How do I know what condition the container is in?

Ask for photographs. We send pictures of the specific unit allocated to your job on request, before delivery, including the marks and the repairs rather than photographed around them. There is no public yard to walk into, so this is how inspection works here and we would rather you saw it in advance than on the day.

What is included in the price you quote?

The container in the grade agreed, the lock box, and the cartage to your address. One figure. There is no separate freight invoice arriving afterwards, which is the thing people most often get caught by elsewhere.

How long does delivery take?

Lismore and the immediate valley are commonly the same week. The coast and the further towns depend on truck availability more than on distance. If you have a date that matters, say so when you ring and we will work to it rather than around it.

Can I pay a deposit and take delivery later?

Usually yes, and it is common when a slab is being poured or a pad is being prepared. Ring and we will work out the timing. What we will not do is deliver onto ground that is not ready, because a container placed badly is expensive to correct.

Do I need council approval?

It depends on your council, how long it is staying and what it is being used for. Storage on a rural block is usually straightforward; anything visible from a street, anything habitable, or anything permanent in a stricter shire may not be. We supply and deliver — approvals are between you and your council, and asking them first is much cheaper than asking afterwards.

Buying a Shipping Container — Grades, Prices & Delivery

§ 01

The grade decision

Grade moves the price more than size does and it is the decision people spend the least time on. There are three, and the right one is decided by a single question: does the contents have to stay dry?

New single-tripOne loaded voyage from the factory. Sealed, unmarked, straight doors, factory paint. Worth the money when the container will be seen, lined or fitted out, and on a coastal block where unbroken paint is a much better starting point against salt.

Cargo-worthyThe working grade and the one most people should buy. Certified fit for international shipping, structurally sound, and every cargo-worthy unit is checked wind and watertight before it goes on a truck. It will still have dents, surface rust and shipping-line markings, because it is a used industrial object.

As-isCheaper again and not sold watertight. It may have a patched repair, a soft floor section or a door seal that no longer seats. We tell you exactly what is wrong with a particular unit before you buy it. Honest value for a box holding things weather cannot hurt; the wrong buy for anything else.

Grades matter
Cargo-worthy is the grade we check wind and watertight before it goes on a truck. As-is units are cheaper again and are not sold watertight — one may have a patched repair, a soft floor section or a door seal that no longer seats, and we will tell you exactly what is wrong with it before you buy. New single-trip units are sealed and unmarked. If the container has to keep rain off what is inside it, buy cargo-worthy or better.

§ 02

What the price includes

The container in the grade agreed, with a lock box fitted
Cartage to your address, quoted at the same time rather than billed later
Photographs of the actual unit on request, sent before delivery
A straight assessment of whether the size you asked for will physically get there

Guide prices, ex GST
Size	Used from	New from	Hire from
10ft Containers	$4,350	$6,400	POA
20ft Containers	$2,200	$3,300	$27/wk
40ft Containers	$2,600	$5,500	POA

Guide pricing only, ex GST. What you actually pay delivered depends on the grade, where you are and what is standing in the yard that week. Ring 02 6622 1322 and we will give you a real number instead of a range.

§ 03

Three things to decide before you order

Where exactly it goesNot roughly — exactly. The spot decides the vehicle, and the vehicle decides part of the price. It also decides whether you can get a truck back to it in five years when you want it moved.

What it stands onHardwood sleepers or concrete pads under the four corner castings, on compacted ground, set level with a slight fall away from the door end. A corner that settles fifty millimetres twists the box and the doors stop sealing.

Whether it gets linedIf there is any chance of it, buy a high cube. That decision is cheap now and impossible later.

§ 04

Common questions about buying

How do I know what condition the container is in?: Ask for photographs. We send pictures of the specific unit allocated to your job on request, before delivery, including the marks and the repairs rather than photographed around them. There is no public yard to walk into, so this is how inspection works here and we would rather you saw it in advance than on the day.
What is included in the price you quote?: The container in the grade agreed, the lock box, and the cartage to your address. One figure. There is no separate freight invoice arriving afterwards, which is the thing people most often get caught by elsewhere.
How long does delivery take?: Lismore and the immediate valley are commonly the same week. The coast and the further towns depend on truck availability more than on distance. If you have a date that matters, say so when you ring and we will work to it rather than around it.
Can I pay a deposit and take delivery later?: Usually yes, and it is common when a slab is being poured or a pad is being prepared. Ring and we will work out the timing. What we will not do is deliver onto ground that is not ready, because a container placed badly is expensive to correct.
Do I need council approval?: It depends on your council, how long it is staying and what it is being used for. Storage on a rural block is usually straightforward; anything visible from a street, anything habitable, or anything permanent in a stricter shire may not be. We supply and deliver — approvals are between you and your council, and asking them first is much cheaper than asking afterwards.

No-obligation quote

Ready for a real number?

Tell us the size, the grade if you know it, the address and what the ground is. You get one delivered figure back.

Buying a shipping container