Avoid These Pitfalls When Looking at Safes for Sale
From buying the wrong size safe to choosing the wrong lock, don’t fall prey to these missteps when looking at safes for sale.
Have you been thinking about investing in a safe, but aren’t sure what safe to get? You’ll likely find thousands of safes for sale when you start looking around. It can be hard to know which one to choose.
Over the past 40 years, we’ve sold, delivered, and installed tens of thousands of safes. This has given us the unique opportunity to witness customers' biggest mistakes. Whether you’re buying a safe from us or finding your safe elsewhere, we want to ensure you get the safe you need.
This article covers the top five mistakes we encounter and how to avoid them. It includes:
Safes for Sale Mistake 1: Buying the Wrong Size
The most common mistake customers make is buying too small. This is similar to people who have built a shop or bought a boat: They always wish for a few more feet. If you ask anyone who has purchased a safe, they will tell you to buy bigger than you think you need, and that’s probably the right size.
These are a few reasons people buy too small of a safe:
Gun Count Deception
Whatever a safe manufacturer states as a gun count, cut that number in half or one-third to get a realistic storage capacity. For example, a “24 Gun Safe” realistically fits 10-12 long-barrel guns.
This storage discrepancy is a marketing strategy to attract customers searching for gun safes for sale. Could you fit 24 guns in a 24-gun safe? Yes, assuming the long-barrel guns in question are the simplest models with no enhancements. However, most rifles and shotguns need a minimum of two to three notches (aka cutouts) to fit inside a safe.
Not Planning for Future Investments/Not Accounting for All Valuables
While you can plan for future investments, it’s likely those investments change over time. Namely, will accumulate more valuables than you expect — meaning you need a bigger safe.
Additionally, it’s common for individuals to not account for all the valuables they currently have that they want to store in a safe.
For example, you get your new safe home, and you start to find items that should be stored inside. Items such as important paperwork, photo albums, family heirloom items, etc. Think about what might be in your safe in five years, 10 years, or even longer. The cubic space will begin to fill up quickly.
Letting Location Dictate Size
We’re not here to tell you where to install your safe. However, if you ask, we will gladly go over the best options based on your goals and needs. Too often, customers purchase safes that are too small because they have a pre-determined location with dimensional limitations.
Rather than buying a safe sized to fit their needs, they buy one to fit a pre-determined spot. Typically, a closet is the most limiting installation factor. This leads us to the next mistake, putting your safe in the wrong location.
Safes for Sale Mistake 2: Installing it in the Wrong Location
One of the most difficult decisions to make when purchasing a safe is where to have it installed. Everyone has their own idea of where a safe should go. The following are common things we hear customers say about where they want their safe installed:
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“I want my safe close by so they can get in quick.
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“I don’t want my safe in the garage because of moisture.”
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“I want my safe hidden, in a closet or behind cabinets.”
Although all of these statements and locations can make sense, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario when choosing the right location for your safe. Use the following tips to help determine the best place to have your safe installed:
Pick a Few Potential Locations
We always recommend having a few different places in mind regarding where to install your safe. These places shouldn’t be difficult to access or out of the way. When a safe is inconveniently located, we’ve found customers are less likely to use their safe and often use a less secure storage solution for their valuables.
Additionally, we don’t recommend using your large gun safe as your personal home protection solution. Rather, we recommend a quick-access gun safe for storing your home defense firearm.
Assuming You Have to Hide Your Safe
Don’t think you have to hide your safe. We understand the idea of ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ There’s nothing wrong with that thinking. However, we have found that a quality safe can act as a deterrent.
If you purchase an entry-level safe and are worried about a burglary attack, we would recommend hiding it. Entry-level safes are easier to breach. But if you buy the right safe for your needs and the value being stored, the safe will do its job! (We’ll address this more in Mistake 4.)
Don’t Rule Out the Garage!
Half of the 50 safes we deliver a week go into the garage. Some people will tell you this is a significant mistake. In our experience, if you take the proper precautions to limit moisture, there’s zero concern with installing a gun safe in your garage. These precautions include:
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Running a dehumidifier rod and desiccant inside your safe.
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Lifting your safe slightly with lathes and shims to ensure airflow and eliminate rust.
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Bolting your safe to the floor to increase the overall security by 2 to 3 times!
There are a variety of benefits of installing your safe in the garage. These include:
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You can get a bigger safe without worrying about clearances.
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You can get a heavier safe without worrying about your home’s floor.
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Delivery and installation are typically much easier.
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It may be more convenient for retrieving firearms before a trip or hunt.
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It may be a more convenient location for storing firearms after you clean them.
False Ideas of Weight Tolerance
Too often, we hear, “500 pounds! That can’t go in my house! It will fall through the floor!” Over the past 40 years, we have installed thousands of safes weighing over 1,000 pounds in homes with wood subfloors, second stories, and even mobile homes.
The average square footage of a bedroom is 100-300 square feet. The average ‘dead load’ on a floor is 10 pounds per square foot (PSF). That means the average dead load weight capacity of a bedroom with a wood subfloor is between 1,000 and 3,000 pounds.
