About Us
BulletSafe Bulletproof Vests
In the 1990s, engineer Tom Nardone was working for a defense-oriented helicopter company. He was tasked with testing bulletproof fuel-tank liners made from a little-known but very powerful material: Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE or "PE" for short).
Back in the 1990s, nearly all bulletproof vests were made from Kevlar, which is far more expensive and difficult to manufacture than PE. An entrepreneur at heart, Nardone began to wonder if bulletproof vests could be made with PE to save companies and individuals money on their security budgets.
In 2010, Nardone discovered many companies were using PE for their bulletproof vests, but they were still charging as much as Kevlar-based vests, roughly $1000 per unit.
The Market
The reasons for this material-price disparity were well-founded, but also surmountable. First, the US federal government pays ½ of police department bulletproof vest costs through the Bulletproof Vest Partnership program. Therefore, many police departments aren’t interested in saving money on their bulletproof vests.
Second, most bulletproof vest companies’ custom-produce their vests instead of relying on modern assembly lines and mass production. Also, most of these companies tend to source their material from more expensive, local factories instead of saving a bundle by having the components made elsewhere.
Finally, bulletproof vest sales need a large and dedicated sales force to reach the chiefs and sheriffs of the countless police departments across the country. Lacking such a sales force, most bulletproof vest companies simply cannot market and distribute their product effectively on a large-scale.
Pricing
Intrigued by this fertile—and underserved—market, Nardone researched the forgotten members of the security industry: security guards, armored car drivers, bail bondsmen, process servers, repo men, private investigators, tow-truck drivers and bouncers. His goal? To discover what they would be willing to pay for a bulletproof vest.
The magic number was $300. In 2013, the BulletSafe brand was launched to reduce the average cost of a bulletproof vest by 70%. Initially, success was limited to individuals who privately purchased vests of their own accord.
BulletSafe Now
After 8 years of independent sales efforts, BulletSafe was acquired by the Sellmark Corporation. Now, BulletSafe is served by Sellmark’s large, well-trained sales force and units are delivered with speed and professionalism.
Now, BulletSafe customers can quickly and easily identify which vest they need from Sellmark’s height-and-weight charts, and they can speak with representatives for order and product details with greater ease and accuracy than ever before. Currently, BulletSafe vests are available online at bulletsafe.com and are also available at over 250 dealers across the country.
BulletSafe’s purpose is crystal-clear; to deliver quality, affordable bulletproof vests and accessories to anyone who needs them. BulletSafe hopes to give America’s forgotten security workers peace-of-mind and top-quality protection to ensure they can always return home safely to their families.
BulletSafe Mailing Address:
Bullet Safe / A Division of Sellmark Corporation
2201 Heritage Parkway
Mansfield, Texas 76063
By phone:
1-817-225-6978 (between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST)
Policies:
Payment Methods and Sales Tax:
We are very pleased to accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover cards. We also offer two flexible payment plans. Sezzle allows you divide your order into four easy payments. When you order you will make the first payment and we immediately ship your vest. We also offer Lay-Buy which is Paypal's lay-away program. You can make payments whenever you wish until you are finished, then we ship your vest.
Sales tax is charged where applicable. The site will use your address to determine if tax should be applied and will do if required. Tax exempt retailers and entities are welcome to contact us to remove the sales tax. Connecticut residents are not able to shop with us online. Connecticut law states that bulletproof vests and body armor can only be sold in a face-to-face transaction, so we are unable to ship there.
Shipping:
We offer five different shipping methods to meet any schedule and budget:
Ground shipping costs $14.95 regardless of how many vests you purchase. It takes 6-8 business days to arrive.
Priority delivery costs $19.95 regardless of how many vests you purchase. It takes 3-5 business days to arrive.
Accelerated Priority costs $27.95 regardless of how many vests you purchase. It takes 2-4 business days to arrive.
Express shipping, (when available) costs $47.95 regardless of how many vests you purchase. It takes 1-2 business days to arrive.
Sign up for the BulletSafe Newsletter to receive a coupon code for free shipping. It is free. It takes 10-14 business days to arrive.
Please note that our shipping cutoff is 3 PM Eastern. If you place your order before 3 PM Eastern Monday-Friday, it will ship same-day. Otherwise, it will ship on the next business day.
International Shipping:
International shipping of bulletproof vests is controlled by the Commerce Department. This requires more time and approval than our website allows. If you would like to order body armor for your organization, and your company is prepared to undergo the scrutiny required to acquire body armor through the official process, please contact us and we can begin the process.
Exchanges and Returns:
Exchange for a different size: You may exchange your vest for a different size within 30 days, free of charge. If you would like to exchange for a different size, please Please contact customerservice@bulletsafe.com for instructions on how to return an item.
Returning a vest for a refund? Returns are accepted if they are postmarked within 7 days of receipt. All returns are charged a 15% inspection/restocking fee. The vest must be returned in "As New" condition. "As New" means that the vest is perfect and can be immediately sold to another person. Please contact customerservice@bulletsafe.com for instructions on how to return an item.
Vests that are not returned "As New" will be charged a $79 fee to replace the vest carrier. We aren't trying to be mean about it, but everyone who buys a bulletproof vest deserves one that is crisp and clean, not previously worn or handled poorly.
Used Vest Buyback:
If your vest saved your life, we want it.
Did your BulletSafe vest save your life? If so, we want to buy it back from you. We will give you half of the price of a new vest in exchange for your used vest, plus we'll be able to examine how well it worked and use that information to make improvements to future vests. Please, if your vest served its purpose, let us have a look.
Privacy Policy
We take your privacy very seriously, that is why we ship all orders directly from our warehouse.
When you place an order with us, your information is used to verify that the credit card used matches the billing address you provide.
We also use your personal information to ship your vests to you.
Customers are placed on the BulletSafe Newsletter, which is sent 1-2 times per month. Unsubscribing can be done with one click.
We do not share, trade, or sell your information to outside parties. Your purchase is handled privately.
