Ordering and delivery policies

Last updated October 18, 2026. Full legal wording: terms of use.

Quotes and prices

• Asking for a quote is free and does not commit you to anything. A quote request is not an order.
• Price ranges on this site are estimates. Your written quote states the container, its grade, the delivered price, what is included and the delivery terms.
• The prices on our Buy a container pages are fixed: one container price plus a flat delivery fee by method, the same anywhere in the contiguous United States.
• A quote is held for 7 days, subject to the container still being available. If it sells, we offer the closest match at the same price or lower, or you can walk away.
• We usually reply within 1-2 business hours.

Ordering and payment

• Your order is formed only when you approve a written quote from us. Nothing is ordered until you approve.
• We confirm the container, the delivery date and payment with you directly. Nothing is charged until you confirm.
• No deposit. You can pay in full on delivery, when the truck arrives and before the container is unloaded, or before delivery if you prefer. You get one invoice per job.
• We never ask for card details through a form on this website.

Changes and cancellations

• Before you approve a quote, there is nothing to cancel: change anything or walk away at no cost.
• After you approve, cancelling is free, with a full refund, until your container is dispatched for delivery.
• Once it has been dispatched, only the delivery charge is kept and the rest is refunded. There is no cancellation fee.
• Changing the delivery date is free if you tell us before your container is dispatched.
• If your written quote sets different terms for your order, the quote applies.

Delivery

We deliver by tilt-bed truck or by flatbed. You choose which way the doors face.

Tilt-bed delivery

The truck backs up to your spot, tilts its bed and drives forward so the container slides off onto the ground. You choose which way the doors face.

• A long, straight, clear approach: roughly 60 to 100 ft for a 20ft, 100 to 150 ft for a 40ft.
• About 12 ft of width, and 14 to 16 ft of clear height over the drop spot (no low wires or branches).
• Firm, fairly level ground the truck can drive on.

Flatbed delivery

A semi with a flat open trailer parks beside your spot and your forklift or crane lifts the container off. Best for businesses, farms and yards that already have the equipment, or tight sites a tilt-bed cannot reach.

• Unloading equipment on site and ready when the truck arrives: for a 20ft, a forklift rated for at least 15,000 lb with 6 ft or longer forks, or a crane; for a 40ft or 40ft high cube, a crane.
• Room for a semi with a 48 to 53 ft trailer to pull in, park and leave.
• Someone on site to unload. The driver does not unload. The first hour on site is free; after that, waiting time is billed at $75 per hour.

• For fixed-price orders, delivery is usually 3 to 10 business days after you confirm. For quoted orders, the delivery window is in your quote.
• Delivery dates are estimates. If we can't deliver within your window, we tell you as soon as we know, and you can wait or cancel for a full refund.
• The first hour on site is free. After that, waiting time (for example while a flatbed is unloaded) can be billed at $75 per hour.
• If the truck can't reach or place the container because the site differs from what you told us, or because payment on delivery isn't made, a redelivery costs one more delivery charge.
• We deliver in the contiguous United States. We don't deliver to Alaska or Hawaii.
• The driver can decline to place a container where it would be unsafe or could cause damage. If that happens, we work with you on an alternative.
• If heavy rain or soft ground would make the approach unsafe, we reschedule rather than risk it.
• Practical prep: how delivery works and site prep.

Your site

• Give us accurate information about your delivery site: access, gates, slopes, ground and anything overhead. Photos help.
• Make sure you have the right to place a container there, including any permits, HOA approval or landowner permission it needs.
• A loaded truck is heavy. Soft lawns, fresh fill, septic fields and thin paving can be marked or damaged. Surface damage at the spot you choose is your responsibility unless the carrier was negligent, so tell us about anything buried or fragile before you approve your quote.

Container condition

• New / one-trip: A one-trip container was manufactured, loaded with cargo for a single ocean voyage, unloaded, and sold. It has not spent years in service.
• Cargo-worthy (used): Cargo-worthy (CW) means the container was inspected and judged structurally sound to carry cargo: frame, corner posts, floor and doors in good working order, plus wind and watertight.
• Wind and watertight (used): Wind and watertight (WWT) means that when inspected, the doors closed and sealed and no daylight came through the roof, walls or floor. It is retired from shipping service.

Grades are industry terms judged by the supplier, not a government rating, and used containers vary from box to box. Dents, scratches and surface rust are normal on used containers and are not defects. When the supplier can photograph your actual unit, we pass the photos on.

