06 Sell side
Sell used plastic pallets
We buy used plastic pallets that are still whole, by the load, and resell them as pallets to buyers who run that footprint. Send the count, footprint, maker or model, resin, condition, photos and pickup ZIP, and we email an offer per pallet with the grade we expect the lot to earn.
Whole pallets sell as pallets
A whole used pallet is worth more as a pallet than as resin, often by a wide margin. This page is about lots where most pallets can carry a load again: retired rackables from a closed DC, nestables from an ended export program, stackables from a food plant that changed models.
If most of your lot is cracked, the cracked and broken page fits better. A lot that is part whole and part broken can be offered both ways at once.
How we grade a lot you sell
We use the same grades on the sell side as on the buy side, so the pallet you describe is the pallet the next buyer receives. Grading starts from your photos and is confirmed when the load is sorted.
| Grade | What we look for | What usually rules it out |
|---|---|---|
| Grade A | Whole deck, every runner or leg intact, no repairs, clean enough to load again; rack use only if the model was rack-rated | A visible crack, a welded or plugged repair, heavy residue |
| Grade B | Sound structure with scuffs, faded color, old labels or minor surface wear | A crack that runs through a deck board, a bent or split runner |
| Mixed lot | Whole pallets of assorted makers, models or colors, kept together only by footprint | Pallets of a different footprint mixed into the stacks |
| Regrind | Anything that fails the checks above | Contamination that makes the resin unusable |
What to photograph, and why
Good photos let us grade a lot without a site visit and make the offer firmer. Four or five pictures are usually enough.
| Photo | What it tells a buyer |
|---|---|
| A full stack from the side | Count per stack, whether the pallets nest or stack, and if the stack is one model |
| The top deck of a typical pallet | Deck type (solid, open grid, lipped), scuffing, labels and residue |
| The underside, close up | Resin code, maker's name, model number and date clock |
| Runners or legs | Whether runners are straight and legs whole, which decides rack and conveyor use |
| The worst pallet in the lot | How far the grade spread goes, so nothing surprises anyone at pickup |
| The loading area | Dock door or ground level, and room for a 53-foot van to turn |
Repaired, drilled or modified pallets
Some fleets have been worked on. A plastic pallet may carry a hot-plate weld across a crack, a plug in a broken leg, holes drilled for bolting fixtures, or added rubber friction strips. None of these keeps a pallet out of a resale lot, but each one keeps it out of Grade A.
A sound weld or plug usually lands in Grade B. Drilled or cut pallets go to buyers who can use them as they are, which is a smaller market. Mention any modification in the request, with a photo, so the grade we offer at the desk holds when the pallets are sorted.
Pickup by the truckload
Used pallets move most cheaply in full loads on a 53-foot dry van, which is roughly 52.5 feet long and 100 inches wide inside. How many pallets that is depends on the model. Nestables drop into each other and stack tall in little height, so a trailer of them holds many times the count of stackable or rackable pallets, which take their full height in every stack.
Tell us the model and stack height and we will work out what a full load is for your pallets. If your lot is short of a load, we can quote it as a partial pickup or hold the offer while more pallets come out of service. Partial loads cost more per pallet to move, and the offer will show it.
A dock door and a forklift make the pickup quick. If the site has neither, say so in the request so the carrier brings the right equipment, such as a liftgate truck for small lots.
Offer, acceptance and payment
Our offer comes by email and states the price per pallet by expected grade, the share we expect to resell as regrind, who arranges the truck, and how payment is made. It also says how pallets are counted at pickup and what happens if the sort differs from the photos.
Nothing is final until you accept in writing. If anything in the lot changes before pickup, such as more pallets or a different mix, tell us and the offer is revised before the truck arrives, not after.
Lots that sell best
The used pallets that find a buyer fastest share a few traits. They are a current model from a known maker, in a common footprint like 48x40, all one color, stacked by model, whole, clean, and enough to fill a van. A lot with every one of those traits can often go straight to an end user without a stop at a sorting yard. Seasonal timing helps as well: buyers expanding ahead of produce harvests or holiday retail peaks often hunt for extra pallets quickly.
Rack-rated models are in steady demand because racked load is the hardest rating to find in a used pallet. If your pallets came out of racking, name the model so the buyer can check its racked figure on the maker's sheet.
Questions buyers ask
Do you buy used plastic pallets in small quantities?
Yes, but a small lot costs more per pallet to collect, so the offer is lower. Several sites near each other, or a lot that grows over a few months, can be combined into one pickup.
Do I need to clean the pallets first?
Not for an offer. Clean pallets can grade higher, and pallets with heavy residue drop to Grade B or regrind.
Can you buy pallets that were used in racking?
Yes. Name the model so the next buyer can confirm its racked load from the maker's sheet; whole rack-rated pallets are among the easiest to resell.
How are the pallets counted?
The offer states it, usually by stacks of a known count checked at loading. A count taken at sorting applies if the offer says so.
Will you buy pallets still wrapped on a delivered order?
Yes, and unused surplus often ranks above Grade A, provided the model is current. Mention that the stacks are still banded or stretch-wrapped from the factory, and include the original model number or invoice description if you have it.
Sources
Last reviewed November 8, 2026.