Shipping containers have been around for years and were the standard for shipping cargo across the world, let alone the country. But that is no longer the case in today’s world. With the evolution of tiny houses hitting the market mainstream, storage containers are starting to get used more and more for materials when it comes to building homes. In this guide, we’ll give you some tips on how to buy storage containers for your new tiny house project, and show you the cheapest way to find them, along with what to watch out for.
Buying Containers New or Used
There are plenty of benefits for buying a used container. The prices are literally a fraction of what the new ones are, but at the same time you can shop around and end up getting a refurbished container that has all the bonus features and excellent condition of one that is brand new. Of course, buying used does have its downsides.
When something is refurbished, it is normally not the same quality of standard that brand-new material has, and there may be spots that have been patched in order to take care of things like rust damage and more. That being said, some of the used containers actually make for better storage than they would for home materials. Buying a new one is more expensive (still cheaper than raw materials usually), and you don’t have to worry as much about possible imperfections.
You can find new and used shipping containers on sale for a limited time here.
Be Sure Your Product is Licensed and Inspected
When it comes to buying shipping containers, it’s important that you get them through a reputable dealer that has a ton of experience when it comes to finding and selling them. This can help you avoid numerous issues with things like paperwork, and even worse, the possible fraud that many scammers can try to get you with hidden fees, and much more. Some vendors have been known to not even deliver your product when you order it! That’s absurd!
Where are Most Shipping Containers Made?
Contrary to the incredible yet bad feedback that the country gets, most of our shipping containers are actually made in China. On the upside though, it’s possible to get them cheap in the United States, because even newer ones are purchased and sometimes companies just have too many. That’s why they’re becoming more and more available.
Conclusion: Going Green
Most tiny homes have been known to be pretty self-efficient. At Shipped you can generally find a good storage container that can help you join the green movement and get your tiny house project up and running in no time. If you don’t have the entire fee up front, you can even rent to own a new or used shipping container.
That’s something that some private vendors won’t even allow (of course you can’t actually do anything to the shipping container during the time that it’s still not fully yours, but hey – that’s when you can use it as storage!) Because of the green movement, you can now recycle these humongous storage containers to make a perfect sized home. Some of them have even been on the market for as much as a million dollars!
