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THE EQUIPMENT BLOG

Why You Shouldn’t Buy Shipping Containers Online

When you’re looking for reliable storage options, chances are you’re going to be bombarded with offers for ultra-cheap containers, all sold online. While the price tag might seem appealing, there are some real risks that you need to know about BEFORE you buy shipping containers online.

At TP Trailers & Truck Equipment, we’ve been in the container business long enough to know about the very real downsides that come with buying shipping containers online. After all, we’re the ones that construction site foremen and store managers call to replace them. Here’s the insider look at those cheap online container businesses.

Downsides of Online Containers

If you’re buying a portable storage unit, chances are you need to keep something secure and watertight for a long period of time. You also probably want convenient delivery options included and the ability to talk to someone knowledgeable about containers.

While the price might be hard to beat on the surface, the downsides of online containers can undermine your entire purchase. Here’s what we’ve seen and heard from people who have tried it:

  1. The Quality is Often Lacking — As simple as it sounds, you really do get what you pay for. To offer a bottom-of-the-barrel price, online container retailers offer bottom-of-the-barrel products. The cheap online shipping containers we see often have doors that get stuck easily, damaged gaskets, and holes in the siding. This can make your container totally unusable for any type of storage. Read our storage container inspection guide.
  2. You Don’t Know What You’re Buying — When you buy a container from TP Trailers & Truck Equipment, you can come to our lot and inspect the exact container you’re going to purchase if you want. When you buy a container online, you have no idea what will be delivered to you. Lots of shipping container wholesale websites show great pictures of new containers…which then rarely resemble what gets delivered. While not all of our customers stop by our lot to see their containers up close, the option is always there — and our quality is always guaranteed.
  3. There’s No One to Talk to or Help You — At TP Trailers & Truck Equipment, we specialize in containers. We know the jobs they do and what can go wrong. Oftentimes when you buy online, you’re not buying from a dedicated container business, but a re-seller who buys containers cheap and flips them at a markup. If you need help or have a problem, they often don’t have the storage expertise to be able to assist you — or the drive to really want to.
  4. Delivery is Hit or Miss — Buying a storage container is meant to solve your hassles, not add more. Another problem with online containers is that they are often delivered by third party companies, who may not have any experience handling them. We’ve seen and heard of inexperienced delivery teams damaging the container in transport or causing an issue on the site. That’s why when you trust TP Trailers, you get a container delivered by an experienced driver, who has plenty experience delivering and setting up shipping containers. Plus, TP Trailers & Truck Equipment offers convenient and often next-day delivery for almost all of our container sales — included in the purchase price. Learn more about the importance of storage container delivery.
  5. No Custom Options — We’d say what you see is what you get, but a lot of times that’s not true with online container sales. At the very least, though, don’t expect ANYTHING custom. At TP Trailers, we’re all about meeting our customers’ needs for custom containers. Whether our customers request a unique paint job, extra doors, windows, internal shelving, or more, we make it happen. We even build and outfit a wide variety of mobile offices for our customers as well.

high quality shipping containers

Your Best Container Buying Experience with TP Trailers

While buying cheap online containers can seem attractive at first, it’s a mistake most people only make once. There’s really no substitute for having a company of people you can talk to who will help solve ALL of your storage needs.

Whether you need to rent or buy a storage container, TP Trailers & Truck Equipment is the team to trust. Not only is our inventory guaranteed to be high quality, but we stand behind our products with delivery and expertise.

Contact us to today for your FREE quotes — and to discuss your delivery.

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