Articles / Business
Running an online shop out of a container
Plenty of our business customers pick, pack and ship from a 20ft container. It works well, but there are a few things worth knowing before you move your stock in.
28 July 2026 · Just Self Storage
A container is a fraction of the cost of a unit on an industrial estate and you can give it back when your season ends. For an eBay, Amazon, Etsy or TikTok Shop seller holding a few thousand units, that flexibility is usually worth more than the extra floor space of a proper warehouse.
What a container actually holds
A 20ft takes about sixteen standard pallets with room to walk between them. A 10ft takes eight and is tighter to work in. If you are picking orders daily rather than just storing, take the 20ft — you need the aisle.
Deliveries are the bit people get wrong
Couriers will not wait. Book your delivery in with the yard beforehand, tell us the carrier and the day, and we will sign for it and put it in your container with the forklift.
What does not work is a pallet turning up unannounced while you are out. The driver will take it away again and you will pay a failed delivery charge.
Picking and packing on site
You can work in your container during office hours. Bring a folding table and a battery lamp. There is no power in the containers, so anything that needs a plug has to run off a battery pack.
What you cannot do
You cannot trade from the yard, meet customers there, or use the address as your registered business address. It is storage with access, not a shop or an office.
Scaling up and down
Take a second container for the run-up to Christmas and hand it back in January. Seven days notice, no penalty. That is the whole reason this works for seasonal sellers.
Need a container?
Three yards across London and Surrey, 24 hour access, one monthly price.
