The presence of what are more or less justifiably referred to as safes in popular supermarkets is hardly a novelty. For years, the shelves in DIY shops and supermarkets have been overflowing with products of varying quality, the origin of which the customer can only guess at. Recently, so-called 'furniture safes' have appeared in one of the popular discount store chains, so today we are going to look at what this is and whether it is worth spending money on such a product.
Safe or no safe?
Let's start with the fact that a safe is a precise term and not every product so named for the purposes of trade is in fact one. A perfect example of this is a hotel safe that most of you have seen during your holiday sojourns. The device, which is sized to hold a wallet, camera or even a laptop, is used to protect the above items from theft by hotel staff and is well worth looking at. A hotel room safe (although it usually has an electronic lock) is not an anti-theft device, its purpose is not to withstand a burglary attempt, but to protect the contents from the opportunity of a thief and nothing more.
It is exactly the same with a large proportion of market safes. A safe is a device that has been certified as burglar-proof by an EU-accredited testing authority on the basis of the European, and therefore also Polish, EN 14450 or EN 1143-1 standards. Information on the product's class will be on a rating label on the inside of the door, unless this is clearly indicated by the retailer. This is not always the case in supermarkets, so if you have to look for a safe there, pay attention. No "safe" without an S1 rating is of any value against a burglar armed with a crowbar, and even these "S1 safes" can hardly be considered as secure and resistant to serious mechanical damage.
Price works wonders
The factor that most induces customers who are unaware of the nuances of the industry to buy is the price. Market safes are objectively cheap products – for a few hundred zlotys you can buy "safes" there, often bearing fine logos, with a threatening-sounding (preferably German 😉) name suggesting that we are dealing with a true engineering marvel. The volume of sales of such devices on an annual basis must be impressive; what scares us is its scale. For when we realise how many security-conscious customers entrust their innermost secrets and, sometimes, their considerable fortune to a box weighing several kilograms... it makes the hair stand on end. We know of a case where platinum bars worth several hundred thousand zlotys were kept in a safe bought in a promotional offer at one of the popular DIY stores. To make matters funnier, it was not even screwed to the wall. It is hard to imagine, and yet this is precisely the kind of carelessness that burglars count on, for whom snatching or even opening such a device on the spot is not a challenge.
What do we pay for?
Buying a safe is an investment. A safe is not a one-season gadget, but a device that is bought once for many years to guard our possessions, secrets and treasures. Why buy a home safe from a reputable company?
The answer to the question posed in the title of this paragraph is obvious - for a safe. But are you sure? As with any other product, the price of a safe is made up of factors that make the purchase rewarding. When you buy a car, you pay not only for the vehicle itself or the ability to move from place to place, but also for its appearance, comfort, reliability, service support, prestige. It is exactly the same with a safe and the same factors contribute to its price. We pay particular attention to support. You'd be surprised how many times in a week we receive a call from customers who have had a model purchased from a retailer refuse to work and have nowhere else to turn. Even assuming that you have kept the proof of purchase and that the safe is still under warranty, do not expect a professional service technician to come to your home at a critical moment (e.g. trouble with opening, forgetting the code, broken key or lock fault). A market safe is the same product as a wheelbarrow or a fleece jacket. It's broken, so deliver it with your receipt to the shop and complain. Sounds uplifting, doesn't it?
Check out: Do you want to buy a safe? 5 mistakes you should avoid
From purchase to first use of the safe. Avoid errors during transport and installation
A safe from the market – what's it good for?
It's tempting to write that it's good for nothing 😉. Let's be optimistic, however, let's find a use. You can present it to a child to play with and learn to save money, a skill that is very valuable in this day and age. You can also enclose items associated with negative experiences, like photos with an ex-boyfriend or a postcard from the tax office, and bury it deep in the ground. Finally, you could try converting the safe into an avant-garde pot for an exotic plant, which will emphasise the individuality of your interior. On the other hand, under no circumstances should you keep money, souvenirs or valuables in such a safe. If you need to spend a few hundred zloty to feel better, a weekend out of town would be much better.
Concluding remarks
We therefore recommend that you purchase a safe from a reliable supplier, having first thought about its size, purpose and location. Fireproof safes are worth considering, and even more so safes that combine this property with burglary resistance. It is also a good idea to choose the locking method beforehand – it can be a key lock, a mechanical cipher lock or an electronic lock. Discover our range of safes!
