Buy Shipping Containers for Beekeepers in the Beehive State: Utah

Utah’s nickname is the “Beehive State” either as a symbol of “industry, harmony, order and frugality of the people” or as the result of an abnormally high apiary concentration between Ogden and Provo and a marketing campaign by overzealous beekeepers in Park City.

In researching this weblog post, I stumbled upon a message board thread on BeeSource.com (serving the beekeeping community since 1997) that really showed the full arc of discovery of how shipping containers can be re-purposed for other uses.  It’s worth a read if you have time.

One beekeeper did some research that paid off when a colleague recommended he buy used shipping containers for storage:

“Thank heavens I called around to some local beekeepers first who gave me some good advice.”   

However some of the advice he was given doesn’t ring true now that you can buy storage containers online at WesternContainerSales.com (with a No Leak Guarantee).

Let’s review the key points he makes regarding advice on buying a shipping container:

1.      

1. Buying Online or over the Phone: the advice he was given was to inspect a unit and then make sure the number of the unit he inspected is the one he gets.  This is a common skepticism, and is based on people not getting what they expected.  Railbox Consulting can help you buy cargo containers sourced from shipping lines and intermodal equipment providers.  To make sure we set customer expectations correctly, we show sample photos of each grade.
2. “Shipping Containers Basically Sell for the Same Price”: this is somewhat true.  Prices do fluctuate a bit with inventory levels. Most large retailer rental companies will be within a few hundred dollars of each other.  For instance this beekeeper found that most 40’ high cube containers were priced at $3450 in Portland, OR, but found one for $2,950.  Railbox Consulting currently offers 40’ high cubes in Portland, OR for wholesale prices between 26%-37% lower than what the beekeeper found when he shopped around to local retailers.
3. The Container is Used, and May Not Look Great: the container the beekeeper ended up buying was a used green container and, by the sounds of it, a bit of an eyesore.  Used shipping containers are… well, they’re used.  Most units are going to have dings/dents and the older the unit is, the more beat up it’s going to be.  If appearance is really important, make sure you’re ready to paint your container after it arrives, or buy one trip containers.

Now, we’ve established that beekeepers are busy, but not necessarily so much so that they were the root cause of the state nickname of Utah...  We may never know for sure.

However you can use the discount code “BEEKEEPER” for $100 your next shipping container purchase at WesternContainerSales.com.