Is BigSteelBox Legit? Honest Comparison from a 30-Year Ontario Container Family Business

By Paul LeBlanc, owner, and Christian LeBlanc, second-generation operator, Van Blanc Ent. Inc.

Reading time: 14 minutes

Is BigSteelBox a legit company?

BigSteelBox is a legitimate Canadian moving and storage company founded in Penticton, British Columbia in 1999. Acquired by Mission Group Enterprises in 2012, it is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and runs 34 locations across Canada, including 8 in Ontario. The company itself is real and well reviewed.

BigSteelBox is a legitimate Canadian moving and storage company. Founded in Penticton, British Columbia in 1999, the company was acquired by Mission Group Enterprises in 2012 and has grown to 34 locations across Canada including 8 in Ontario. They are accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and their customer reviews skew strongly positive on Google, BBB, and Birdeye. If you are searching “is BigSteelBox legit” because something about your interaction with them or a listing seemed off, the answer is almost certainly that the company itself is real and operates a real fleet of containers across Canada.

The complication is that the BigSteelBox name has also been lifted by Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji fraudsters, who copy the company’s logo and address so a fake container listing looks more credible. The Better Business Bureau’s Sea Can Scam alert explicitly names BigSteelBox as one of the legitimate Canadian companies whose identity has been impersonated, the same pattern we break down in our walkthrough of how the marketplace container con actually works. So “is BigSteelBox legit” sometimes really means “is the listing claiming to be BigSteelBox legit?” Those are two very different questions.

This guide walks through the honest comparison between BigSteelBox and Van Blanc, the differences in business model, and the questions that actually matter when you are deciding which company to call. We have no interest in disparaging BigSteelBox. This piece is part of a running review series on Ontario container suppliers, each written with the same disclosed bias. They run a real business that fits some Canadian buyers very well. Van Blanc runs a different business that fits other Canadian buyers very well, and if part of your worry is whether buying a container online is safe at all, our owner answers that directly in whether buying a container online is a scam.

What is BigSteelBox, in plain terms?

BigSteelBox started as a single-yard operation in Penticton in 1999, focused on storage rentals and local moves. The company was acquired by Mission Group Enterprises in May 2012, which provided the capital and corporate structure for the national franchise expansion that followed. BigSteelBox is now headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, with locations across most provinces.

The core BigSteelBox business model is container rental and moving, not container sales. A customer typically rents a 20ft BigSteelBox, packs it on their own driveway, and either the company stores it on site or moves it to a new home or storage facility. The model is structurally similar to PODS in the United States: a corporate rental-and-moving service rather than a wholesale-or-retail container sale.

BigSteelBox also sells containers in some markets, mostly standard used 20ft and 40ft units. The selection of grades is more limited than at an independent yard, and the cost reflects the overhead of running a national franchise: more locations, more dispatchers, more marketing, more uniforms, more trucks branded in the company colours. If you want to understand what actually separates a one-trip box from a used one before you compare any two suppliers, our plain-language breakdown of the four shipping container grades and what each is good for is the place to start.

Who is Van Blanc, and how is it different?

Van Blanc is a family-run shipping container yard that started in 1995 in Brantford, Ontario. Paul LeBlanc founded the company after roughly four decades in Asian trade work, recognising that the containers were more durable than the goods inside them. The business has been continuously family-operated since. Paul’s son Christian, raised in the trade and travelling with his father to Asia from the age of fifteen, works the yard day-to-day. Van Blanc holds 4.9 stars across 140+ Google reviews accumulated over years of selling and delivering containers across Ontario.

The Van Blanc business model is container sales and delivery, not rentals or a moving service. We sell new (one-trip), Cargo Worthy, Wind and Watertight, and As-Is containers in 20ft, 40ft, 40ft High Cube, and 45ft High Cube sizes, plus refrigerated 20ft and 40ft HC units, and you can see the current lineup of boxes we have ready to sell at the Brantford yard. We deliver across Ontario in 1-3 days from our four Brantford yards. We operate on cash on delivery: the driver does not unload until the buyer has inspected the container and paid.

The structural difference is straightforward. BigSteelBox is a national franchise rental service that occasionally sells containers. Van Blanc is a regional Ontario yard that exclusively sells (and modifies) containers. Buyers who want to rent a container for a short-term move usually fit BigSteelBox’s model. Buyers who want to own a container for storage, modification, or business use usually fit Van Blanc’s model.

Side-by-side comparison table

When is BigSteelBox the right choice?

BigSteelBox is the right choice in several specific buyer scenarios that an independent regional yard like Van Blanc is not built for.

1) You are moving cross-country and want a single company to handle the move and storage

BigSteelBox’s national footprint means they can deliver an empty container to your current home in BC, pick it up packed, store it during transit, and deliver it to your new home in Nova Scotia, all on a single contract. An independent yard like Van Blanc cannot match the cross-country logistics because we operate from Brantford. If your move involves crossing multiple provinces, BigSteelBox’s national network is the structural advantage.

2) You want a rental rather than a purchase

BigSteelBox’s core product is monthly container rental. If you need a container for three to twelve months for a renovation, a temporary storage need, or a short-term business deployment, the rental model often makes more financial sense than buying. Van Blanc does offer container rental but our pricing favours customers who eventually buy; for pure short-term rental, BigSteelBox’s model is structurally tuned for that use case.

3) You want corporate brand recognition

Some commercial buyers, particularly larger construction firms, public sector clients, and franchise businesses, prefer to work with national brands. The procurement process at certain organisations is easier when the supplier name is recognisable across multiple provincial offices. For those buyers, BigSteelBox’s national brand carries weight that a regional independent yard cannot match.

When is Van Blanc the better choice?

