When Sheds Direct Stores, LLC acquired ShedsDirect.com in 2006, the O’Fallon, Missouri-based company made a bet that seems obvious now but was unusual then: shipping storage sheds nationwide, factory-direct to customers’ driveways. The timing proved prescient—they were doing it back when Amazon still only sold books and before Home Depot entered the online shed market.
The approach has paid off. The company has earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 list five times, recognition reserved for America’s fastest-growing private companies. Their customer approval rating sits above 99.9%, built on more than 1,200 five-star reviews and tens of thousands of completed orders since they first started operating under new management nearly two decades ago.
Cutting Out the Middleman
The core of their business model is straightforward: instead of warehousing inventory, the company maintains agreements with manufacturers to ship products directly from factory warehouses. This setup reduces overhead costs and speeds up delivery times while virtually eliminating stockouts. Those savings get passed to customers through outdoor storage solutions shipped free anywhere in the continental United States.
“We are the original nationwide shipper of storage sheds online since 2006,” the company states, a claim to first-mover status that’s become increasingly valuable as the market has grown more crowded.
Building Trust in an Unusual Category
Selling sheds online presents unique challenges. These aren’t impulse purchases—customers are spending significant money on structures that need to fit specific spaces and serve particular purposes. The company addresses this with extended customer service hours, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Central Time, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Security measures include Extended Verification SSL encryption across the entire site and up to $100,000 in shopper identity protection from McAfee. The company maintains an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and has earned Google’s “Top Quality Store” designation.
Their low-price policy backs up the factory-direct claims: if customers find a lower price from a legitimate competitor on an identical item, the company promises to meet or beat it, excluding auction sites and wholesale clubs that require membership fees.
Expanding Beyond Storage
While storage sheds remain the core product, the company is expanding into related outdoor structures that appeal to their home improvement customer base. Chicken coops, gazebos, greenhouses, and playgrounds now complement the storage shed lineup, responding directly to what existing customers have requested.
The business operates around the clock for order placement, while their customer service team remains accessible via phone, email, or live chat during extended hours. For a company dealing in products that typically weigh hundreds of pounds and require careful site planning, that accessibility has proven essential to maintaining their approval ratings.
As more retailers move into direct-to-consumer shipping, ShedsDirect.com’s nearly two-decade head start in navigating the logistics of delivering outdoor structures nationwide continues to serve as a competitive advantage in a market they helped create.
Learn more at https://www.shedsdirect.com/.