Used
Used 20 feet shipping container
6.06 × 2.44 × 2.59 m outside · 33.2 m³ inside · about 2,230 kg empty
The used (second hand) 20 ft container is the standard ISO 22G1 steel box after it has carried cargo at sea: 6,058 mm (19′ 10½″) long outside, 13.9 m² (149 sq ft) of floor inside, 33.2 m³ under a corrugated steel roof, and double doors that lock. Partner sellers quote it cargo-worthy or wind and water tight, in the colours they have in stock, delivered to your PIN code.
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Save time
One form instead of calling seller after seller. Partner sellers who cover your PIN code contact you with a price delivered to your site.
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Pay less
Asking prices differ widely: for a used 20 feet shipping container, half of the 116 sellers we read on 20 October 2026 ask between ₹1,04,000 and ₹1,40,000, ₹36,000 apart. Several quotes show you where the low end is.
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What a second hand 20 ft container is good for
It gives dry, lockable space wherever a truck can set it down: a store on a building site, on a farm or behind a shop, a tool room, an archive. A cargo-worthy box can also go back to sea with your goods. Choose the grade by the job:
- Storage on the ground (site store, farm, shop stock): wind and water tight is enough, as long as the roof and the floor are sound.
- Shipping goods or stacking boxes: cargo-worthy, with a CSC plate (the safety approval of the International Convention for Safe Containers) whose last examination is still valid.
- An office, a shop or a room: a cargo-worthy box with a sound floor. The inside height is 2,393 mm (7′ 10″) before any lining; for more headroom, the used 20 ft high cube is 305 mm taller inside, and container offices come fitted out. For a shop, see container shops; for a kiosk or a café, container cafés. Hesitating with a cabin? See container or porta cabin.
Cargo-worthy
Sound walls, roof and floor, doors that seal: it can still go to sea.
- Structurally sound: no holes, frame and corner posts straight.
- Doors, locking bars and seals working; floor sound.
- Normally a CSC plate with a valid examination date, so it can still be shipped or stacked.
- Paint faded in places, dents and scuffs, patches of surface rust.
Check before you pay: the CSC plate and its last examination date, the floor near the doors, and the light test inside with the doors closed.
Wind and water tight
Keeps wind and rain out, but would not pass a shipping survey.
- No holes: the box keeps wind and rain out.
- Visible dents, surface rust at the foot of the walls and around the door frame.
- The floor may be worn or patched, the frame may carry repairs, the CSC approval may have lapsed.
- Right for storage on the ground, not for shipping goods by sea.
Check before you pay: the roof from above for dents that hold rain, the floor from inside, and the light test with the doors closed.
A grade is the seller's word, not a certificate. Container grades explained · How to inspect a used container
What fits inside
The floor measures 5,900 × 2,352 mm. In one layer it takes about 11 Euro pallets (1,200 × 800 mm) or 9 standard pallets (1,200 × 1,000 mm), laid in two lanes along the box: a count from the inside size, not a loading plan.
Everything goes in through the doors, 2,340 mm (7′ 8″) wide and 2,280 mm (7′ 6″) high: measure a machine or a tall load against that opening, not against the outside of the box. If a forklift will drive in, ask how sound the floor is, especially near the doors.
Dimensions and capacity
| Measure | Size |
|---|---|
| ISO size-type code | 22G1 |
| External size (L × W × H) | 6,058 × 2,438 × 2,591 mm19′ 10½″ × 8′ × 8′ 6″ |
| Internal size (L × W × H) | 5,900 × 2,352 × 2,393 mm19′ 4½″ × 7′ 8½″ × 7′ 10″ |
| Door opening (W × H) | 2,340 × 2,280 mm7′ 8″ × 7′ 6″ |
| Floor area inside | 13.9 m²149 sq ft |
| Inside volume | 33.2 m³1,172 cu ft |
| Tare weight (empty), range 2,120–2,350 kg | 2,230 kg |
| Payload (typical) | 28,260 kg |
| Maximum gross weight | 30,480 or 32,500 kg, depending on the box |
Typical values (median of 9 data sheets published by CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, MSC, ONE and ZIM, 20 October 2026); feet and inches rounded to the nearest half inch. The markings on the doors give the tare and maximum gross weight of each box, the maximum gross also being on its CSC plate: a box rated higher carries more, its maximum gross weight minus its tare. Every size in feet, cm and mm: 20 feet container size.
Delivery and the spot on your site
Empty, a 20 ft box weighs about 2,230 kg (2,120 to 2,350 kg on the data sheets). That is what has to come off the truck, by the truck’s own crane, a side-lifter or a hired crane. Say in your request which one your site allows, so that the delivered price includes it.
Prepare a level spot of at least 6,058 × 2,438 mm (19′ 10½″ × 8′) with a firm support under each corner, and keep about 1.2 m (4 ft) clear in front of the doors: each leaf is half the width of the box. Site preparation and unloading covers the ground and the truck’s access. Short of space? A used 10 feet container is half the length, but not half the price.
For a box coming from another city, the delivered price estimate gives an order of magnitude on long trips; for a short trip, the seller quotes the trucking with the box.
GST and the invoice
GST on a container is 18% (HSN 8609) since 22 September 2025. A dealer may instead sell a used box under the margin scheme and pay GST on its margin only: the invoice then shows no GST on the full price, and a business cannot claim it back. Most listings do not say which applies, so ask in your request and in each reply:
- whether the price is GST-inclusive, GST-extra or under the margin scheme;
- whether the tax invoice will carry your name, your GSTIN if you want the input tax credit, and the container number;
- for the seller’s GSTIN, which you can check with the taxpayer search on the GST portal (gst.gov.in).
More in GST on shipping containers.
Questions about the used 20 ft container
How much is a used (second hand) 20 ft container in India?
Sellers on IndiaMART and TradeIndia ask a median of ₹1,20,000 (116 sellers, 20 October 2026), and half of them ask between ₹1,04,000 and ₹1,40,000. That is the box where it stands: delivery and unloading come on top, and most listings do not say whether GST is included (20 of the 24 used 20 ft listings with an exact price do not). The quotes you receive are delivered prices.
How do I know it is a real shipping container?
Ask for its container number, four letters and seven digits painted on the doors, and a photo of the CSC plate. A site-built cabin made to look like a container has neither.
Can I see the container before I pay?
You can ask the seller for a visit to the yard, or a video call that shows the container number and the plate. Look at the roof, the floor near the doors and the door seals; how to inspect a used container lists the rest.
Do I need permission to keep it on my land?
It depends on the state, the city and how long the box stays. Permission to place a container sums up what applies where.