How and Where to Buy Shipping Containers

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Updated On: July 14, 2023

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Figuring out how to find and purchase shipping containers is a unique challenge, even if you already know what kind of containers you want.  For first-time container buyers, the difficulty is only magnified.

Shipping container prices are often difficult to find online without some extra legwork, and there are many different kinds of sellers with their own pros and cons. The shipping container industry is fragmented with thousands of dealers, distributors, resellers, and other middlemen in the process.

With all these moving pieces, it’s tough to know how or where to even begin. Below, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know so you can locate and buy containers to be ready for your project.

Selecting the Right Containers To Buy

If you want to buy an empty shipping container, you need to know the best one to fit your needs. Beyond the options with regard to who is selling empty containers, there are also numerous choices in size and condition.

A good place to start is our article covering the types and dimensions of shipping containers. It goes over all the options, including some of the less-common variants you may run across in your search. 

After that, we recommend reading our article that explains the grades and conditions of shipping containers that you will encounter in the marketplace. You’ll quickly find that there are far more choices than just ‘new’ and ‘used’ out there, and we’ll teach you how to do your own container condition inspection.

In summation, there’s simply too much information about selecting the right shipping containers to include here. So we recommend reading these two articles first before continuing in order to get the most out of the information we share below!

Where to Buy a Shipping Container

Knowing what you want and figuring out how and where to actually get it are very different things. Depending on your location and preferences, there are a number of different options available to you when you decide to buy a shipping container.

Based on what you learned in the pre-reading above, you should be clear on the size, type, and condition of the container you’re looking for.  You should also have a rough idea of the shipping container cost associated with the cargo boxes you prefer.

Most business-to-consumer purchases (and even consumer-to-consumer purchases) are moving to the online realm.  Whether you actually complete your transaction online or just locate the company online, the internet is likely to play an important part in your search. 

Therefore, we’ll focus our explanation of where to buy a shipping container on online sources. However, there are limited opportunities to find a container for sale offline that we’ll also mention at the end of the article.

Regardless of whether you want to buy a used shipping container or a new one, starting your search online enables you to have access to a wider variety of inventory than you would normally find with a local container sales company. And you don’t even have to leave your house!

However, depending on where you purchase containers, you may lose the ability to conduct a pre-purchase inspection. That makes it all the more important to find a shipping container company you can trust and that has the integrity to sell quality shipping containers.

Finding Containers to Buy Online

A large number of our readers are located in the United States, and although cargo containers are a global commodity, there are systems in place in some countries that make sourcing containers a bit easier than in others. Therefore, we’ll start our discussion with US-based choices and then follow that up with the options accessible to those in the rest of the world.

Buying Shipping Containers in the United States

If you’re located in the United States, our recommendation is simple: Visit BoxHub!

BoxHub lets you search for used container inventory nationwide, get live pricing, and complete your purchase online.  They even provide a money-back guarantee if you aren’t happy with your container purchase. Their team works directly with the major shipping lines and container companies and helps those big players bypass the layers of middlemen and sell directly to individuals. 

Through economies of scale, BoxHub is able to deliver competitive pricing, and those prices are openly viewable on their website. Many other cargo container sellers require you to call or fill out a form before you get any pricing information. 

Visit BoxHub Now!

If you live in the United States and for some reason aren’t able to find your desired shipping containers for sale on BoxHub, there are a number of alternatives. Companies a bit higher up the food chain than your local dealer tend to have regional relationships and networks which result in better inventory and pricing.

You should be able to find some of these companies online and they may be able to help you search a wider area and find the right container for you, although you may give up some ease of use.  Additionally, the more parties that are involved in the transaction, the less likely you are to get a good deal on price.

Google searches like this are usually fruitful: [code]”shipping container” + Miami[/code]

Just use your own city or town in place of Miami. Trying terms like “buy shipping container” or “shipping container dealer” along with the city may provide additional results. You can also try the name of the nearest large city if you’re in a more rural area. You can also try modifiers that specify the container type and the physical condition you’re seeking, like ‘used’, ’40 foot’, or ‘cargo-worthy’.

