a bit on your safe? Do they offer free shipping?
  • Return policy. If your safe arrives and you find that it isn't going to be big enough for your needs or you decide you need one with different features, can you return it for a full refund? How long do you have to return or replace items through the store? Make sure you're aware of the return policy before making a purchase.

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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