What is the delivery cost? Does that include setting it down?

1) Where is the container located? Sure, the container is nearly free, but if it is over 1,000 miles from you, all those savings will go out the window with a huge trucking bill.  Make sure you know exactly where the container is located and how far that is from where you want it to go.  Did the price include delivery?  If not, get a quote on that before you commit or you might be taking on a headache instead of a solution, or worse, a very expensive cost.

2) How will it arrive at your location? Does the listing include delivery?  If so, be sure to get the particulars on that.  Is delivery up to a certain distance included?  What are the extra costs if you are beyond that point?  What kind of truck will it be delivered on?  Will that truck set the container on the ground at your location or will you need to rent a forklift or other equipment to offload the container.  Many hidden fees can be put in there.  If they are not including delivery, have you found someone to do that for you?  Have you asked them all the questions above?

Typical container number

3) Is that really the container you will get? Containers are numbered when they are used by shipping lines.  The numbers are generally 4 letters followed by 6 numbers and then a number in a box.  If you are looking at pictures of the container, the number should be clearly posted on all 4 sides of the container as well on in 2 places on the roof and in the inside of the door.  If the pictures show a container, but the number is different in each picture, beware.  They could be posting pictures of multiple containers.  Since the container probably isn’t too far from you, it is worth a trip out to take a look at the container to make sure you know what you are getting into.  Everyone describes quality in different ways.  What may be a “great container” to one person may be a “pile of junk” to another.  Pictures and visual confirmation are really the best ways to make sure you are on the same page.

What kind of damage? This one has an end that is pushed into the container and is curving the corner posts.

4) What about common sense safety? So now you have the delivery figured out, you’ve looked at the container and know it is just what you want, use your common sense.  Usually eBay has some safeguards on the site to help protect you.  Be sure that it is a respected vendor with a good record.  If you are on Craigslist, check out the buyer the best you can.  You don’t want to hand over your money and not end up with a container after all that work.  Common sense and intuition are great tools.  You use them in every other part of your life, don’t let this be an exception!

In this age of container scarcity, finding containers on sites like Craigslist and eBay can be great.  Particularly if you and the seller are in the same market and use that as a tool to meet each other.  But remember to do your homework and listen to your gut.  Don’t be afraid to walk away from the deal if it doesn’t feel right.  But if you check everyone out and the container is what you want, great!

Tilt-Bed Delivery

Tilt-bed Landoll trailer with container

A tilt-bed is the most popular delivery option, either with a straight truck or a tractor-trailer combo. The truck will back right into the place you want your container, the trailer will tip down, and a winch will lower one end of the container to the ground. Then the truck will pull forward as the winch lowers the other container end.

Pros: Your container is slid to the ground right where you want it.

Cons: Generally more expensive than other methods. While these trucks can pick up a lightly loaded 20’ container, they cannot pick up loaded 40’ containers at all.

Flat-Bed Delivery

Container on Flatbed

Trucks with a long flat bed can hold either one 40’ container or up to two 20’ containers. A forklift or crane will set your container on the truck at the beginning of the trip and lift it off when it reaches your site.

Pros: Because your container will be loaded onto a truck that also carries other cargo, flat-bed delivery is a low-cost alternative, especially when the container needs to travel long distances.

Cons: You need to make sure equipment is available to load and unload your container.

Chassis Delivery

Container Chassis

Pulled by a trailer, a chassis is a metal frame with wheels designed to carry containers securely. Shipping lines use them (along with special fork-lifts) to bring containers to customers for loading and unloading. If you ship cargo overseas, this is usually how the container will arrive.

Pros: Low-cost way to move a container. The tractor disconnect easily from the chassis, which gives added flexibility if you need some time to load and don’t want the driver to have to wait. In some cases, chassis are the only delivery means acceptable to ports or rail lines.

Cons: You must load the container while it stays on the chassis or have some means of lifting the container on and off the chassis. When a container is on a chassis, it is dock height. Lifting a 40’ steel container on a chassis requires a crane.

Your best delivery option will depend in part on how you will use your container. Talk it over with your container vendor or shipping agent. As always, Super Cubes is happy to offer friendly advice geared to your needs.