FAQ

To be fair, the computer this is being written on was made in China by a large and reputable company. Great machine. One of our colleague’s old work vehicles was made in Mexico and lasted almost half a million miles.

High quality products have been and are made in China and Mexico for American companies.  Unfortunately, safes are not one of them.

The problem starts with why safe “manufacturers” go to China or Mexico. They go there for price, and they don’t ask for quality. These importers are not willing to make the commitment of capital and resources to manufacture products in America and, worse, they are not willing to commit to having a quality product made by their third party manufacturers.

Bottom line, it’s MUCH cheaper and A LOT faster to import a few container loads of safes and start selling than to do the real work of creating real safes.

Here are a few problems with imported safes:

1. Un-Tested Safes.  Underwriters Laboratory does not inspect foreign production lines. If a UL listed safe is made domestically, UL can and does audit the product and production line to ensure the product meets the same standards as that tested and certified by UL.  If the safe is made overseas, UL never steps foot in the factory. American Made manufacturers are held accountable, importers are not.  
2. Lack of Quality Control: In manufacturing, errors occur. When produced domestically, safes have a final quality control check by the MANUFACTURERS employees. There is real accountability in the process. Safes made elsewhere don’t have this check. Sadly, the first person to quality control check most imported safes is you, the end consumer.
3. Lack of Product Support. Problems with safes can and do happen, even the ones made in America. The companies’ whose products we sell support you, the customer AND they support us supporting YOU, the customer. If (on the rare chance) there is an issue with your safe not only are we here to help you but so is the manufacturer, along with a vast, national network of highly qualified locksmiths, safe and vault techs.  Importers, even if they wanted to provide this level of service, simply do not have the infrastructure to support nationwide sales.
4. Chinese Drywall. First, simply do a Google search of “Chinese Drywall” and the list of nasty additives Chinese drywall emits will make you cringe — primarily formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) and sulfates/sulfites. Second, most of these additives can and will cause firearms to corrode if the safe is not opened regularly and fresh air allowed to circulate.
5. Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: You get what you pay for. There are no shortcuts to making a quality safe. Please do your research before making a final purchasing decision. Your safe dealer should have no trouble explaining the value of what they are offering to you. There is a lot of marketing hype to cut through, to the point that some things being said/implied now are outright dis-honest. However, this simple truth has not changed: While quality does cost more upfront, it costs much less over time.

The following Liberty brands are made domestically: National Magnum, Presidential, National Classic, Classic Plus, Vault Door, Lincoln, Franklin, Colonial, Centurion, Fatboy, Fatboy Jr, 1776, Revere. The following Liberty brands are imported: Premium Home Series, Home Series.

The following American Security residential brands are made domestically: BF, BFII, RF, RFX, BF Redundant, Vault Door. The following American Security residential brands are imported:  NF, FV, TF.

Per our policy of only selling American Made safes, you will not find imported safes, regardless of who imports the safe, listed for sale on our website.

It’s helpful to know the answers to three basic questions.

1. What are you trying to protect?
2. What do you want to protect it from?
3. Where do you want to protect it?

Knowing the answers to these three questions will help you determine what size safe(s) you need, what types and levels of security you need and lastly, what will integrate best into your daily routines.

“What are you trying to protect?”

Small pieces of jewelry or a large firearm collection? Are there special storage requirements for managing temperature and humidity? Is the collection largely fixed in size, or do you anticipate growth? It can be helpful to make a short list of items you might want to store. Many times this list will grow beyond the original intention once customers begin to think about it.

“What do you want to protect it from?”

Is burglary the major considering or is fire? Both? Do you need to protect medication from snooping kids, or important legal documents from going missing? Safes come in many different configurations to fit specific needs.

“Where do you want to protect it?”

It’s not useful for jewelry used daily to be stored in the garage. Likewise, it’s not practical to store a large collection of seldom used items in valuable storage space like a master bedroom closet. Likewise, an aesthetically pleasing high gloss finish may be more desirable in the home, whereas a textured or flat finish will save money and be more functional in a garage or basement.

Please feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email. We are experts at helping you walk through this process.

I’m trying to protect “xyz”, how much security do I need?

The (uncomfortable) reality is no safe is uncrackable. It’s best to think of a safe as a means to buy time — essentially delaying burglars, nosy neighbors or fire from getting to your valuables.

Generally speaking, the more spent on a safe, the more time is bought. However, there are points of diminishing returns and there may be more efficient ways to protect valuables than spending more money on a nicer safe. There is an “ultimate” level of security: the AMSEC TL30X6. We’d love for every customer to have one of these in their home, but it’s probably more practical for most customers to buy something like this and pair it with a quality cellular-based home security system.

Sometimes the level of security is based on insurance requirements. Please see the article here for in depth information on that subject. Most times it’s simply what brings you the greatest peace of mind. That’s why we love the Liberty Lincoln series and the BF series by American Security. Both offer tremendous value and sit at at what we consider inflection points of decreasing return.