If the container you want isn't available

If we can't find the size, grade or door setup you asked for, we tell you before anything is charged and suggest the closest alternative. You don't have to take it.

If something isn't right on delivery

Check the container when it arrives, ideally while the driver is there: walk around it, work the doors, look for daylight from inside and check the floor. Report any problem within 30 days of delivery, with photos, through our contact page. If the container doesn't match the size or grade you paid for, or isn't wind and watertight when it was sold as such, we arrange a repair, a replacement or a refund.

Warranty

Every container comes with a warranty that runs from the delivery date:

• New one-trip containers: 25 years on the structure and 10 years wind and watertight.
• Used containers (cargo-worthy and wind and watertight): 10 years on the structure and 5 years wind and watertight.
• Modified containers: 3 years wind and watertight.

If a covered part fails, we repair or replace the faulty part. Send photos and your order details through our contact page. The warranty covers premature failure of the container's original parts and materials when it is used for storage, and applies to the original buyer. It doesn't cover normal wear, dents and surface rust, misuse, overloading, stacking or improper lifting, added paint or coatings, fire, flood or accident damage, or changes made after delivery.

Returns and refunds

• Within 60 days of delivery you can return a container, empty and in the condition it arrived. Tell us first so we can arrange the pickup.
• We refund everything on your original invoice, including the delivery charge. The only deduction is the return trucking. There is no restocking fee.
• Modified containers (cut doors, windows or other changes made for you) can't be returned unless they arrived faulty.
• Refunds go back the way you paid.

Container rentals

These rules apply when you rent a container instead of buying one. Your written rental quote is the agreement for your rental and takes precedence over this summary.

Term and billing

• The minimum rental is one month. After that it runs month to month, with no long-term contract.
• You are billed by the calendar month from the delivery date, not on a 28-day cycle.
• The last month is prorated by the day: billing stops on the day the container is picked up.
• Your monthly rate does not change unless we give you at least 30 days' written notice first.

Quotes and payment

• Your written rental quote states the size, the monthly rate, the delivery charge and the pickup charge as separate lines. Prices on this site are not offers.
• No security deposit. You pay the first month and the delivery charge on delivery, when the truck arrives and before the container is unloaded, or before delivery if you prefer. The pickup charge is billed at the end, at the amount in your quote.
• After the first month, rent is billed monthly in advance, one invoice per month. We never take card details through a form on this website.
• A quote is held for 7 days, subject to a rental container still being available near you.

Cancelling and ending a rental

• Cancelling before delivery is free until the container is dispatched. After dispatch, the delivery charge is kept and the rest is refunded.
• To end a rental, give us about 5 business days' notice and we book the pickup. You can end it any time after the first month.
• If the pickup happens later than the date you asked for, you are not charged rent for the extra days.

Rent to own

• If you decide to keep the container, you can buy it at any time during the rental. Your rental quote states the buyout price, and every month of rent you have paid counts toward it.

Using the container

• It sits on your property, so you have access any time. Use your own padlock; you keep the only key. Ask for a lock box and we confirm it with your quote.
• Do not store hazardous, flammable or illegal materials, food that attracts pests, or anything alive, and do not live or work inside it.
• Do not move the container yourself. If you need it moved on your site or to another address, we arrange it and quote the cost first.
• Your belongings are your responsibility: insure the contents yourself if they matter to you.

Your site

• The drop spot needs to be dry, firm, compacted and close to level (no more than about 1 inch of slope over 10 feet), with the same straight, clear approach for delivery and for pickup.
• Make sure you have the right to place a container there, including any permit, HOA approval or landowner permission it needs.
• The first hour on site is free; after that, waiting time can be billed at $75 per hour. If the truck cannot reach the spot because the site differs from what you told us, a redelivery costs one more delivery charge.

Condition, damage and return

• We photograph the container at delivery, and you can add your own photos. If something goes wrong with the container itself at any point during the rental (a leak, a stuck door), tell us and we arrange a repair or a swap at no charge.
• Normal wear is never charged. Damage beyond normal wear while it is on your site (for example dents from equipment, cut or welded steel, a broken door or lock rod) is charged at the repair cost, with photos. Cover it with your own property insurance, or ask for a damage waiver where the supplier offers one; it is priced on your quote.
• Return it empty and swept clean. If rubbish or dirt is left inside, cleaning is billed at cost.
• Surface damage at the spot you choose (lawns, driveways, paving, buried lines) is your responsibility unless the carrier was negligent.

Questions

Use our contact page. More about how we work: how we choose suppliers and carriers.