Buying a shipping container on Craigslist is another possible option, and a good way to find local dealers in addition to regular people and businesses who own containers and no longer need them. There are differences of opinion on which Craigslist sub-category is best suited for shipping containers (is it ‘farm+garden’, ‘general’, ‘trailers’, etc. 

For this reason, we recommend searching in the parent ‘For Sale’ category to get the largest number of results. You can also try searching in nearby cities that have their own Craigslist site as well.  Tools like Search Tempest make it easy to search multiple Craigslist cities within a given radius at one time.

If you’re purchasing from a company or individual that isn’t a storage container dealer, you’ll need to go visit in person to determine the container quality.  You’ll also probably have to arrange the logistics of pickup and delivery of the container separately.

Buying Shipping Containers outside the United States

If you are based outside the US, there are still plenty of ways to track down a shipping container near you.  Almost every country on earth has at least one intermodal port that handles shipping containers, whether it’s a seaport or land-based container terminal. 

To find seaports, the Sea Rate website is an amazing tool.  You can search by country and see hundreds of ports, with contact information for each one along with very detailed information about the size and capacity of the port.  From there, try reaching out to the port to ask about companies that work with the port and sell excess containers.

While seaports will probably have the most container options, if you’re far from the coast or in a land-locked country, land ports are still good options. Countries with larger ports will have container dealers just like the US, and the same technique for Google searching mentioned above can also work internationally.

Craigslist works in some international countries, so the techniques shared in the previous section about Craigslist may be effective internationally as well.  Gumtree is a similar alternative that is popular in many Commonwealth countries like the UK, South Africa, Australia, and others. 

Additionally, many countries have similar online classified ads sites that cater specifically to residents of that country or region. So, seek out these websites and see what used shipping containers are available.  The recommendations and cautions we shared above for Craiglist in the United States still apply here.

If you’re looking for new, one-trip containers, you probably already know that the overwhelming majority of them are made in Asia, and most of those are from China.  Sites like Alibaba enable you to get in touch with Chinese manufacturers to purchase these cargo containers directly. 

The purchase of a one-trip shipping container from China won’t be as simple as purchasing a container from your own country, as you’ll have to coordinate the transportation, any inspections and customs paperwork, etc. A container dealer in your home country may also be able to help coordinate the purchase of new containers using their industry relationships.

Finding Containers Offline

There are actually a lot of containers just sitting around behind businesses and homes that are infrequently used or just forgotten about.  Disposing of them usually isn’t a high-priority activity for busy owners. 

However, if you notice a container locally and approach the owner, they might be excited about the prospect of getting some money AND cleaning up their storage yard.  So keep your eyes open when you’re driving around and if you notice neglected containers, you may be able to make a deal!

You can also look for personal referrals from people that work in the shipping, transportation, and logistics industries.  They may know other dealers or just companies that use containers in their business and likely have excess units. 

How to Pay for your Shipping Container

Just like with buying a car, the time to consider payment options for your container is before you actually want to purchase.  Consider the choices available now so you can make a smart decision when it’s time to buy.

Self-Funded Purchase

If you have the money on hand, most people choose to do a self-funded purchase.  It removes some of the steps for things like approvals and makes for a more hassle-free transaction.

Cash

This option is pretty self-explanatory, just hand over cash to the seller. This probably isn’t going to be a viable option for an internet purchase, but may work with local cargo container dealers. Most sellers are unlikely to do a full cash-on-delivery (COD) payment, though they may do a partial COD after you place a deposit.

If your seller is of the unscrupulous type, or you purchase from an individual, a cash purchase doesn’t leave you much recourse if something goes wrong.  There is also the issue of personal security that comes with carrying several thousand dollars in cash around.

Checks and Bank Transfer

An electronic bank transfer (such as a wire transfer) or mailed check is similar to cash, except you can do the transfer from afar which makes this option more applicable for online purchases.  The same risk as with cash about recourse options still exists.

Financed Purchase

As mentioned above, financing the purchase of your shipping container with some kind of loan may be a good idea, depending on the overall state of your personal finances and project budget and timeline.

