Buying a gun safe can take quite a bit of time, as it takes a lot of research and money. It’s a challenging and drawn out purchase. You might even be considering a purchase of a “used” gun safe during that research time. Are these a great value? Is owning a pre-owned safe secure? Where can I even get a used gun safe? That is what we are going to be talking about in this article!
Buying a used gun safe can be a good idea, as long as you keep in mind your security, staying within the budget, and the type of safe you want. If you get distracted by a good deal and don’t keep the downsides in mind, then a used safe may not be for you.
Why should you trust me? I have been in the gun safe industry for years! This includes working for a retailer, writing on this website (since 2017), and even discussing directly with gun safe owners manufacturers, and having hands-on experience with various safes.
What are the upsides of buying a used gun safe?
Of course, just like anything, there are quite a few good reasons to buy a used gun safe, including price and even the possibility of getting one for almost free if you are willing to put in the work. So here are all of the major upsides of making a used gun safe purchase.
1. You can get a great price.
Used gun safes can provide excellent value to anyone willing to look into them. Safes can be cheap for multiple reasons. Some safe owners need to move quickly and get their safe sold ASAP, some don’t know the value of their safe, and others are just happy to work with a new buyer to have a good conversation about it.
While many people are honest, be wary if a deal seems too good to be true. Things like water damage, fireboard damage, or lock damage can cause a safe not to be worth the money, no matter how cheap.
2. Many people will give a safe away to get it out of their house.
One common thing is that homeowners who have purchased a gun safe, but are moving out of their home, and can’t take their safe with them. While it is a significant life event, it can pose a problem when they need to carry a 1000+ pound safe across the USA.
That is where some great values come into play. You may even find people who will give you the safe if you are willing to bring enough people to haul the thing away.
Downsides of buying a used gun safe
And just like the upsides of buying a used gun safe, there are a few reasons to consider when buying a used gun safe. These include your security, the age of the safe, and the need for more variety you will find.
1. Lower security because someone else locally has owned this safe before.
The primary purpose of a gun safe is to provide complete security for guns and other valuables. Because of the nature of the matter, buying a gun safe from an individual can cause some risks.
These people you purchase the gun safe from now probably know your car, what area you live in, and whatever else you have spoken about when looking at getting the gun safe.
Because of this, if you go to someone’s home to look at a safe, let them know as little as possible about you. As they see that you have enough valuables to warrant a gun safe.
2. It has older technology.
Surprisingly for being a large metal box, technological advancements have brought a lot of new security features that older safes don’t have.
Things like fire rating have improved recently, features like the 5 to 1 gear ratio from Fort Knox, better electronic locks, or aesthetic things like Rhino’s Ironworks series. Many safes you will find to purchase from someone’s home must include these things.
3. More work to find precisely the safe you want.
With so many gun safe brands, every home has a different kind of safe. Because of this, it will be challenging to find the exact safe if you want a particular model, with a specific color scheme, with a specific lock.
Conclusion
Just like buying anything, buying a used gun safe will have its risks and downsides. However, many of these cons can be resolved by looking at some local or online retailers!
They tend to have safes that are in good working condition but are damaged somehow. They may have some in on consignment. Or they may have used safes, or even scratch and dents they took on trade for a new safe!
No matter what you do, I recommend staying safe. Purchasing from an individual always has its risks. Stay safe in that way, just as much as you are trying to stay safe by keeping your firearms in the gun safe.
