Question on safety deposit box (in bank)

[BlueJazz]

What is the ball-park price on a small box?

I went online to my bank and was told to "talk to your bank".... they're closed for 3 days.

anyway..just a wide price will do 25?...50? Thanks

[hlthe2b]

1. Does your bank have a website? It might be available...

Just a random google found this from a bank called Banker's Trust:
I pay a lot more than that for a PO Box, so it seems fairly reasonable--at least the small ones.



Protecting your valuables is easy with a Bankers Trust Safe Deposit Box.

Listed below are the current sizes and annual costs.*
Size Cost
2 X 5 X 12 $10.50
3 X 5 X 12 $12.50
4 X 5 X 12 $15.50
2 X 5 X 22 $18.50
4 X 10 X 12 $20.50
4 X 5 X 22 $25.50
3 X 5 X 22 $23.50
5 X 5 X 22 $40.50
3 X 10 X 22 $45.50
4 X 10 X 22 $50.50
8 X 8 X 22 $60.50
5 X 12 X 22 $65.50
5 X 10 X 22 $65.50
8 X 12 X 22 $70.50
8 X 16 X 22 $75.50
11 X 12 X 22 $105.50
10 X 10 X 22 $105.50
10 X 16 X 22 $110.50
12 X 16 X 22 $115.50
16 X 16 X 22 $125.50
21 X 10 X 22 $140.50
22 X 11 X 22 $140.50
15 X 22 X 22 $185.50

[ananda]

2. About $25 to $50 a month sounds about right.

Some people prefer a home safe, though.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. I pay 35.00 a YEAR.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Banks will charge whatever the market will bear

and if they're currently in high demand (as I expect they are), you may encounter a waiting list at some banks. It'd be worthwhile to do some shopping, as I found last year when I helped a friend procure a safe deposit box. I found a 'special' at one bank that offered a safe deposit box for $35/year, but it required some financial hoops through which my friend needed to jump. Another bank wanted $275/year - an exorbitant price IMO. We found boxes at prices scattered throughout that range.

FWIW, I do not consider safe deposit boxes to be a panacea for the security-minded. A few years ago, an elderly relative went to her safe deposit box and found that nearly $50K worth of bearer bonds had been removed; only the title to her car remained. The bank told her that the FDIC only insures against theft perpetrated by bank employees - which was found not to be the case - so she had to file a claim with the bank's liability insurance company, which was a long, drawn-out process that failed to net the true value of the bearer bonds that had been stolen. In this instance, she had proof of having purchased those bearer bonds at home; I imagine the situation would have been more grim if the stolen items had included things like jewelry or gold coins without documentation.

In the end, my friend ended up purchasing a small 'fire safe' that he bolted into the basement floor.