maContainer Land sells second-hand shipping containers in 3-meter, 6-meter and 12-meter sizes, with grades ranging from once-used near-new units to weathered cargo-worthy stock. Used containers can cost roughly half what new ones cost in South Africa, depending on grade. They last 15 to 25 years with basic maintenance, so they suit storage yards, building sites, container homes and conversion projects.
You buy second-hand because the steel in a 12-year-old shipping container is the same Corten that just left the factory. The unit has done its sea time and taken the dents that come with that working life. It now sits at a price that makes storage yard owners and contractors reach for it.
Why Choose Second-Hand Shipping Containers For Sale?
Second-hand shipping containers for sale give you the same wind-and-watertight steel structure as a new unit at roughly 40 to 50 percent of the cost, depending on grade. That price gap is the reason most yard owners, contractors and conversion clients buy used.
Containers are over-engineered for a single job: surviving 12 to 15 years of ocean transit. After that working life ends, they still have decades of storage life left in them. The dings on the door panel are cosmetic. The structural steel underneath is what holds your stock dry and your tools secure.
Roughly 17 million shipping containers move through global trade at any one time, and many of those reaching end-of-life get bought, repurposed or shipped to South African yards to be sold rather than scrapped. That oversupply is what keeps used container prices accessible at this end of the chain.
Second Hand Containers For Sale: Sizes and Grades
Container Land carries size-and-grade combinations across our Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban depots. Each grade reflects how much working life the container has done and how it presents cosmetically. The grade you pick should match what you are using the container for. Contact our sales office to advise you on your best option.
What “Grade” Actually Means
Container grading describes the cosmetic and structural condition of a used shipping container. The three grades South African traders use, in descending order of condition, are:
- Once-used (A-grade): single sea voyage, minor cosmetic wear and near-new appearance
- B-grade: visible dents and surface rust from a full working life at sea
- C-grade: wind-and-watertight only, with significant cosmetic damage but sound structural steel
For a storage container behind your warehouse, B-grade is fine and saves money. For a container that will sit at a customer-facing site or get converted into a coffee shop, once-used or A-grade is worth the price step up. The full breakdown is on our grading system page.
Customisation Options
You can buy a second-hand container as-is, or have us convert it before delivery. Container Land runs a full conversion shop at our Cape Town yard, so the unit you receive is the unit you intended to use. We do straightforward modifications like extra doors, windows and ventilation. We also do full builds: ablution units, kitchens, classrooms, offices and clinics.
For a storage container you can use the day it lands, the conversion is just a personnel door cut into the side and a couple of vents. For something more involved, the spec conversation is where we work out cladding, insulation, electrical and plumbing requirements before any cutting starts.
Second-Hand Containers In Action
Three of the most common conversions we run on used containers are ablutions, reefer cold storage and offices.
Ablution containers
Ablution conversions install toilets, showers and washbasins inside a 6m or 12m container shell. Each unit ships with full plumbing, ventilation cut-outs and non-slip flooring. South African construction sites, mining camps and music festivals use these as drop-in sanitation when no permanent facility exists. The conversion is built on a B-grade or once-used base depending on whether the unit will sit at a public site or behind a perimeter fence.
Reefer containers
Reefer conversions add temperature control, polyurethane-foam insulation and a cooling unit to a used shell. The result is mobile cold storage that holds set points anywhere from -25°C to +4°C. Florists, butcheries and pharma distributors rent or buy reefers when permanent cold rooms are too expensive or too slow to commission. More on these on our reefer containers page.
Container offices
Office conversions install windows, lighting, internal cladding and air conditioning inside a used shell. The result is a turnkey site office that arrives ready to plug in. The grade you pick depends on whether the office sits on a building site or in a customer-facing location like a yard entrance.
Benefits of Buying from Container Land
Honest grading
We tell you what grade a container is and what that means before you pay. No marketing-speak, no surprise dents on delivery. The grade you order is the grade that arrives.
Stock across our depots
Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban depots carry rotating stock.
Delivery anywhere in South Africa
We deliver to Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein, Gqeberha and points in between.
Conversion support
Buying a container is the start of the conversation, not the end. The team will walk you through what conversion options work for your use case and what the price difference looks like before you commit.
Explore Our Range Today
Container Land has 30 years of stock and conversion experience behind every unit we sell. Browse our shipping containers for sale page for current stock, or contact the team for a quote tailored to your size, grade and delivery location.
Contact Container Land for a second-hand container quote.
