On the off chance someone trades on containers here what’s a good price for a moderate condition secondhand 20′? With delivery, lock box and repaint it’s 1700 which seems steep relative to the price of a new one or am I just cheap 😉

I rent a storage container to that spec, and asked the guy how much he pays. £1500 + lockbox + delivery

So I’d say your £1700 delivered (if it includes VAT) is alright

If it’s ex-VAT, you can do better on eBay

Block down the road from me had a second hand one for about 800 plus delivery, something like 6.5 per mile, minimum £350.

Depends, as you say a “new” one way tripper isn’t much more than a decent second hand one. Market price is dictated by demand, right now I’d imagine it would be up.

My old man got a 1 way for about 2 and a half grand plus delivery. Its a bit more but you’re getting one that hasn’t been abused and left to rust for years.

Our Club sold one last year, again, £800, and the buyer had to take it away.

Prices of shipping containers are pretty volatile – they rise and fall with the balance of trade (if theres a surplus of contianers entering the country versus ones leaving) and the health of international shipping generally. As they are not so cheap to move about price is also dictated by how many good shipping containers are available locally to you. They are cheap where theres lots of them in your town, expensive if theres only a handful in the county.

If I had a time machine I’d go back to 2011 – buy as many shipping containers as I could get my hands on – then sell them again in 2013 🙂

Price is dependent on condition but also whether something is actually a ‘shipping container’ – ie something made for the purpose of moving round the world of ships and trains  and built to that spec or just a similar looking storage container. The former – despite being fairly disposable are very well put together from corten steel, are epoxy coated and very good flooring as they spend months out in the elements at sea and the contents needs not to get ruined. Storage containers are something you keep your wheelbarrows in on a building site – are usually painted mild steel are  are much more rot and rust prone and the floors aren’t as good quality or as well sealed – as soon as the floor degrades in any way the container turns into a big smelly box of damp.

£1700 probably is a fair price for a good condition ISO shipping container. £800 is a fair price for a not so new storage container.

Thanks for the tips!