Here's the honest answer up front: a used cargo-worthy 20-ft container starts at $3,200 from us, delivered and leveled free within 75 miles of Woodlawn, VA, with a welded lockbox included. A used 40-ft starts around $4,900 — more per box, but noticeably less per square foot. And a like-new one-trip container typically runs several hundred to a couple thousand dollars more than a used box of the same size.
The reason you see wildly different numbers online is that used containers are a moving market — and that plenty of listings quietly leave delivery out of the price. Below we'll walk through where prices start, the five things that actually move them, why a same-day quote beats any number printed on a website, when renting is the smarter play, and the warning signs of a deal that's too cheap to be real.
Where container prices start
Every container we sell is priced out the door. Free delivery and leveling within 75 miles of Woodlawn are baked in, and so is the welded lockbox that shields your padlock from bolt cutters. From there, three anchors frame the market:
- Used cargo-worthy 20-ft — from $3,200 delivered. Our lowest-priced box: honest surface wear on the outside, structurally sound and dry on the inside.
- Used cargo-worthy 40-ft — from $4,900 delivered. Double the space for nowhere near double the price, which makes it the best value per square foot on the lot.
- One-trip (like-new) — a premium over used. Typically several hundred to a couple thousand dollars more than a used box the same size. You're paying for factory paint and fresh seals, not extra lifespan — both grades last roughly 30 years outdoors.
You can compare every size and grade side by side on our container sales page — those anchors hold across all of it.
The five things that move the price
When two containers are hundreds of dollars apart, the difference almost always traces back to one of five things:
- Size. A 20-ft gives you about 160 square feet; a 40-ft gives you about 320. The bigger box costs more in total but less per square foot — so buyers with room to place one usually come out ahead sizing up.
- Grade. Cargo-worthy is the budget path; one-trip is the like-new premium. The gap is looks and seal condition, not strength — our container grades guide breaks down exactly what each label means.
- High-cube height. A 40-ft high-cube stands 9′6″ instead of 8′6″ — a full extra foot of headroom — and carries a premium over a standard 40-ft for it.
- Delivery distance. Within 75 road miles of Woodlawn, delivery and leveling are free. Beyond that — Roanoke, Bristol, and the like — we quote the mileage up front, so a farther drop means a higher (but never surprising) total.
- Modifications. A bare box is the cheapest box. Add roll-up doors, vents, electrical, or paint and the price climbs with the work — see what's possible on our custom modifications page.
Pin those five down before you shop and you can compare any two offers apples to apples.
Why a quote beats a listed price
Used containers are a commodity, and the wholesale market genuinely moves. What a cargo-worthy box costs at the depot shifts with shipping traffic, how many containers come off lease in a given month, and how far they have to travel to reach southwest Virginia. A price printed on a website is a snapshot — by the time you're reading it, it's either gone stale or was padded high enough that it never has to change.
That's why we quote instead of publishing a giant price sheet. When you tell us the size, the grade, and your delivery ZIP, the number you get back reflects what boxes actually cost this week and exactly what's sitting in the yard — not a figure somebody typed last spring. It's the same reason our quotes come back the same day: a real number is only useful while it's still real.
The $165/month alternative
If your need is short or uncertain, you may not want to buy at all. Our container rentals start at $165/month, month-to-month with no contract — the box shows up, does its job for the length of the project, and goes back when you're done. No resale, no leftover steel in the yard.
The gut check is the crossover: once you pass roughly 18–20 months, the rent you've paid adds up to about what a used container costs to own outright, and buying wins from there. If you're anywhere near that line — or genuinely can't say how long you'll need it — read our buy vs rent guide before you spend a dollar either way.
Red flags on a too-cheap container
Every so often a customer shows us a listing hundreds below anything we can buy the box for wholesale. Those deals almost never end with a container in the driveway. The pattern is depressingly consistent:
- A deposit before you've seen anything. Sight-unseen wire transfers and gift-card payments are how container scams work. A real dealer never needs money before you've laid eyes on a real box.
- No yard you can visit. Stock photos, a phone number that only texts, and no physical address mean there may be no container at all.
- Delivery quietly missing. A low sticker that turns into a big freight bill later isn't a low price — it's a worse one, hidden.
- A deal that expires today. Pressure is a substitute for a container you could actually inspect.
How to get a real number today
Getting an exact price takes about two minutes of information: the size (20 or 40), the grade (used cargo-worthy or one-trip), and the delivery ZIP. Add a photo or two of the drop spot if access might be tight, and we can confirm the truck fits at the same time.
Call (276) 237-6144 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, or send the quote form on this page. Either way you'll have a real out-the-door number — delivery, leveling, and lockbox included — the same day you ask. No haggling theater, no surprise fees, just the price.