Problems with Buying a Gun Safe from an Online Retailer

If you’re like most people looking for a consumer product, your research starts right here — online. You search Google for “gun safe for sale,” or you’re a business owner looking for a commercial-rated TL or TRTL safe. The paid ads and big box stores pop up with a flurry of products proclaiming to have the lowest price or “free shipping.”  

While we clearly have an online presence (hello, you’re on our blog), we’re also real people you can visit in person or call and talk to on the phone. Needless to say, we believe in buying a gun safe from a locally owned and operated company. In this post, we’re going to share exactly why.

Online-Only Retailers Drop-Ship Safes Individually

While searching for the “best gun safe for sale,” you make it to an online retailer that only sells safes and think you’re getting the best options available. The safes are all in stock and ready to ship immediately.

The truth is, these companies are marketing safes they will never see or touch. You purchase a safe through the website, and it’s shipped directly to you from the manufacturer via a nationwide freight company.

Sounds great, right? Especially when they’re providing “free shipping.”

The Cost of “Free Shipping” Might be a Damaged Safe

But what happens when the safe is damaged and you have to send it back? Or worse, what happens when you don’t realize the safe is damaged until the truck driver is gone and you’re stuck figuring out what to do with a damaged safe?

Although “free shipping” from an online retailer may seem to be less expensive, the potential cost of a damaged safe can be higher.

How Safe & Vault Store and Gun Safes Now Ship Safes

Two of the most popular places to buy a gun safe online are Safe & Vault Store and Gun Safes Now. When you purchase a safe through one of these websites, your order is processed by someone who has likely never seen your safe. The delivery is arranged with a freight company at the lowest price possible to save the online retailer money.

Hopefully, your safe was inspected at the factory and is in good condition because it’s in for a bumpy ride!

If your safe is being built in California but you live in Ohio, it will likely be taken on and off a semi-truck a minimum of a half of dozen times before it reaches your home. Freight companies save money by bundling items, which requires them to often move products between trucks.

The chance of damage increases tremendously each time your safe is handled. We have nothing against truck drivers or warehouse workers. However, based on our experience shipping and receiving tens of thousands of safes over 40 years, there are many cases in which these individuals don’t have the ability to handle your safe with care.

4 Examples of Safes Misshandled by Freight Companies

Here are some examples of safes that have been mishandled by inexperienced and ill-equipped freight companies:

1. Delivered on Its Side

This safe showed up on its side in the delivery truck.

2. Multiple Holes in Box

This safe had multiple holes in the box only to reveal underneath the damage caused by carelessness.

3. Dropped by Carrier

Here is an example of a high-dollar, high-security safe that the carrier dropped on its face. It was then dragged across their freight terminal. The carrier still attempted to deliver the safe. As you can imagine, this was a nightmare for the customer and for the company that was shipping the safe.  

4. Extreme Neglect

This is another example of a safe shipping fiasco. Even though it had clear, extensive damage — the freight company still attempted to deliver it. Here’s the list of issues we found when we inspected the safe:

1. Multiple cosmetic paint issues on the face of the safe from top to bottom. Damage ranged from dime-sized chips down to the bare metal, scratches and gouges in the paint 2-3 inches long, and rub marks covering the whole hinge.

2. Structural Damage

1. The top left corner had a large cracked seam where the weld appeared to break (roughly 3-4 inches)

2. The bottom left corner face had another cracked weld (roughly 3-3.5 inches)

3. The top left hinge was cracked

Local Dealers Ship Full Truck Loads, Virtually Eliminating Potential Damage

Local dealers, like Northwest Safe, typically ship a full 53-foot truckload of safes at a time. Ordering a full truckload ensures the truck doesn’t stop and remove the safes during the journey to our warehouse, virtually eliminating the risk of significant damage.

NW Safe Inspects All Safes We Delive

In addition, when we ship a single safe out of our warehouse, the safe is inspected by our warehouse team for any issues or blemishes. Once inspected, our team takes the time to package your safe properly for its journey. This includes:

• Placing door foam to reduce door rubs

• Adding corner protectors to cut down on strap marks

• Using double foam and boxes to further protect your safe and give your safe the best chance possible to show up in excellent condition

NW Safe Secures Safes to Prevent Tipping

Freight companies don’t specialize in shipping safes. It’s not uncommon that they don’t properly secure the safe within their truck or don’t even secure it at all. The result is that safes shipped by freight companies often tip over during transport.

Our team takes great pride in preparing your safe for travel. This includes:

• Installing your safe on an oversized pallet

• Bolting the safe down to said pallet

• Banding the safe securely to the pallet

In some cases, we will even build a wood crate to transport your safe.

Brown Safe Company, a luxury safe manufacturer, is one of the only other companies we’ve seen taking this level of precaution. We frequently install their safes in the Pacific Northwest and rarely have blemish issues.

Without Proper Tools for Delivering a Gun Safe, Damage Often Occurs

Most freight companies do not have the proper tools for delivering and installing safes, which can make the difference between your safe being transported correctly or not.

For example, freight trucks and hubs have equipment designed to handle standard 48-inch by 40-inch shipping pallets. This is great for a wide safe, but most residential and commercial safes are shipped on narrower pallets that cannot be moved properly with a larger jack.

As a result, drivers will attempt to move the safe by sticking one pallet fork under the safe and attempting a balancing act while they unload. All too often this leads to the safe tipping over or being dropped off the edge of the liftgate. In comparison, at just one of our three locations, we have nearly a dozen different pallet jacks in eight different sizes and lift capacities ranging from 300 pounds to 11,000 pounds.

Having the right tools makes a difference!

Reputable Local Gun Safe Dealer Throughout the US

Our gun safe delivery crews operate throughout Washington, Oregon, Northern Idaho, and Montana. If you purchase a safe through us and you are outside this region, we’re committed to helping you find the best service possible.

The good news is, since 1988 we’ve been developing relationships with the best locally-owned gun safe retailers nationwide. When we do ship a single safe, we prefer it be sent to one of our recommended retailers. These local teams are not only experienced at delivery and installation, but they will also be able to identify any shipping damage or issues prior to delivery.