Container sales in detail
Before you buy.
Buying a shipping container gives you lockable steel space that's yours to keep, for storage, a workshop, a conversion or your own shipments. The right container depends on the job: size, condition and delivery to your site matter as much as the price. Below: the sizes and grades, what to check before you buy, how delivery works and what to include in your enquiry.
Choosing a container to buy
Start with the job. For dry storage, a used container in sound condition is often enough. For a conversion, an office or anything customers will see, a newer container saves work on the surface and the paint.
If you plan to ship goods in it, it must be cargo-worthy, with a valid CSC safety approval plate. A container used only for storage doesn't need a current plate, but a valid one is a useful sign of its condition.
Shipping container sizes
Outside, containers are 2.44 m (8 ft) wide and 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in) tall, or 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in) for a high cube. Inside dimensions vary slightly by manufacturer, so these figures are typical.
- 10 ft
- About 3 m long outside. Fits where space is tight, such as a yard, a garden or a small site.
- 20 ft
- About 6.06 m long outside; inside about 5.9 × 2.35 m, a floor of about 13.8 m². A popular size for storage and workshops.
- 40 ft
- About 12.19 m long outside; inside about 12 × 2.35 m, around 28 m² of floor. It needs far more room to deliver.
- 40 ft high cube
- The 40 ft footprint with about 30 cm more headroom, 2.69 m inside. Useful for racking, tall items and conversions.
- Door options
- Double doors at one end are standard. Doors at both ends or along one side are specialist builds, so ask.
New and used container grades
Grade names aren't a formal standard, and sellers use them differently. Ask for the grade in writing and for photos of the actual container, not a stock example.
- New (one-trip)
- Built new and shipped once, usually carrying cargo from the factory. Little wear and original paint.
- Cargo-worthy
- Used, structurally sound and fit to carry cargo, with a valid CSC plate or able to get one.
- Wind and watertight
- Used, with dents and surface rust, but it keeps out wind and water. Suited to storage rather than shipping.
- As is
- Sold as seen, often with damage. Only for uses where condition doesn't matter.
What to check before you buy
If you can't see the container before it's delivered, these are the questions to ask and the photos to request.
- Doors
- Both open and close fully, the locking bars turn freely and the rubber seals are whole.
- Roof and walls
- From inside, with the doors shut, no daylight. Dents are normal on used containers; holes are not.
- Floor
- Solid, with no soft, split or rotten patches in the timber.
- Markings
- The doors show the size-type code, such as 22G1 for a 20 ft or 45G1 for a 40 ft high cube, with its maximum gross and tare weights.
- CSC plate
- Needed for shipping. It shows the container's safety approval, and its next examination date or the examination scheme it's under.
Delivery and site preparation
Containers are usually delivered by a lorry with its own crane, often called a HIAB, or by a side-lifter. Both set the container down rather than tipping it off, and your quote confirms which your site needs.
Planning rules differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Whether a container needs permission depends on its size, where it sits, how long it stays and what it's used for, so check with your local planning authority before it arrives, especially for long stays, conversions or business use.
- Access
- The route in: gate widths, tight turns, slopes, and overhead cables or branches. A 40 ft needs far more room than a 20 ft.
- Ground
- Firm and level: concrete, hardstanding, or solid supports under the four corners. A level container keeps its doors working.
- Position
- Where it goes, which way the doors face, and room to open them fully.
What to include in your enquiry
A few details are enough to start. The quote then confirms the container, its condition, the delivery and the price before anything is bought.
- Size
- 10 ft, 20 ft, 40 ft or 40 ft high cube, or the space you have.
- Condition
- New, used or open to options, and whether it will carry cargo.
- Use
- Storage, a workshop, a conversion or shipping.
- Delivery postcode and access
- Where it's going, the route in and the ground it will sit on.
- Changes
- Anything you'd like done to it, such as shelving, vents or extra locks, so the quote can say what's possible.
- Timing
- When you need it on site.
Questions about buying a container
A new, or one-trip, container has usually made a single voyage and shows little wear. Used containers have years of service behind them and are graded by condition, from cargo-worthy to wind and watertight. For dry storage, a sound used container is often enough.
It depends on where it goes, its size, how long it stays and what it's used for. In England, a container needed only for the duration of building works can be permitted development. Long stays, conversions and business use may need permission, so check with your local planning authority first.
Usually by a crane lorry (a HIAB) or a side-lifter, which lowers it onto the ground. The vehicle needs a clear route, firm standing and room for its stabiliser legs, so describe your access in your enquiry.
Firm, level ground that won't sink: concrete, compacted hardstanding, or supports such as sleepers or pads under the four corner castings. A container that isn't level can twist, and its doors may bind.
A wind and watertight container keeps rain out, but steel can collect condensation as the temperature changes. Ventilation, a gap under the floor and not storing wet items all help.
Measure what you'll store and leave room to move around it. A 20 ft container gives about 13.8 m² of floor and a 40 ft about 28 m². Where space is tight, a 10 ft may fit.
Yes, if it's cargo-worthy and has a valid CSC plate. Shipping in your own container is known as shipper-owned container (SOC) shipping. Say if that's your plan, so the enquiry covers the container and the freight together.