As you grow and expand your business, you may need extra storage space to house your bulging inventory. Used steel shipping containers for sale provide a great and affordable solution for your need for extra storage space. You can find used steel containers for sale in good shape from the top container suppliers in your area. Before moving forward with this excellent investment, here’s what you should know about the benefits of buying, maintaining, and using steel shipping containers for sale.
1. More Storage Space
Typically, used steel shipping containers for sale are mostly 20-foot shipping containers or 40-foot shipping containers. Depending on the volume of goods that you wish to store, you will choose the shipping container size that best suits your needs. Given the design of shipping containers, most of your business merchandise will fit comfortably inside without compacting. As such, you can store multiple items in one storage container without any of them sustaining damages. Additionally, storage containers do not occupy much ground space. You can easily create space within your business premise without extensive rearrangements to find space for a steel shipping container to sit on. Even better, you can stack up two or three storage containers on the same space as your storage needs increase.
2. Portable Storage Space
If you are planning on relocating your business, buying used steel shipping containers for sale in advance is a good idea for the following reasons. First, it is easier and safer to pack and move your business inventory and equipment in a shipping container. All you need is a truck fitted with a forklift to load and unload the container. Secondly, the storage container will hold your merchandise safely, for as long as you need, as you finalize preparations for your new premises. Lastly, if you have no more need for storage space, you can modify the container to an office, bathroom, or locker room for your employees.
3. Long-lasting
When you buy used steel shipping containers for sale, you are sure to enjoy long and quality service. steel shipping containers have a long life-span. After being used in shipping service for about a decade, steel shipping containers remain useable for another 10 to 15 years. Shipping companies own about 50% of all shipping containers. When you find a used steel container in nearly pristine condition, you can use it for your storage needs for more than two decades. That is a good bargain that you would want to cash in on. Additionally, the sturdy nature of steel containers guarantees security for your stored goods. It is almost impossible for a burglar to break in easily.
4. Cost-effective
Given the many benefits you get from a storage container — space utility, enhanced security, durability, and portability — buying used steel shipping containers for sale will give you more bang for your buck. The initial purchasing cost for a used steel container is more affordable compared to buying new storage containers for sale. When a steel storage container reaches the end of its service life, it can be recycled, and the steel used for other purposes. Therefore, once you buy a steel storage container, you can utilize it maximally and probably get a few bucks when you finally decide to unload it to a recycling company.
5. Great for Both Outdoor and Indoor Storage
Used steel shipping containers can survive adverse weather conditions. This increases the versatility of a steel container, as you can use it for outdoor storage without risking damage to your goods. This is a massive advantage, as you can utilize the outdoor space of your business premises to place your storage container. Therefore, you will have more space to place your storage containers — indoors or outdoors — without additional risks and expenses.
Buying used steel shipping containers for sale will solve the storage needs for your business. Not only will you be assured of the safety of the stored goods, but also you will have enough storage space for your merchandise. You should buy a quality steel storage container from the top container suppliers.
Before You Buy
If you’re thinking about buying a steel cargo container to repurpose for a pop up shop or another business project, it’s important to make sure you’re getting a used shipping container that’s going to stand the test of time. Here are a few important things that you’ll need to check for before you buy a steel cargo container.
The Overall Cargo Container Shape
Shape matters more than you might think when it comes to looking at used shipping containers for sale. With over 17 million shipping containers in use every year around the world, it makes sense that they would get a few dents and dings. Some damage is more substantial and more subtle, though. If one side of the container is slanted and creating an imperfect rectangle, then you need to reassess your decision to purchase that particular container. Structural stability is an absolute must when you need to purchase a steel cargo container. Look for straight sides and a perfectly rectangular shape before you make your purchase.
How the Doors Function
The cargo doors on your container will be your primary means of access. Whether you’re storing items inside or you’re walking in and out as part of your cargo container business, doors that function properly are critical. So when you’re looking at your cargo container, make sure you test the doors. Do they open without issue? If you notice that the doors are sticking or loud when they open, it could be a sign of hinge degeneration or rusting. There may also be structural damage affecting them.
Ask About Insulation
Whether you live in a climate that sees all four seasons or you live somewhere that’s warm year-round, insulation is going to be a key factor to consider as you look at steel cargo containers for sale. If you’re planning on using your container as an office space, temperature regulation is going to help keep you comfortable. For perishable goods like milk or other foods, insulation will ensure that nothing spoils after a minute out on the counter. It can also ensure that anything you’re storing in your container remains damage-free.
How to Maintain Your Container Unit
Shipping containers are steel-tough and designed and built to last forever even in the harshest conditions. But anything that works that hard and is so constantly exposed to the elements will necessarily degrade. There are some steps you can take to keep even your used shipping containers in the condition in which you received it.
Load, Unload, and Store Your Shipping Container on Level Surface
Unlevel storage or use of used shipping containers can cause pooling of water around the containers which promotes rust. It can also distribute weight and pressure to joints that are intended to share that weight long term with the container’s other joints. Of course, loads may not always be distributed evenly, but using your shipping containers on level surfaces helps the steel maintain weight in the way that it was intended.
Keep Moving Parts Clean and Lubricated
It may be hard to regard monolithic shipping containers as having anything like an Achilles Heel, but if they do, it’s their moving parts. Doors, handles, and post-manufacture modifications can function as weak points. With proper maintenance, however, there is little cause for concern. Keep handles, hinges, doors, and other modifications clean and well lubricated. In addition, monitor these parts for functionality and faults. It’s unlikely that any part of your used shipping containers will fail, but if there is a place for trouble to start, it’s in the doors and handles.
Maintain and Monitor Modifications
This restates and emphasizes what is directed above: be vigilant with maintaining, monitoring, cleaning, and, as necessary, lubricating post-manufacture modifications. It’s also important to use the highest quality materials available, materials that resist harmful corrosion. There are countless unique uses for storage containers, and nothing is off limits or places your containers at risk so long as the container and modifications are well maintained.
Don’t Disregard Corrosion or Minor Damage
Many used shipping containers are manufactured with corrosion-resistant steel. But even these can be subject to damage from rust and corrosion. As ships are the most frequent transit method for cargo stored in shipping containers, with 95% of the world’s cargo shipped by sea, it is likely that a used shipping container has been exposed to a great deal of salt, salt air, and water, making corrosion more likely. Small areas of corrosion caught early enough easily treated and cleaned away. Catching and repairing dings, dents, and scratches, even before they show signs of rust, is key to keeping your shipping container in the best condition possible for years and years to come.
Shipping containers are every bit as tough as they look. And we are learning more every day about how versatile they are. Used shipping containers are an environmentally friendly way of saving valuable resources. With some simple maintenance and proper vigilance, they can remain in great shape interminably no matter how they are used or repurposed.
Don’t forget to look for these things as you consider purchasing steel shipping containers. For all of your shipping container needs, contact our team today.