(Dead loads include all structural materials such as walls and light fixtures, all furniture like beds and dressers, the roof, and a safe.)
All rooms are also rated for their ‘live load.’ The average bedroom ‘live load’ is 30 PSF. (Live loads are weights that fluctuate, sometimes by the minute and sometimes by the hour — such as people.)
We are not structural engineers. If you have specific weight tolerance questions, we recommend you consult a structural engineer.
That being said, before you rule out installing your safe on a wood subfloor consider some real-world examples, many of which you likely have in your home currently:
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A Bed with One to Two People
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A Bathtub Full of Water and You
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Heavy Dressers
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Water Beds
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Gatherings with 10 or More Friends
Moving homes in your early 20s often looked like some friends, a few pizzas, and a case of beer. While there’s nothing wrong with your best buddies helping you relocate, no one wants to drop a 500-pound safe on their foot.
Even a 200-pound safe can pose significant challenges if you don’t have the right tools and expertise. It could lead to any number of complications, including:
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Injuries, ranging from minor to life-altering.
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Damage to your home’s doorways and flooring.
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An improperly leveled safe can cause an improper door swing, poor circulation, and more.
When shopping for a Costco gun safe, Tractor Supply gun safe, or gun safe from another big-box store, ‘free delivery’ or reduced delivery is often appealing. We like to save a few bucks as much as the next guy!
But when you look at the fine print, you’ll discover that these ‘savings’ don’t include full-service delivery. These big box stores use third-party delivery services that range from curbside delivery to ground floor only. In nearly all cases, the cost does not include leveling your safe, ensuring it’s properly set up, and showing you how it works.
Safes for Sale Mistake 4: Buying the Wrong Level of Security & Fire Protection
Two of the first questions we ask customers when they’re looking to buy a gun safe are:
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What’s the total value of the goods you’re storing?
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Are you storing anything irreplaceable?
We always recommend buying a safe designed to hold the value you’re storing. Don’t put thousands of dollars worth of valuables in a cheap safe.
Do you have a few guns you want to keep the kids and the run-of-the-mill thieves? An entry-level safe may fit the bill. But if you want to give your valuables a chance at surviving a serious fire or burglary, you’ll want to look at something with more security.
Depending on your needs, protection levels can range from minimal to high-end. We even carry a carefully curated selection of commercial safes that offer even more enhanced security. To get a feel for what level of security and fire protection would be right for you, we recommend reviewing our post on the best fire-rated safes.
Safes for Sale Mistake 5: Choosing the Wrong Lock
We recommend purchasing a safe with a U.L. Listed lock. U.L. Listed locks offer numerous benefits, including:
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More Secure
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Can Be Serviced More Affordably
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Can Be Swapped More Affordably
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More Reliable
However, the right U.L. Listed lock for you can vary, depending on your current life situation, needs, and concerns. We DO NOT recommend buying a safe with a non- U.L listed that has a key back up! These locks are very low security, easy to defeat and are extremely unreliable.(hence the key to get in once it fails) Keep in mind when choosing either a mechanical dial lock or electronic lock, understanding that quality and technology change over time. Electronic locks from 20 years ago are not as reliable as some of our newer, higher quality electronic locks. In fact, the Securam Pro Logic electronic lock has had so few failures in the past 5 years, that it rivals the reliability of a mechanical lock.
There are three primary types of U.L. Listed locks from which to choose:
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Electronic Lock—This lock Features a push-button keypad. Its design can be easier to manage if you have any physical limitations, such as difficulty seeing or unsteady hands. Electronic locks are also easier to use if you will frequently open your safe in a low-light setting.
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Biometric Lock - The first thing most people associate with biometrics is unreliable. And for good reason. This technology on your laptop and cell phone has given you problems for years. That being said, once again it boils down to the quality of the Biometric lock. There are good ones and bad ones! Besides a push button keypad, biometric locks have a fingerprint scanner. Depending on how your lock is set up, you may be able to open the lock with just your fingerprint or code. You may also set the lock so you have input the code and scan your finger. These locks are another great option if you have physical limitations such as difficulty seeing or unsteady hands. They are also a good choice for low-light situations.
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Mechanical Lock — A mechanical lock (aka a dial lock) features a spin dial resembling a gym locker's dial. (It’s MUCH more secure than a gym locker.) These locks do not require any battery power and would work in the event of an EMP strike. They also offer a classic, old-school look many customers prefer. However, mechanical locks do require a certain amount of precision and the ability to remember a relatively complex code and sequence. Opening them can also require more lighting than Electronic Locks and Biometric Locks.
The beauty of buying a safe with a U.L. listed lock is that a master safe technician can easily and affordably swap the lock without voiding the warranty.
Buy Your Safe
Now that you’ve reviewed the five most common mistakes customers make when looking at safes for sale, you’re ready to find your safe. Save this post to reference as you shop around. It can be a good sounding board as you compare shipping and delivery, lock types, fire ratings, and more.