We carry a full selection of Liberty Safes, American Security Safes, and Hornady Snap-Safes.

We stock a tremendous number of safes so there is an excellent chance we have what you are looking for in inventory. Please pay attention to the “in-stock” banner in the product descriptions. Most safes ship out the same day or the following business day depending on when the order is placed.

If you would like to pick up your safe at our Norcross, Georgia distribution center this can be done the day of your purchase or arranged for a later time. If you would like us to deliver and install your safe your home in the greater Atlanta, Georgia area we can usually do so in 1-2 weeks.

We certainly think so! Safes offer peace of mind and, while we certainly hope you will never need your safe to guard against a fire or burglary, it’s really nice to know it’s there. In many parts of the country, new bank branches no longer have safe deposit boxes in the vaults. For generations, this has been the standard source of secure storage for millions, however it is slowly fading away.

The reliability of electronic locks has become so good that this is a question of personal preference. Mechanical locks will always have the edge, so to speak, in terms of reliability and Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) resistance, but electronic locks offer manipulation resistance (a type of attack on a mechanical lock) and are faster and easier to open.

As a rule of thumb, if you are going to be accessing the content of the safes more than once a week, an electronic lock may be a beneficial time saver.

For those wanting the best of both worlds, SecuRam has introduced the roto-bolt redundant lock that is both Electronic AND Mechanical.

Of course, our favorite is the totally redundant (Preppers, Hear Me ROAR) American Security Redundant Bolt-Work Safe. Not only can the safe be opened with EITHER the mechanical or digital lock, but there is an entirely separate mechanism that provides total MECHANICAL redundancy as well.

If you can, we strongly encourage you to do so. Bolting down a safe prevents burglars from removing the safe from the premises to attack at their leisure. On larger safes, this prevents burglars from knocking the safe over and using gravity to assist in whatever attack they are going to commence.

Bigger is better. We have never had a customer complain that they bought too big of a safe. In many cases, customers who buy smaller safes from us often purchase a second, larger safe in less than two years.

Why is this? Because when customers first begin using their new safes we have found all sorts of items find their way inside — from firearms and yearbooks to their children’s first lock of hair.  Even big safes fill up faster than customers expect.

We ask customers to consider a two safe strategy — a smaller safe in the bedroom or bedroom closet for items they use on a frequent basis and a larger safe in the garage or basement for larger items or items less frequently used.

This depends on what you are trying to protect, where you live, if your fire alarm is hooked up to your burglar alarm (so the alarm company can call the fire department), where the safe is located in your house and what other steps you are willing to take to protect the valuables inside the safe.

CD’s, pictures, film and any type of digital storage will require much more fire protection than firearms, jewelry, paperwork and precious metals. Safes located in a basement generally require less fire protection than safes on the main floor of the house. Homes with fire alarms that can call the fire department and/or homes much closer to a permanently staffed fire department may need less fire protection. Rural homes, homes without alarms or homes near volunteer fire departments may need more.

Buying a bigger safe will allow you to make use of media coolers (such as a Brink’s Firebox that you can buy from Wal-Mart) in your safe.  Placing vulnerable items in the media cooler, in the safe can reduce the amount of fire protection you may need.

Almost all of our safes have at least a Residential Security Container rating from Underwriters Laboratory (UL). Our highest rated safes come with a TL-30×6 rating, which means the safe is rated for a tool attack on all six sides of the safe from UL for 30 minutes (Although in practice they can survive attacks for days). Our commercial deposit safes are B-Rate or C-Rate construction.

At a minimum we suggest a UL Residential Security Container rating, however we would like you to buy as much security as your personal constraints allow. Many times our customers would like a safe in a particular room or closet, sometimes upstairs or in a hard to access basement. These requirements may limit the size and weight of the safes that will work for your needs. Occasionally, fire protection is the main concern, or budget, or total cubic capacity of the safe.

Certainly, thicker steel, or high density concrete makes a safe harder to break in to, as do safes with higher security ratings and safes with certain construction methods (double wall designs vs single wall designs).  Most customers gain a general sense of what they need after doing some research, giving us a call or pursuing our website for a while.  For those with special considerations, or looking to protect larger asset amounts, please give us a call.

Here’s a true story that acts as a bit of advice:

We once delivered a large safe to a customer in a residential neighborhood. It was a very nice safe, certainly one to be proud of owning, but we were shocked at how proud this new owner was.

As we prepared to back our delivery vehicle into the customer’s driveway we were surprised at the number of people around us. We had to ask for several vehicles to be moved just so we could get our vehicle in position. Normal safe deliveries are very discreet affairs, however this one was anything but.

As we began moving the safe into position we discovered that our customer was having a “Safe Delivery Party.” The hamburgers we were graciously given were delicious — but we left with a terrible feeling in our guts (and not from the hamburgers).

Discretion is one layer of security, do not give this layer away lightly. Please be VERY careful whom you tell that you have a safe, and please, oh please, never have a safe delivery party!