There is also the option to lease containers instead of buying them. This may be more desirable if you know you have a temporary need, or if you don’t have the liquid assets to pay for the purchase (but do have the monthly income to afford the lease payment).

Credit Card

The easiest financing option to use is a credit card.  Chances are you already have a card, which means there is no approval process unlike with the other financing options. 

Credit cards can have some of the highest interest rates, but that’s not always the case.  Many credit cards offer an introductory 0% interest rate as a perk of signing up, which can be a great option if you can pay the balance off before the rate goes back to normal.

Credit cards also give you some protection in case something is wrong with the container and the seller isn’t responsive in fixing the issue. You’ll have to read the fine print on your specific credit card’s terms for things like ‘extended warranty’ and ‘purchase protection’ for more details.

You always have the option of paying off your credit card balance at the end of the month, which means you’ll get a very short-term loan (the difference between the purchase date and the due date of your credit card bill), but you’ll avoid having to even think about the interest charges.

Seller Financing

A lot of sellers are starting to offer financing options to buyers.  Often these are provided by 3rd party companies that offer “financing as a service” to different businesses, but the process may be branded as if the seller does the financing themselves. 

Either way, there should be a fairly straightforward approval process here, but make sure you’re clear on interest charges, late fees, and terms. You’re unlikely to have much buyer protection compared to what you get with a credit card.

Bank Financing

The last loan option we’ll discuss is bank financing.  Shipping containers are commoditized and thus their value is fairly easily known.  In addition, they are resilient and don’t quickly depreciate or get damaged in normal usage. 

For these reasons, the cargo container itself can serve as a good form of collateral for a bank loan. Or, your bank may offer an unsecured loan that doesn’t factor in the value of the containers but instead is based on the health of your own personal finances.  Either way, bank financing can be useful, but the terms may vary wildly between banks, and a local bank is more likely to offer a reasonable package compared to one of the national or international chains.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Container Dealer or Seller

You may be thinking, “It’s just a metal box, why does it matter who I buy it from?”  However, there are definitely a few points to keep in mind that separate various sellers from each other.

Integrity & Reputation

In many transactions, there is something called knowledge asymmetry: The seller often knows more about what they are selling than the buyer. You can reduce the size of this knowledge gap with education (this website is an excellent resource!), but it can be difficult to completely eliminate it. 

Things like stolen containers, low-quality repairs, bait-and-switch selling, etc. are possibilities you have to consider.  So finding a seller that you trust is important.

Evaluating the trustworthiness of a shipping container seller can be difficult, but there are a few things to look at. First is membership in industry organizations like the Container Dealer’s Association, the Intermodal Association of North America, the National Portable Storage Association, and others depending on your country of residence. While membership requirements in these groups may be minimal and thus not necessarily indicative of meeting any stringent qualifications, membership does show a bit of good faith on the part of the seller.

The other option is gaining the opinion of other purchasers.  Organizations like the Better Business Bureau can be a good start, and checking with Yelp, Google Reviews, and similar sites can give an indication as well (there may be similar review sites that are relevant to your specific country or region). 

Know that as with all things, people are more likely to spend time leaving a bad review than a good one, so a few bad reviews may just be indicative of difficult customers and not necessarily a bad company. If possible, speaking with people in your area that have made container purchases in the past is a better way of getting reviews you can trust.

One last note related to trust is the verification of your purchase.  After you’ve agreed on the price of the specific container unit(s) you want, make sure you record the container’s BIC code and CSC plate information. When your containers are delivered, make sure the numbers match and that you’re getting the same container(s) as the ones you picked out.

Warranties and Returns

Depending on the condition of the container you purchase, it may come with a warranty.  A warranty is only as good as the company behind it, so the trust element discussed in the above section is important.  For instance, if a person selling you something out of the trunk of their car offers you a “lifetime warranty”, you know that’s probably not something you’ll ever be able to use.

Some sellers may offer extended warranties for an additional fee, though this isn’t especially common and we wouldn’t recommend it in most circumstances.  If you’re planning to use your container for a house build, any warranty is likely to be invalidated anyway due to the modifications you’ll make.

