Noted steel building supplier General Steel is well-known across the country for selling a wide variety of steel buildings at discount prices. Their buildings are used for everything from basic warehouses to churches to airplane hangars.

Unfortunately, General Steel has also made the news in recent years for wholly unflattering reasons: widespread accusations of fraud and misleading sales tactics. They're not the only company in the steel building industry to hear similar complaints, either.

The best way to make sure you get a good deal is to talk to at least three or four different steel building suppliers and manufacturers. Compare how they treat you, the types of questions they ask, and the bids they submit to see who just wants to make a sale, and who genuinely tries to get you the right steel building for your situation. You can also compare services from different companies online to learn more about the purchase.

Here are some of the advantages found in General Steel buildings that you should look for in any brand, along with some of the sales tactics to watch out for no matter where you buy your building -- General Steel or another supplier.

General steel building advantages
The two main reasons many businesses turn to steel buildings are their low cost per square foot and the speed of construction. General Steel emphasizes both of these advantages – but in fact they're shared by many types of metal buildings.

All steel buildings are made from factory-fabricated parts, and then delivered in pieces to your building site. Since you'll need a skilled construction crew to put up the steel building once it's delivered, the speed of construction is highly dependent on their expertise.

And cost isn't as much of an issue as it may seem. Steel buildings are far cheaper than traditional construction, so you should be saving quite a bit of money no matter where you get your building. In addition, if you're spending tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars on your building, small price differences don't mean much. Focus on getting a building that has all the amenities you want – insulation and ventilation, adequate and well-placed doors, etc – and choosing a steel building provider who can help make sure your steel building lasts for decades.

Sales practices to watch out for
One of the sales practices that caused problems for General Steel was advertising buildings as "discounted" because they were already on the lot – a cancelled order, for example. In fact, there were no such buildings: prefabricated buildings are built to order. Be suspicious if a steel building supplier tries to sell you on a "one time only special offer."

Another way to stay out of trouble when buying a steel building is to make sure you know who's producing the building. Many steel buildings companies you'll find are actually suppliers, not manufacturers – General Steel is an example of this. Even though they promote the strength and durability of "their" buildings, General Steel is a supplier of prefabricated buildings from multiple sources, not a manufacturer.

Buying from a supplier isn't necessarily a problem – most metal building suppliers are honest and fair-dealing. However, you should know the exact source of your steel building: vendors who try to deceive you are obviously not deserving of your business.