Every container. Every time. Inspected with precision. No unit is listed, priced or released for delivery until it has been through a structured multi-point inspection and photographed exactly as it stands in our yard. This page explains what we look at, what we will and will not pass, how the result maps to the grade on your listing, and how to see the condition of your own unit before it ships.
Five failure points, and all of them are visible
A shipping container is a simple object with a small number of failure points. Almost every complaint in this industry traces back to one of five things: a leaking roof, a rotten patch of floor, a door that will not close, a perished gasket, or a frame that has been racked out of square.
All five are visible to anybody who knows where to look. That is the whole argument for inspecting properly: we look, so that you never have to find out the hard way.
Five stages, carried out in the same order every time
A consistent process is what makes a grade mean something. Nothing is signed off on a walk-past, and nothing is listed until all five stages are complete and recorded.
Exterior check
The full outside of the unit is assessed for structural integrity, rust, dents, previous repairs and general condition.
Door function
Doors are worked in place, and hinges, cam bars, lock rods, keepers and seals are checked for correct operation.
Interior inspection
The inside is walked and lit: walls, roof and floor are examined for damage, moisture, odour and pinholes.
Quality verification
A second team member verifies the unit against our published grade standards before it is approved for sale.
Photo documentation
High-resolution photographs are taken of the actual container, including anything worth flagging.
The 20+ point inspection, area by area
Seven areas, more than twenty individual checks, every one of them recorded. That record is what lets us trace a published grade back to what was actually found on the unit.
Weather integrity
Doors closed, lights off, and we look for daylight through the roof, the walls and the door seals.
- Any pinhole is a fail, wherever it is
- Roof checked for standing water and dents that hold it
- Coating breaks and rust-through recorded and rectified
- Side walls and front wall checked for holes and patches
Floor condition
The plywood is walked and probed, with particular attention to the door threshold where rain blows in and rot starts.
- Soft patches and delamination
- Previous cargo staining and contamination
- Gaps around the cross-members
- Gouges, holes and lifted board edges
Doors and locking gear
All four cam bars are operated by hand. They must move without force, every time.
- Hinges, hinge pins and lock rods
- Keeper brackets and secure engagement
- Lock box present, sound and correctly welded
- Door alignment, closure and freedom from distortion
Gaskets and seals
Rubber must be supple, continuous and seated in its channel all the way round both doors.
- Flattened, split or perished sections are replaced, not passed on
- Air tightness across the full door aperture
- Water tightness under the full seal line
Structure and geometry
Corner castings are checked for damage and deformation, since every lifting force passes through them.
- Corner posts and castings free of deformation
- Measured across both diagonals to confirm the unit is square
- Racking from poor stacking or storage identified and rejected
- Dents assessed as cosmetic or structural, never assumed
Corrosion and repairs
Surface rust is expected on a used unit and is recorded as cosmetic. Anything beyond that is not.
- Pitting, flaking and perforation are not acceptable
- Existing patch repairs must be continuously welded
- Riveted or mastic-sealed repairs are rejected outright
- Repair history noted on the inspection record
Interior, vents and cleanliness
A container should be ready to load the day it lands, not after a weekend of scrubbing.
- Interior walls checked for holes, dents and rust
- Vents clear, sound and functioning
- Swept out, clear of debris and odour free
- Container number matched to your order before dispatch
Four grades, described in plain English
Grading is used loosely by some sellers in this industry. Ours means something specific, and we will always point you at the grade that genuinely suits the job rather than the one with the better margin.
One-Trip
New conditionUsed for a single loaded voyage from the factory, then retired from shipping service. As close to new as a container gets, with factory paint and an unmarked floor.
- Excellent structural condition
- Minor transit scuffs only
- Best appearance for visible sites
Cargo Worthy
CW certified standardFully functional, structurally sound and fit to ship cargo, with a valid CSC plate for onward shipping. The practical choice where the unit still has to work for a living.
- Wind and watertight
- Dents, surface rust and welded patch repairs accepted
- Suitable for shipping and storage
Wind & Watertight
WWTA cost-effective option for static storage and non-shipping use. Sound where it counts, with its cosmetic history on show.
- Watertight under normal conditions
- Repainted panels and patch repairs accepted
- Ideal for on-site storage
As-Is
Sold in current conditionSold exactly as it stands. Nothing is implied and every known fault is declared in writing, because the faults are the basis of the price.
- Visible wear, dents or rust
- Condition disclosed in full before you buy
- Best for budget storage and conversion projects
What each grade must pass, and what wear it accepts
The cards above say what a grade is. The table below says what it has to survive to earn the label.
| Grade | Must pass | Cosmetic wear accepted |
|---|---|---|
| New / one-trip | Every check, with factory paint and an unmarked floor | Minor transit scuffs only |
| Cargo worthy | Every check, plus a valid CSC plate for onward shipping | Dents, surface rust, welded patch repairs |
| Wind and watertight | Weather integrity, floor, doors, gaskets and geometry | Dents, surface rust, repainted panels, patch repairs |
| As-is | Nothing implied; all known faults declared in writing | Faults are the basis of the price |
Real condition. Real transparency.
We do not use stock photography. The images on every listing are of the specific container you will receive, taken during inspection. If a unit has a dent in the side panel or a repaired patch on the roof, it is in the photographs and it is in the description.
Ask, and we will send photographs of the exact container allocated to your order: both door ends, both sides, the roof where accessible, the interior with the doors open, and close-ups of anything worth flagging. We would far rather you saw a dent in a photograph than discovered it on delivery day. You can also see how containers arrive and are placed on real sites on our delivery photos page.
Our commitment to quality
We take real pride in delivering containers that meet the expectations we set. If a unit does not meet our standard it does not leave the yard: it is repaired, regraded or withdrawn from sale.
That discipline costs us stock occasionally. It saves our customers a great deal more.
Inspect it yourself
You are always welcome to view a container before you buy, or to ask for extra photographs and video of a specific area such as the floor, the door seals or the roof line.
Ask and we will send them the same day wherever possible. A customer who has seen what they are buying is a customer who stays happy after delivery.
Checked again before dispatch
Every unit is checked once more before loading, so that what was recorded at grading is still true on the day it leaves us. Doors are secured, the interior is swept and the container number is matched to your order.
Delivery day should be uneventful. Everything above exists to keep it that way.
Want the inspection notes on a specific unit?
Tell us which container you are interested in and we will tell you exactly what we found, including anything cosmetic that is not obvious from the listing photographs. Delivery is available coast to coast.