Gun Safe Widespread Deceptive Advertising: Difference between revisions
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|Type=Deceptive Advertising | |Type=Deceptive Advertising | ||
|Description="Safes" are not real safes, self-certification, deceptive language, performative security features, exaggerating capacity by technicality, etc. | |Description="Safes" are not real safes, self-certification, deceptive language, performative security features, exaggerating capacity by technicality, etc. | ||
}}Products referred to as "gun safes" are usually not "true safes" (UL 687)<ref>https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/ul/ul687ed152011?utm_source=chatgpt.com</ref>, but "residential security containers" (UL 1037).<ref>https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/ul/ul1037ed2016</ref> The distinction comes from the certification/rating system established by Underwriter’s Laboratories, an independent testing company.<ref name=":0">https://www.ul.com/services/anti-theft-device-testing-and-certification</ref> This misleading language is just one of the multiple deceptive advertising practices used in the residential gun safe industry. | }}Products referred to as "gun safes" are usually not "true safes" (UL 687)<ref>https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/ul/ul687ed152011?utm_source=chatgpt.com</ref>, but "residential security containers" (UL 1037).<ref>https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/ul/ul1037ed2016</ref> The distinction comes from the certification/rating system established by Underwriter’s Laboratories, an independent testing company.<ref name=":0">https://www.ul.com/services/anti-theft-device-testing-and-certification ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260101184850/https://www.ul.com/services/anti-theft-device-testing-and-certification Archived])</ref> This misleading language is just one of the multiple deceptive advertising practices used in the residential gun safe industry. | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
{{Ph-I-B}}Underwriter's Laboratories certifications available include (in ascending order of security levels): UL RSC Level I, UL RSC Level II, UL TL-15, UL TL-30, and UL TL-30x6. TLTR-variant ratings are also available. UL testing involves one or more people using specific sets of tools to gain physical access to a safe in a certain amount of time.<ref>https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-theft-protection/2/#security-ratings</ref><ref>https://americansecuritysafes.com/testing-process-for-ul-rated-safes/</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20151029154039/http://ulstandards.ul.com/standard/?id=1037</ref> | {{Ph-I-B}}Underwriter's Laboratories certifications available include (in ascending order of security levels): UL RSC Level I, UL RSC Level II, UL TL-15, UL TL-30, and UL TL-30x6. TLTR-variant ratings are also available. UL testing involves one or more people using specific sets of tools to gain physical access to a safe in a certain amount of time.<ref>https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-theft-protection/2/#security-ratings ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251117223603/https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-theft-protection/2/ Archived])</ref><ref>https://americansecuritysafes.com/testing-process-for-ul-rated-safes/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251107123252/https://americansecuritysafes.com/testing-process-for-ul-rated-safes/ Archived])</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20151029154039/http://ulstandards.ul.com/standard/?id=1037</ref> | ||
Other security ratings may be seen on products such as AmSec's B-Class and C-Class<ref>https://americansecuritysafes.com/burglary-ratings-explained/</ref>. AmSec claims the standards are set by the "insurance industry" but does not provide links to any published documentation that the consumer could use to verify what B-Class and C-Class actually mean. Additionally, unknown security ratings could be based on factors that do not have bearing in real-life scenarios that the consumer expects their product to perform. (Example: AmSec's product NARCO3824 is B-Class and the product description uses phrases like "it’s extremely difficult to break in or tamper with". However, NARCO3824 is 11 gauge steel which can be cut with handheld tools.<ref>https://youtu.be/NEeS5nCh5e8?si=OZs1R56HNGLp1T5S&t=195</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMXa1QImM54&t=134s</ref>) | Other security ratings may be seen on products such as AmSec's B-Class and C-Class<ref>https://americansecuritysafes.com/burglary-ratings-explained/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20251006194018/https://americansecuritysafes.com/burglary-ratings-explained/ Archived])</ref>. AmSec claims the standards are set by the "insurance industry" but does not provide links to any published documentation that the consumer could use to verify what B-Class and C-Class actually mean. Additionally, unknown security ratings could be based on factors that do not have bearing in real-life scenarios that the consumer expects their product to perform. (Example: AmSec's product NARCO3824 is B-Class and the product description uses phrases like "it’s extremely difficult to break in or tamper with". However, NARCO3824 is 11 gauge steel which can be cut with handheld tools.<ref>https://youtu.be/NEeS5nCh5e8?si=OZs1R56HNGLp1T5S&t=195 ([https://preservetube.com/watch?v=NEeS5nCh5e8 Archived])</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMXa1QImM54&t=134s ([https://preservetube.com/watch?v=XMXa1QImM54 Archived])</ref>) | ||
The existence of a "rating" or "standard" does not guarantee a product's performance. The Titanic's lifeboats were "to regulation", yet ~1,500 people still lost their lives. It is up to the consumer to understand what a product's claim actually means, and how that affects the attributes the consumer wants for a product. | The existence of a "rating" or "standard" does not guarantee a product's performance. The Titanic's lifeboats were "to regulation", yet ~1,500 people still lost their lives. It is up to the consumer to understand what a product's claim actually means, and how that affects the attributes the consumer wants for a product. | ||
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*Fire rating (self-certification, fire-safe does not mean heat/steam/firehose safe) | *Fire rating (self-certification, fire-safe does not mean heat/steam/firehose safe) | ||
*Performative features (internal hinges, showy linkage, fancy descriptions of bad locks)<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7X8crrn0Kg</ref> | *Performative features (internal hinges, showy linkage, fancy descriptions of bad locks)<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7X8crrn0Kg ([https://preservetube.com/watch?v=Y7X8crrn0Kg Archived])</ref> | ||
*Detrimental features (door gaps, handle location, electronics, moisture-absorbing material, etc.) | *Detrimental features (door gaps, handle location, electronics, moisture-absorbing material, etc.) | ||
*Made in America=assembled in America which obfuscates the quality of parts (usually the locks) | *Made in America=assembled in America which obfuscates the quality of parts (usually the locks) | ||
*Deceptive gun # capacity | *Deceptive gun # capacity | ||
*Detrimental or poor features presented as positives (door handle location, gauge thickness) <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_WCg0KEiyI</ref> | *Detrimental or poor features presented as positives (door handle location, gauge thickness) <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_WCg0KEiyI ([https://preservetube.com/watch?v=p_WCg0KEiyI Archived])</ref> | ||
*Containers with security so poor that it cannot withstand a theft attack from a child (amazon desk safes)<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJrSWXFXvlE</ref><br /> | *Containers with security so poor that it cannot withstand a theft attack from a child (amazon desk safes)<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJrSWXFXvlE ([https://preservetube.com/watch?v=gJrSWXFXvlE Archived])</ref><br /> | ||
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