Sell the pallets your dock no longer needs

BOX 01What a buyer wants to know first

A pallet buyer reads four things before anything else: the size, how many, how clean, and where the pile sits. The first two are numbers, the third is a grade word, and the fourth is a ZIP code. A request that gives all four can be read quickly. A request that says only "lots of pallets" cannot.

The Memphis metro has docks of every kind, from Southaven distribution buildings to Frayser apparel docks, so one request can name a Mississippi, Tennessee or Arkansas ZIP.

BOX 02The three kinds of pile

If you are not sure which row your pile belongs in, Dock check reads it from the size, count and condition you enter.

BOX 03Where to go next

Who buys pallets lists the kinds of buyer. What pallets are worth says what moves the value without quoting prices. Pallet cores covers worn stock. If the stack is so big that it is a clearing job rather than a sale, see clearing a dock.

BOX 04What to have in hand before you send

A count, a size, a rough grade and a place. That is enough for a first read. If you can add a photo of the stack, a note on how the pallets arrived and whether any are damp, the read gets better. If you cannot, say so.

Do not guess at a price. A pile is worth what a buyer judges its size, grade and count to be.

BOX 05What counts as selling and what counts as clearing

If the pile contains sound, sorted, standard pallets, the question is who will pay for them, and you are selling. If the pile is mostly broken or mixed, the question is who will take it away, and you are clearing. Many piles are both, and the request can say so: a number of good pallets and a number of cores. See clear.

BOX 06Why sorting helps even if you do not do it perfectly

Sorting does not need to be exact to be useful. Three stacks, good, repairable and scrap, give a buyer a better picture than one stack of everything. If you only have time for a rough split, take it, and say that it is rough.

It also protects you. A buyer who expects a pile of good pallets and finds half of them broken will reconsider the whole thing, while a buyer who knew the split in advance does not. Honest numbers end conversations sooner and more happily.

BOX 07A note on ownership

Before you offer pallets for sale, be sure they are yours. Pallets that belong to a pooling program, a supplier or a customer are not for sale, and sellers who offer them cause problems. Look for brand marks, serial stencils or color-coded boards. If you are unsure, say so in the request.

BOX 08What a buyer cannot see

A buyer cannot see the pile, cannot smell it and cannot tilt a pallet to check the stringers. They read only what you write. The more your request shows of what you can see, the better they can imagine the pile.

Use physical words: cracked, split, scuffed, damp, oily, sticky, bowed, replaced, notched. Each describes something a buyer can picture, and each narrows the question of whether the pile fits.

BOX 09Where the pile is as important as what it is

A buyer thinks about the trip. Pallets on an open dock with a truck door are easy; pallets in a basement are not. The more a request says about the route in and out, the more realistic the reply. Mention overhead doors, ramps, gates and any hours when access is limited.

BOX 10A sale request that reads well

"About 400 Grade B 48 x 40 pallets for sale, sound stringers, a few replaced boards, kept in a covered dock in 38125; no pool or branded pallets; I can load a trailer from a dock door." It states the grade, the count, the condition, the place, the ownership and the loading option.

FAQStraight answers