How to Buy a Shipping Container

By the LandedBox team · Sources listed at the end

Short answer. To buy a shipping container, choose the size and condition you need, make sure a delivery truck can reach the spot and local rules allow it, then compare delivered prices and terms rather than sticker prices. Here, every model shows a weekly starting price; you send one free request, up to 5 sellers in your region that we’ve checked for licensing and insurance send you their quotes, and you choose one, or none.

Before you buy

Type. Standard, high cube, double door, open side, refrigerated or modified: all shipping containers.
Size. 20ft for most storage, 40ft for more room for about the same delivery cost, 10ft where space is tight: container sizes.
Condition. Used wind and watertight for storage, cargo worthy if it may ship again, new one-trip for an office or a box in plain view: container grades.
Your site. A straight approach for the truck, firm ground and a level base: delivery checklist · foundation options.
Local rules. Zoning, permits and HOA covenants: shipping container permits.

Each of these has its own guide, and there are more on costs and reefers: all shipping container guides.

1. See the starting price

Every model page shows a starting price we update every week from what the sellers we track publish online, for the container alone. The sellers’ quotes add delivery from their depot and the sales tax for your address. This week’s prices.

2. Send one request

On the model page, choose “Get the best price”, then pick the grade and any accessories and add your ZIP code and anything the driver should know about access. Sending it costs nothing and doesn’t bind you to buy. For several containers, a modification or a rental, send a quote request instead.

3. Compare up to 5 quotes

We send your request to up to 5 sellers in your region, chosen for your container after checking their licensing and insurance. Each one sends you a quote: the delivered price (container, delivery and sales tax), availability, a delivery date and its terms. On the same request, the highest and lowest quotes have differed by about $450 on average, so comparing pays. Accept the one that suits you, or none; going by the sellers whose prices we track, standard containers usually arrive 3–7 business days after you accept. What to check in a quote.

4. Delivery and inspection

The container usually arrives on a tilt-bed truck that sets it on the spot you’ve prepared. Before you sign, walk around it and inside it: doors, seals, walls, roof and floor, using our delivery-day checklist.

The seller’s guarantee. The seller you choose sets what’s guaranteed and for how long, what you can refuse at delivery, how you pay and how you can cancel; check that each quote puts it in writing, so you can compare before you accept. Our service is free, your request goes to up to 5 sellers we’ve checked for licensing and insurance, and you don’t have to accept any quote. What to check in a quote.

5. Pay the seller

You pay the seller you chose, as its quote sets out; LandedBox never takes a payment. Where you can, choose a seller that lets you pay on or after delivery: the Better Business Bureau advises caution with full payment before delivery, and paying once the container is on your site means one that isn’t right never costs you its price.

Changing your mind

Before you accept a quote, there’s nothing to cancel: just don’t accept it. After you accept one, cancelling, and refusing a container at delivery, follow that seller’s terms, so ask about them before you accept, especially for a modified container, where shop work may already have started. Delivery, returns and guarantees.

How to spot a container scam

Fake container sellers are common enough that the Better Business Bureau investigated one in 2025: a website that claimed an address in Council Bluffs, Iowa, it didn’t occupy, took payment in advance, and left buyers turning up with trailers at a logistics company’s sites, with at least $8,000 in reported losses. Before you pay any seller:

Check the address on a map and the business on BBB.org, and search its name with “scam” or “complaint.”
Be wary of full payment before delivery, the pattern in that case.
Refuse risky payment methods: the FTC advises against buying from a seller that insists on gift cards, a money transfer company, a payment app or crypto.
Read the written terms, grade and guarantee included, and compare the price with this week’s market: shipping container prices.

If you’ve been scammed, tell your bank right away and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Who does what

You buy from the seller whose quote you accept: it sells and delivers the container and stands behind its guarantee. LandedBox is a free service run by LEADGOAT LLC from an office at 539 W. Commerce St #1964, Dallas, TX 75208: it sends your request to sellers and doesn’t take payments. That address is an office, not a depot. More about us: About LandedBox. Questions: [email protected].

Browse containers Check delivery to your ZIP

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy a shipping container online?

Yes. Containers are commonly sold online or by phone and delivered from a depot, since the box you’ll get is rarely on display. Here you send one request online and get quotes from up to 5 sellers; you buy from the one you choose, on its terms.

When do I pay for my container?

When the seller you choose says, in its quote: how much, when and how. The request and the quotes cost you nothing, and LandedBox never takes a payment. Prefer paying on or after delivery: the Better Business Bureau advises caution with a seller that wants full payment before.

Can I see the container before I buy it?

Not usually: containers ship from depots whose stock moves quickly, so the exact unit isn’t on display. The grade in the quote defines its condition, and the images on this site are illustrative. Check it at delivery against what the seller’s quote lets you refuse.

Where can I find ISO containers for sale?

Here: request standard 10ft, 20ft and 40ft containers, new or used, for delivery anywhere in the 48 contiguous states, and compare quotes from sellers in your region. All shipping containers.

How do I know a container seller is legit?

Check that its address is a real business on a map and on BBB.org, search its name with “scam” or “complaint,” read its written terms, and be wary of any seller that wants full payment before delivery or asks for gift cards, a money transfer service such as Western Union, a payment app or crypto. Before we send a seller requests, we check its business licensing and insurance.

Sources

Scam case and advice: the Better Business Bureau of the Midwest Plains, as reported by KOLN (Lincoln, Nebraska) on November 10, 2025; the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer advice on online shopping (May 2023). How buyers shop for containers: the buying guides of US container sellers. Delivery times: the published lead times of the sellers whose prices we track (October 21, 2026). Average gap between quotes: our records of quotes received for the same request, as the gap between the highest and lowest quote of each request, averaged; not a guaranteed saving.