Buying
Three grades, three sizes, four configurations and one question that matters more than all of them: what is the container actually going to do?
Start here
The commonest way people end up with the wrong container is buying on price and size, in that order, without ever saying out loud what the thing is for. Grade follows use. Size follows access. Price follows both.
If it has to keep rain off what is inside it for the next ten years, you want cargo-worthy or new, and the money you would save on an as-is unit is not a saving. If it is a lock-up under an existing roof, or a base for a build that is getting clad anyway, an as-is unit is a genuinely good buy and anyone selling you cargo-worthy for that job is selling you something you do not need.
Grade matters more than anything else in a container quote. Cargo-worthy is the grade we check wind and watertight before it leaves the yard. As-is units are cheaper again and are not sold watertight — one may carry a patched repair, a soft spot in the floor, or a door seal that no longer seats properly, and we will tell you exactly what is wrong with a particular unit rather than let you find it out on delivery day. New single-trip containers are unmarked, sealed, and have made one loaded voyage. If the container has to keep rain off whatever goes inside it, buy cargo-worthy or better.
The grades
Built, loaded once, shipped once, unloaded here. Straight walls, clean floor, unfaded paint, seals that have never been out in the weather for long. If the container is going somewhere it will be looked at — a front yard, a shopfront, a display — this is the one.
A working container that is still certified fit to carry freight at sea. Dents, surface rust and old shipping-line paint are normal and expected. Wind and watertight is checked before it leaves. This is the grade most people should buy and about seventy per cent of what we sell.
Retired from sea service and sold on its faults. Cheapest by a distance and completely fine for a lot of jobs — a tool lock-up under cover, a bund, a site office shell, a base for a build. Not sold watertight. We photograph the faults and tell you what they are before you buy it.
Inspection
Floor, doors, roof, frame — in that order, because that is the order of what they cost to put right. A dented side panel looks worse than a soft floor and matters a great deal less.
Come out to the yard and do it yourself, or ask us to photograph the specific unit. Either way you should know exactly what you are buying, and know it first.
The range
10ftThe side passage is narrow, the council setback leaves you nothing to play with, or all you need is somewhere lockable for a mower, a compressor and a rack of tools.
20ftYou have about seven metres of straight, reasonably level ground to put it on and you would rather not find out in six months that you should have gone bigger.
40ftYou have the room, the access is genuinely open, and you want the most storage per dollar available anywhere.
Prices on this page are guide prices in AUD and exclude GST. They are starting figures for the grade named, they move with condition, availability and which depot the unit has to come out of, and none of them is a quote until the cartage to your address has been worked out.
Common questions
The floor first — it is the most expensive thing to fix and the first thing to go on a unit that has carried something wet. Then the door seals and locking bars, because that is most of what wind and watertight actually means. Then the roof for ponding and patches, then the corner castings and rails for damage that affects how it sits. There is a full order of operations in our inspection checklist.
Yes. Come out to the yard at 24 Forest Hill Fernvale Rd, Forest Hill, QLD, 4342 — ring first so we can have the units accessible — and look over the actual container. If you cannot get here, ask and we will photograph the specific unit and send it through, before delivery. We would much rather do that than have you take delivery of something that is not what you pictured.
Yes, payment is settled before the container leaves. That is standard across the industry and it is what lets us hold a specific unit for you rather than sell it out from under you while the paperwork moves. It is also exactly why we are happy to photograph the unit or have you inspect it first — you should know exactly what you are buying, and know it first.
Grade is the guarantee. Cargo-worthy units are sold checked wind and watertight, and if one turns up and is not, that is our problem to fix. As-is units are sold on their faults, we tell you what those faults are, and they are not sold watertight. What we will not do is describe a unit as something it is not — the whole business runs on repeat customers and referrals.
Usually, yes, within reason. Tell us up front if the site will not be ready for a few weeks — plenty of people buy while the slab is going down. There are limits on how long we can hold a specific unit, so it is a conversation rather than an assumption.
Get a price
Tell us what the container is for, where it is going and what the access is like. We will tell you which grade the job actually needs. Every enquiry answered within one business day.
Or skip the form and ring us — 0477 410 500, Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am–12pm