If you need to make a warranty claim on a damaged container or return a container you ended up not needing, you need to understand the process and fees involved.  Who pays for the shipment back to the dealer, and how is it coordinated?  Will there be a restocking fee or other charges? Get clarity on these items before completing your transaction in the unlikely event that you need to send your container back to where you bought it.

Volume Discounts

If you have a need for more than one container (as container home builders often do), we recommend purchasing all of your containers from the same seller instead of piecemealing them out between different sellers. On top of making your record-keeping that much easier, it also gives you the option to negotiate a volume discount.

Volume discounts may be openly disclosed by your seller, or they may be something you have to negotiate as part of the purchase.  Either way, they are important to consider as part of the total price.

In understanding volume pricing, you need to know two things about the business of marketing:

  1. Average Customer Value (ACV): How much revenue the average customer generates for a company
  2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The average amount of marketing expenses required for a company to get a paying customer

For our purposes here, you don’t need to know these exact numbers, but just understand that these measures do exist even though they are different for every company. If you purchase several times more containers than the average customer, you save the company the CAC that would have otherwise been spent for those additional customers.  In return, it’s reasonable for the company to share some of that saved expense with you as a volume discount.

Given that containers are commoditized and don’t have a lot of profit built into each sale, you shouldn’t expect huge savings, but it is something worth bringing up and discussing. If you’re a hard-nosed negotiator, you may be able to get a bit more savings on your purchase than the originally quoted price.

Value-Added Services

When it comes to companies trying to sell you things, there are regular retailers and then there are value-added retailers.  Think about buying a new television, as an example.  Company A just sells it to you, and that’s it.  Company B sells it to you, but they also will deliver it, install it, help you set it up, and haul off your old one.  You’re obviously going to pay for Company B’s additional services (whether directly or indirectly), but the services may still be worth having.

For shipping container sellers, there are a few different things they can offer you.  The first is delivery & offloading, which we discuss below in the next section.  Other options include things like custom painting, installation of lockboxes, etc. Some sellers may even do large-scale custom modifications including window and door frame installation, insulation, etc.

Whether it makes sense for you to pay the seller to do these things, pay a contractor to do them later, or just do them yourself is a question only you can answer.  But understand that different sellers have different capabilities for performing these value-added services, so factor that into your decision as you think about where to purchase your container.

Delivery & Offloading

While we’ve discussed some of the methods of offload and delivery fee costs, a separate point is figuring out who can actually do the work for you. Larger dealers may have the necessary equipment (like tilt-bed trailers, heavy forklifts, or even cranes) in-house, which can often lead to cost-savings and quicker delivery times. 

If they subcontract this work out to third parties, make sure you have clarity on who has the custody and responsibility of the container during transit and offloading. Otherwise, you could end up with multiple companies pointing fingers at each other if something goes wrong.

Another factor to consider is timeliness.  As an example, if the seller only has two container trailers and you ordered ten containers, how many days will it take to get everything delivered as they deal with back-and-forth transit times plus competing deliveries for other customers?

Obviously, a business operates in a dynamic environment, and the seller doesn’t know how many orders they’ll get on any particular day, nor what could happen with things like weather and equipment breakdowns.  But the seller can shed light on how they’ll execute your delivery and who will be involved to help you decide between other options and plan your schedule.

Summary

You should now feel more confident in how to approach finding and purchasing your shipping containers. While it’s true that they are relatively simple pieces of equipment, there are probably more things to consider about the transaction than you initially realized. With a solid understanding of the purchase process, you now have one less thing to worry about in designing and building your dream container home!

Found a container for sale in a location not mentioned in the article? Had a good or bad experience with some of the options mentioned?  Let us know in the comments below.

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36 Responses

  1. I was wondering, do you have any resources for someone that is trying to start a business selling shipping containers. Where the best place is to buy bulk. My husband can pickup and deliver. We would like to start selling them. Thank you

    1. Recommend going up the supply chain and contacting the nearest intermodal port near you where containers are on/off-loaded. This article lists some of the major container carrier and leasing companies (https://www.discovercontainers.com/shipping-container-statistics/). Ideally, you don’t want to be too far removed from trading with one of these companies…the more middlemen in between, the more markup. Hope that helps.