Yes, that price for that size safe with that security and that level of fire protection sounds amazing. However, there is only a small chance that safe, and that company is everything they advertise.

A number of years ago, Reed Safe was one such company who made amazing safes at a great deal. They made (and still make) a wonderful safe. When they were younger and smaller their safes were a tremendous bargain for the money customers spent. But, even then their safes were not “cheap.” Inexpensive for what they were, yes, but still not at a price that could be considered “cheap.”

So, what’s the secret?  How do you tell the difference between junk and a great deal? Here’s a few tips:

1. Trust Second, Verify First. Almost anybody can import a container load of safes, create a website and start selling. Unless the manufacturer (and retailer) have a reputable pedigree in the industry, verify all claims before buying.  As an example, did you know that 12 gauge metal can be 0.1046” thick (Carbon Steel Gauge Chart), 0.08081” thick (Aluminum Gauge Chart), .10937” thick (Stainless Steel Gauge Chart), 0.1084” thick (Galvanized Steel Gauge Chart). Additionally, tolerances in the manufacturing process of steel sheet mean overall thickness can vary by almost 9%. The net result is importers and manufacturers focused only on profit dollars can make a lot of claims that are technically true, but fundamentally dishonest.
2. Cost.  If it’s too cheap, this is a warning sign. Quality steel, quality welding, quality assembly, quality locks, quality paint, packing for shipment, etc, all have a cost associated with them. If a safe is too cheap, something is most likely not right, not as advertised, or not as the advertising would lead you to believe.
3. What’s the weight of the safe?  This is always a good way to check a manufacturer’s claims. Two safes of comparable construction, size and fire rating by two different manufacturers should weigh about the same. If one weighs less that means there is less steel, fire board, bolt work, etc.
4. Can the manufacturer articulate the value of their safe? Ask them how they can sell that safe for so (comparatively) little. There are only a few ways this can be done:

Very small manufacturing company, with low overhead. There’s a good chance the person you are talking to is the owner, customer support team and lead fabricator. If you are local to this kind of company it’s great for you, but if you live more than an easy drive away service can become a problem.

High volume USA manufacturing. There only three domestic companies that can lay claim to this — Liberty Safes, American Security Safes and Pro-Steel/Browning.

Claims are misleading or product is not as advertised.

They are a safe importer, not a safe manufacturer.

Real Testing & Certification v.s. “Show” or Hyperbole.  Real safes have real certifications from real companies with real reputations. All “demolition” comparison test videos are cherry picked/rigged and statistically insignificant (the sample size is too small). They are a lot of fun to watch (even more fun to see in person), but deliver little useful information.  One exception to this is Liberty Safe’s video illustrating the pry-resistant strength of their new locking bars. With these caveats — the sample size was too small and there was no control used — the test results indicate that locking bars are probably a more pry-resistant way to build single wall/gypsum board safes.

No. Please choose to checkout as a “Guest.”

No. You may choose to checkout as a “Guest” at any time, however your transaction will not show up under your account and it will not count towards any loyalty program rewards.

We do our best to ensure pricing continuity between the website and the store. If you discover a discrepancy between online and in-store pricing we will (excluding scrivener’s error) honor the better price.

The overwhelming majority of the items we sell are available on the website. However, please contact us at 888-662-0064 if you are having trouble finding something on the site to fit your needs. We also have the ability to make custom safes to fit your specific needs. Even if we don’t have/can’t have made what you are looking for, we can probably save you a lot of time by pointing you in a good direction to find it.

During business hours (9am-6pm Monday-Saturday) please call 888-662-0064.  Outside of business hours, please send an email to support@thesafemarket.com.  We strive to return emails as quickly as possible, but we only allow our experienced safe and vault techs to answer technical questions so please be patient.

We accept all major credit cards.

Taxes are based on the regulations and laws of the state in which your order is being shipped to. Every state has different rules applying to how products, shipping and handling are taxed.

Please look for the “In-Stock” icon in the product description.  If you are trying to meet a critical deadline, please call us at 888-662-0064 so that we can verify inventory before you place your order online.

Yes, you do. If you have not received this conformation within a short window of placing your order, please check your spam/trash folder. If you are still having trouble finding your order confirmation please email us at orders@thesafemarket.com or call us at 888-662-0064. Please note, if you were logged into your account when the order was placed, you will have an order confirmation in your online account.

Safes and other large items typically ship by freight truck with a lift gate. If you would like our crating service (recommended for gloss safes) please select this option at checkout.  Delivery is curbside.

Smaller items typically ship by Fedex, USPS or UPS and will arrive in the customary fashion.

Curbside Delivery means the item(s) will be delivered to the curb at the end of your driveway. This delivery service does not include installation in your home, delivery to your garage, un-crating or removal of packing materials. In the greater Atlanta area we do offer in-home delivery and installation. Please call 888-662-0064 for details.

Please see our Return and Order Cancellation Policy here

Please see our Return and Order Cancellation Policy here.