Van Blanc is the better choice in other specific buyer scenarios that a national rental franchise is not structured for.

1) You want to own the container, not rent it

If your container is going to be a permanent fixture on your farm, in your industrial yard, behind your retail location, or modified into an office or workshop, ownership is the right structure. Buying from an independent yard like Van Blanc means you walk the specific container in person before paying, you pick the grade that fits your use, and you pay once rather than monthly. The total cost of ownership for a long-term need is lower than the cumulative cost of a national rental.

2) You want to walk the container before you pay

A national franchise dispatches a container from regional warehouse inventory; the specific unit you receive is selected by their dispatcher. At Van Blanc, the buyer drives to our Brantford yard, walks the row of available containers, and picks the specific unit they want by serial number. For buyers who care about cosmetic condition, specific door alignment, or particular CSC plate dates, that walk-the-yard model is the difference between buying a container and being assigned one.

3) You want cash-on-delivery payment terms

Van Blanc’s COD policy means the driver does not unload until the buyer has inspected the container at the delivery address and paid. No deposit before delivery, no wire transfer, no chargeback exposure. The Better Business Bureau and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre both name cash on delivery as the gold standard for buyer-side fraud protection, and the same logic runs through our checklist for telling a real container seller from a fake one. National franchises typically require credit card prepayment, which is more buyer-protected than wire transfer but less buyer-protected than COD.

4) You want custom modifications or refrigerated units

Van Blanc handles custom modifications (doors, windows, insulation, electrical, ventilation, paint) and stocks refrigerated containers. National franchises tend to focus on standard 20ft and 40ft units optimised for the rental fleet. If your project requires modifications or a reefer, an independent yard is structurally better suited.

5) You want to support a family business

This is a real consideration for many Ontario buyers. BigSteelBox is corporately owned (Mission Group Enterprises). Van Blanc is a family-run business now in its second generation with Paul and Christian working the yard. Some buyers care about that distinction; others do not. If you do, Van Blanc fits.

What both companies genuinely do well

The temptation in comparison articles is to make the competitor look weaker than they are. We are going to resist that temptation because it is dishonest and because BigSteelBox actually does several things well.

Neither company is “better” in the abstract. They fit different buyers. The question is which buyer you are.

Where do the two business models actually differ?

The deepest difference between BigSteelBox and Van Blanc sits below the feature list and the price tag, down at the level of how each business is built. We map it out feature by feature in our side-by-side look at the local Ontario alternative, but the short version is a difference in business model.

BigSteelBox is a rental-first national franchise. The company owns a fleet of containers, deploys them to customers for monthly rental, picks them back up, and re-deploys to the next customer. Container sales are a secondary product line. The economics of the business require the rental fleet to keep turning. The pricing reflects the rental-first design: monthly rates that amortise the container’s wholesale cost across many customers over many years.

Van Blanc is a sales-first regional yard. The company purchases containers from port-side wholesalers, stocks them at the Brantford yards, and sells them to Ontario buyers who want ownership. Rentals exist as a secondary product but the business is structured around sales. The economics require selling containers at a margin that covers our cost of stocking, inspecting, and delivering them. The pricing reflects the sales-first design: one-time prices that include the container, delivery, and the yard’s operating margin, with no monthly recurring cost.

These two structures produce different buyer experiences. The rental customer interacts with BigSteelBox over months, gets the corporate dispatch service, and returns the container at the end of the rental. The buyer customer interacts with Van Blanc for the duration of the purchase and delivery, takes ownership of the container, and the relationship ends. Both are legitimate models. They serve different needs.

How do BigSteelBox and Van Blanc prices compare?

A direct price comparison between BigSteelBox and Van Blanc is harder than it looks, because the two companies are quoting different products. A BigSteelBox quote is usually built around a monthly rental: the container, the moving service, the storage period, and the franchise’s overhead spread across the rental term. A Van Blanc quote is built around a one-time sale: the container, the delivery to your Ontario address, and HST, with no recurring cost after it lands.

Because of that, you should not chase a single posted number on either side. What moves a container quote is the size, the grade, how far the delivery runs, and the steel market on the day you call, which is exactly why we walk through what really drives a shipping container’s price in Canada instead of pretending one figure fits everyone. Ask both companies for an all-in number on the same grade and the same delivery point, then compare like for like.

For a dealer that publishes prices and ships nationally instead of running depots, compare how the online-purchase model stacks up.

Paul on the comparison

The comparison is not “which company is better.” It is “which model fits what you are trying to do.” For a national cross-country move with monthly rental, BigSteelBox is structurally tuned for that. For a long-term Ontario container ownership purchase with COD payment and a walk-the-yard inspection, Van Blanc is structurally tuned for that. Most buyers reading this article are in the second category, which is why they ended up on our site rather than BigSteelBox’s. But the answer to “is BigSteelBox legit” is yes, and the answer to “should I call them too for a quote” is also yes if it helps you make a confident decision.

Reach Van Blanc in Brantford

The yard at 90 Morton Avenue East in Brantford has been family-run since 1995: cash on delivery, and you walk the bin before you pay. If you have shopped BigSteelBox and want to compare with a local independent option, we are glad to quote.

Van Blanc Ent. Inc. 90 Morton Ave E Unit 1B, Brantford, ON N3R 7J7. 519-754-6844

Worth the drive for unbeatable quality, family customer service with 30 years of experience. We deliver across Ontario in 1-3 days from our four Brantford yards.

Related Reading

• Shipping container scams in Canada: how to spot, avoid, and recover from fraud
• Why is that shipping container so cheap?
• A buyer’s guide to inspecting a used shipping container
• New versus used: which container grade fits your project
• BigSteelBox vs PODS, compared