  2. The bank financing idea has been a nightmare. Majority don’t understand how to finance these, even though they fall under a modular build and are no different in mindset than a USDA loan for a metal building. Can you update for articles for more guidance here?

    1. It’s something we’re aware of and working on. Now that container homes are getting more popular, have coverage in the International Residential Code, etc. we expect financing options to slowly improve. There are a few banks that specialize in alternative construction types that are probably better to work with, along with a local bank if you have a personal relationship.

    1. Can you be more specific? Note that we don’t sell containers directly? If you’re referring to our friends at BoxHub, please contact their support team with any questions related to processing time. For containers sourced via local dealers, other online sources, etc. the times can vary quite a bit. But you’d want to reach out whoever accepted your payment to get more details on the logistics of processing and delivery. Hope that helps, but if not, feel free to reach out via the Contact Us page.

  3. This might have more to do with construction than where to purchase, although I’m running into issues with that. I read in your thread about a person considering using an open sided, so there was no cutting. I’m planning on stacking three 20’ or 24’ containers, and I would like all 3 to be open sided to save having to reinforce each container (the bottom will be a studio apt, the top two my residence). I was told from another company, however, that putting in a spiral staircase through the floors (speaking of, any idea what the distance is from the finish ceiling to the finished floor when stacking?) was going to significantly increase costs. The question is.. is it worth it to try to find 3 open sided containers or is cutting a whole side out and reinforcing it relatively the same as far as cost and time?

    1. Several questions here, but we’ll try to briefly address them. If you have other questions, feel free to send us an email!
      1) Open-sided containers only have their full strength if all doors are closed/latched. If you’re planning to remove the doors, you’re lowering the strength. By how much, it’s difficult to say. We can say that an open-sided container with no doors is ‘stronger’ than a regular container with its walls removed. This is evident by the thicker bottom beams seen on the open-sided containers. How much you’d need to reinforce either type of container (if at all) is an engineering analysis question driven by your design and planned usage, and not something we can definitely answer here.
      2) Adding an interior spiral staircase is not a great use of the very limited floor space you have in a 20ft container, but that’s your design choice. It may be worth considering some other options, like exterior stairs, interior ships ladders, interior folding stairs, etc.
      3) Adding an interior spiral staircase isn’t terribly complicated on the surface. The floor of the container can be cut, and a hoop needs to be welded to all the floor joists you cut as well to tie them together so they can transmit their loads to the bottom side beams effectively. However, you’d likely need a custom-made staircase, and unless you can do this yourself, that could be pricey as you found out. The interior height of an open-sided container is less than a regular container, but that number is not an ISO specification, so you’d be best served doing a field measurement of the actual containers you purchase since this could potentially vary between manufacturers.
      4) Open-sided containers are much more expensive because they are very rare and not really used in the global transportation of goods. But you’re getting a leg-up on some of the reinforcing as described above. You’d have to get some local price quotes to know where the break-even point is between both options, especially if you’re paying someone else to do all the labor for any modifications. If you have plans to keep the doors on the open-sided containers so the whole structure can be secured when you leave, etc., this certainly affects your analysis as well. Cutting out the walls of a regular container and converting them into moveable doors would be a TON of work.

      1. You guys are awesome!! Always a wealth of info! Thank you. Agree with the staircase, but so far it’s the only “code” option I’ve been give because of setbacks, etc. Stairs have been unrelenting research.

  4. I have just subscribe your newsletter, I am planning to DIY simple low cost container house, but I find its really complicated. Even a tiny container house is never easy to install. I have to ask for a container house builder(znhouse) to help, hope to find more useful information.

  5. Awesome article, how would you recommend becoming a container dealer? Do you need to have contacts in China?

    1. Not necessarily. Most dealers aren’t purchasing containers from China and having them sent over empty. They are purchasing containers from various supply chain companies that either use containers themselves or more commonly, lease them others for shipping goods. You could try reaching out to the nearest seaport or inland intermodal port and finding out what companies work there and how to get in contact about procuring excess containers in bulk.

