Sell your used pallets

1. Send the countHow many, what size, the grade as you see it, your ZIP, and how the load leaves your site. A rough count is fine.
2. We read itWe look at the sizes and the grade you describe, set any pooled pallets aside, and decide whether it reads as a sale, a buy-back or a clear-out.
3. We tell you the callIf it is a sale, we ask the next questions: how often, from where, in what condition. If it is not, we say so and say what it is.
4. The load movesTell us how the load leaves: a dock door, an alley, a curb. If you want a pickup, ask for one and say what access a truck would have.

These are the answers that change the call. None of them needs to be exact.

• Size. 48x40 is the default. 42x42, 48x48 and euro sizes are different jobs. Say so if you have them.
• Grade. Grade A needs no repair. Grade B has replaced boards, plates, plugs or a companion stringer. If you cannot tell, describe the repairs.
• Count and rhythm. One time, every week or every month. A pile that comes back is planned differently from one that does not.
• How it leaves. Dock door, alley or loading zone, curb or lot. For any pickup, this matters more than anything else.
• Paint. Any blue or red on the stringers or blocks. These are pooled pallets, and they are counted apart.

The desk runs selling, buying back and clearing. They often meet in one request. A 3PL with a weekly flow sells its mixed empties and buys back sorted Grade A and B for outbound freight; see dock programs. A restaurant with forty pallets behind the kitchen needs pickup, not a sale.

If you are not sure which you need, send the count. The Pile reader will give you a plain first call in under a minute, and opens this request with the answers filled in.

There is no price on this page. A price depends on size, grade, how many and how the load leaves, and we will not guess before we have read your count. There are no minimums or turnaround times here either, for the same reason: they come after the read.

A sale is for sorted 48x40 pallets that a dock can use as they are. A buy-back is for a steady flow of mixed or odd pallets: the mixed load goes out, and sorted Grade A or B comes back for your outbound freight. A clear-out is for a pile that is in the way, where the whole job is getting floor space back and anything sound is a bonus.

Which of the three fits depends on the count, the mix and how often the pile builds. The pile reader asks six questions and names one.

• Retail stores and small warehouses with a few dozen to a few hundred pallets taking up floor space.
• Distribution centers and 3PL docks that clear empties from inbound freight, sometimes hundreds a week.
• Plants and food distributors whose pallets are clean and uniform and who want a standing arrangement.
• Property managers and restaurants with a back lot or alley that fills up between pickups.

Blue and red pallets are pooled and belong to the pool owner, so they are not part of a sale. Liquidation pallets of retail goods are a different trade, and this desk does not run it.

• We read the count, the sizes and how often the pile builds.
• We look at the sort: whole pallets, broken pallets, pooled pallets.
• The reply names it as a sale, a buy-back or a clear-out, or asks what is missing.
• Missing details are the next question.

Blue and red pallets are rented. They belong to a pooling company, and selling one is not yours to do. They are counted separately and belong back with the owner. A pile of mostly pooled pallets is a different job from a pile of owned ones, and the sooner we know the split, the faster the plan comes together.

A one-time pile and a weekly flow are different jobs. A pile is counted, priced against what it turns out to be, and gone. A flow is described by how often it builds, how it is sorted and what you need back for outbound loads. If your pile builds again, say how fast, because that changes which of the three programs fits.

In general, whole sorted pallets go to docks that use them, repairable ones are repaired and resold as Grade B or combo, and pallets that cannot be saved are broken down for recycling. Pooled pallets belong to their owner.

A quick way to count a stack is to multiply the number of pallets across a layer by the height. Stacks often hold ten to thirty. Walk the pile once, write the stack count down and send it; an honest estimate beats waiting for a perfect number.

Who buys used pallets near me?

We do, around Washington, DC, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia, when they are sorted and sound enough to resell. Send the count and we will tell you whether yours qualify.

Can I sell pallets that are painted blue or red?

No. Blue and red usually mean a pooled pallet from CHEP or PECO. It belongs to the pooler, who collects it. Our CHEP and PECO guide says how to spot them.

What if my pallets are mixed sizes?

That is a mixed load. It is read by size and grade first, and what each part is worth doing with depends on that split.