Amazon Teeters Into Selling Homes… Kind Of - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

Amazon Teeters Into Selling Homes… Kind Of

Between its own stock and the offerings by third parties that use its storefront, Amazon has earned the reputation of having anything shoppers can buy, and now consumers can add shipping container homes to their carts. One firm is making a shipping container home available using Amazon's storefront as a third-party retailer. MODs International, a Wisconsin-based company, is selling a 320-square-foot container as a structural shell for a home for $36,000. The home includes a bedroom, shower, toilet, sink, small kitchenette, appliances, and living area. The shipping container also includes large double doors that open to the outside and windows along the side. Purchasers must pay an extra $4,500 in shipping costs. Shipping containers have been gaining attention in home building in recent years. More companies are sprouting up to turn the 20- or 40-foot containers into prefab tiny homes. This isn't the first time shoppers using Amazon could find tiny homes. Third-party retailers also sell log cabin kits using Amazon's storefront. Amazon itself turned heads earlier this year when a mysterious page popped up on its site called “Hire a REALTOR®.” The web page was tucked within Amazon’s Home and Business Services section, where visitors can receive quotes from professionals on services like setting up new technology or assembling new purchases. The page was quietly removed, just a day after it had quietly first appeared. Amazon did not comment on the page. Source: “Amazon Officially Sells Everything, Including a $36K Shipping Container House,” Curbed.com (Oct. 5, 2017)

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