    1. If you’ll follow the recommendations in the article above, you can get quotes from a company in your country for the size and type of containers you need. Discover Containers doesn’t sell containers directly.

  6. Tom,
    I am building a camp out of cargo contains. I am hoping not to use spray insulation on walls. Is it possible to apply a “paint” covering over the walls and ceiling to provide safe living protection

    1. It really depends on what you’re trying to achieve and where you’re located. Using containers for habitation, without having any insulation, is likely going to cause problems related to both temperature and condensation. Not sure what you mean by “safe living protection”. If you’re concerned about chemicals in the existing paint and want to encapsulate the old paint behind new paint, that makes sense, but it isn’t going to help any with the temperature and humidity. If you have additional questions, feel free to reach out via the Contact Us link at the top of the page!

  7. Hi Tom,
    I am an interior design student at the Art Institute of Portland (OR). For my senior thesis I have chosen to design a small container home focusing on sustainability. I’ve learned a lot from your blog and various articles on you website. Besides more insulation in the walls, floor and ceiling what do you recommend to decrease the carbon footprint of a container home?

    1. Well there are two parts to that, the first is what you’ve suggested already: reducing ongoing energy consumption. Insulation is key regardless of where you are. Depending on geography, reducing thermal radiation absorption via coatings or shade can be very important. Picking energy efficient appliances, lights, etc. And reducing the mount of glazing (glass), although this hurts livability. The other part is in choosing materials that have less total carbon associated with their sourcing, manufacturing, and shipping to your location.

  8. I’ve been reading your blogs and am really enjoying them. I all ready have plans and a building permit to build a house out of shipping containers, but I can’t find a contractor with experience. My architect was supposed to help me (actually I thought I was getting a prefab), but he has not performed as expected. Do you know of any contractors in the San Fransisco Bay Area with experience with shipping containers? There is one famous house in Berkeley, but the contractor for that job has retired.

    thanks!

  9. What is the difference between high cube and standard 40 ” containers with respect to using for a home? There is a substantial difference in pricing

  10. I want to build a garage/studio/shop on my property. My idea is to use 2 40 ft high cubes with a 24 ft x 24 ft span as the garage. This would end up 40 ft x 40 ft total, the back part would be my studio/shop. I would like to attach a 20 ft between this structure and my current home which is an old train depot that is tiny, but I love it. The front 24 ft of each container would be used as storage+. This would make my studio about 16 ft x 40 ft. People look at me like I have 2 heads, but I have been searching about this since my garage burned down. Your site is great.

    1. Hi Noni,

      We’re so glad the website is helping you!

      This sounds like a great project and we would love to see the home after it’s been built.

      Please let us know if you have any questions and we will do our best to help.

  11. I have 72 ACRES and want to put a new container home on my acreage, but cannot locate any in Minnesota….have any recommendations?

  12. Hello,

    I live in Rwanda I would like to know if there are container dealers

    And am interested in owning a shipping container house, I have liked them from your page.

    Thank you

    1. Hi Hellen,

      We recommend that you call your nearest port who should have a list of dealers in the local area.

  13. I have purchased 5 acres of land and I am trying to find a way to make payments on containers. Do you happen to know of places that allow you to purchase containers by making payments?

    Thank you,

    Nathaniel

    1. Hi Nathaniel,

      We have heard that some container dealers do offer financing. You should try to get in touch with a few in your area and see what they offer.

    2. Nathaniel, I have found that some banks are willing to let you take out a signature loan for the money to buy the containers. This is relatively high interest-rate, but it works. As an alternative, get a loan using the land as collateral, which would lower the interest rate. Hope this helps.

  14. Finding property that does not require traditional ‘Stick built’ or manufactured homes has been a challenge. We have been searching Arizona for rural, if not remote land in an elevated area. (3000′ – 5500′ elevation) No utilities necessary as we are looking to live ‘off grid’.

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