Container on your property vs a storage unit across town
Over the long run, yes: a storage unit is rent that never ends, while a used container is bought once, sits steps from your door, and can be sold on when you are done. A storage unit wins for short needs, for anything that must stay climate-controlled, and for people with no room to set a container.
Where owning a container wins
Time. A storage unit bill arrives every month for as long as you have stuff. A used 20ft is a one-time purchase that, against typical unit rents around Hattiesburg, pays for itself in a year or two and is still worth money after that — a sound used box resells. If the stuff is going to be stored for years, owning wins.
Distance. The container is in your yard. No drive across town, no gate hours, no hauling a trailer. For tools, equipment, feed, a boat's worth of gear, that convenience is the point.
Volume. A 20ft is 160 square feet — the size of a large storage unit — and a 40ft is 320. Big, heavy, awkward things that are a pain to move twice go in once and stay.
Where a storage unit wins
Anything that cannot take heat and humidity. A steel container in a south Mississippi summer is not climate-controlled; it is a hot box that sweats at night. Photos, instruments, electronics, leather, important paper and anything with a temperature on its label belong in a conditioned unit. Vents and desiccant help a container a lot, but they do not make it air-conditioned. See stopping condensation.
Short needs. If you need storage for three months between houses, do not buy a container and do not fight over one — rent a unit, or rent a container from a local yard. Buying makes sense when you will still want the box next year.
No room. A container needs a firm spot and a straight run for the truck. If your lot cannot take it, or your city or HOA will not allow a permanent one, the question is settled. Check permit rules before you shop.
If it is a container
Buy the grade for the job — used wind-and-watertight for plain storage — and spend the difference on a lock box and vents from the accessories page. The box is the cheap part; dry and secure is what you are actually paying for. See containers for sale — delivered price by ZIP
Buying a container?
Longleaf sells used and one-trip 20ft and 40ft shipping containers, delivered by tilt-bed across the Pine Belt. Enter your ZIP for the delivered price — it comes straight from the supplier feed and already includes the haul. Locks, vents, shelving and lights are on the accessories page. We sell; we do not rent.
- 20ft Standard Cargo Worthy (used) — from $2,885 delivered
- 20ft Standard One Trip (new) — from $3,635 delivered
- 20ft Standard Wind & Watertight (used) — from $2,470 delivered
- 40ft High Cube Cargo Worthy (used) — from $3,525 delivered
- 40ft High Cube One Trip (new) — from $4,925 delivered
- 40ft High Cube Wind & Watertight (used) — from $3,210 delivered
- 40ft Standard Cargo Worthy (used) — from $3,525 delivered
- 40ft Standard One Trip (new) — from $6,355 delivered
- 40ft Standard Wind & Watertight (used) — from $3,160 delivered
Keep reading
- How much room do you need for a container delivery? — Container delivery access: 110 ft of straight run for a 20ft, 130 ft for a 40ft, 15 ft overhead, 22 ft to unload, firm ground, and what stops a tilt-bed.
- 20ft vs 40ft: which container should you buy? — 20ft vs 40ft shipping container: how much each holds, why the 40 is the better value per square foot, and why the 130 feet a 40ft needs usually decides it.
- Do you need a permit for a shipping container on your property? — Shipping container permit rules in the Pine Belt: how cities treat a permanent container like a shed, when the street needs a permit, and who to call first.
- Renting vs buying a storage container in Hattiesburg — Storage container rental vs buying in Hattiesburg, MS: when a month-to-month rental is right, when owning a used container wins, and what a Hub City lot needs.
- Renting vs buying a storage container in Laurel, MS — Storage container rental vs buying in Laurel, MS: when a monthly rental is the right call in Jones County, when owning wins, and what a Laurel lot needs.
Across the Pine Belt
Hattiesburg · Petal · Laurel · Ellisville · Purvis · Sumrall · Columbia · Collins · Seminary · Wiggins