Mixed loads

A stack with 48x40 stringer pallets, a few 42x42, a couple of block pallets and a bunch of Grade B and C in one leaning heap. On the stack end you would paint several stripes, if you had sorted it. That is why the mixed-load stripe on this site is more than one color.

The way to describe one is by the biggest parts. Say what the most common size is, roughly how clean the majority looks, and whether there are cores or pooled pallets in it.

1. Pull the pooled palletsBlue and red painted pallets come out first. They belong to the pooler.
2. Split by sizeEach size is its own pile. 48x40 usually the largest.
3. Split by gradeWithin each size: A, B, C, combo candidates and cores.
4. Decide each pileA sale, a repair, a dismantle or a grind.

You do not have to sort it first. Send the count, the sizes you see, and what leaves the site. If it is a small pile in an alley, it is likely a clear-out. If it is a weekly flow off a dock, it is a program. The Pile reader will give you a first call.

If you can send one, a photo tells us more than a number. Stand back so the whole heap is visible, then take a close shot of a few pallets at the top and bottom. Show the end of a stack where the stringers are visible, and any paint color you can see. We read the repairs, the size mix and the moisture from the picture, and we can usually say what the pile is from the picture alone.

A sorted inventory is not required. Send what you can see.

A heap is read from the edge in. Pooled pallets are the first to set aside, then the sound 48x40 near the top, which can be stacked by grade. The middle usually holds odd sizes and cores, and the bottom holds whatever has sat wet the longest. Reading top to bottom gets the best pallets out of the weather first.

A heap takes longer to sort than to describe, which is why we ask for the biggest group first. The more of the heap that turns out to be one size and one grade, the faster the work and the better the call.

The first sort of a mixed load rarely matches the seller’s estimate. Sound 48x40 is usually a smaller share than hoped, and cores a larger one. The yield is known only after the sort, and then each group can be dealt with on its own.

A mixed load has to be sorted before anyone can say what it is. Sorting takes labor and floor space, and the sorted result has to be sold in pieces: some Grade A, some B, some cores, some pooled pallets that go back to their owner. The first stage of any mixed load is a count by size and a split into piles.

• Pull blue and red pallets aside first.
• Separate any plastic or metal pallets.
• Make one pile of whole pallets and one of broken.
• Say roughly how many of each size you think you have.

Do you take mixed loads?

Yes. A mixed load is read by size and grade before it is valued.

Should I sort before I send?

No. A rough description is enough. Pull the blue and red ones aside if you can.