Used plastic pallets for sale online listings
Used plastic pallets for sale on classifieds and marketplaces run from a handful of pallets a yard is clearing to full lots with a grade letter. The listing text is what you have, so here is how to read it.
- Typical listing
- A few lines and a photo
- Often missing
- Footprint, rating, marks
- Look for
- Maker, resin, count
- Treat as
- A lead, not a lot
Reading a classified listing
A short listing for used plastic pallets near a buyer usually says a count, a rough size and a place. That is a lead and not a lot. The questions that decide whether it is worth a drive are the ones the listing leaves out.
| The listing says | Ask | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "Plastic pallets, 40x48" | Measured length and width? | A name is not a measurement |
| "Like new" | What does that mean to you? | Suppliers use their own words |
| "Black, heavy duty" | Rating on the deck plate? | Heavy duty is not a rating |
| "Lot of 200" | Counted by whom, when? | Quantities need verifying |
| "From a big company" | Any name, logo or tag? | Pool-marked pallets may not be the seller's |
The grade letter problem
One marketplace lists the same pallet as Grade A and Grade B with only the first defined. A reconditioning guide, by contrast, splits reconditioned pallets into Grade A for good as new, Grade B for serviceable with visible wear or cosmetic repairs, and Grade C for utility, single trips and light storage. Neither is a standard. Ask the seller which one they mean.
Safe habits for listings
If the lot turns out to carry a pool owner's name, walk away from it.
- Meet at a place that can show the pallets in daylight
- Bring a tape measure and a flashlight
- Look under the deck at the runners
- Photograph any marks
- Never pay in advance for a quantity you have not seen counted
Reading a listing carefully
When a used lot is listed online, read the photographs for the runners and corners rather than the deck, since the deck hides wear. Look for the maker's mark moulded into the plastic, a plate or a label, and count the visible colours. If the listing offers a rating, ask where the rating comes from. A figure without a maker is a hope, not a specification. If the listing gives no footprint in inches or millimetres, the lot is not ready to be bought.
Red flags in a listing
Be cautious of a listing that shows stock photographs, gives no footprint, offers a rating without naming a maker, or says brand new in one line and used in another. Photographs that do not match the description, or that show a different colour from the one named, are worth a question. A good listing answers its own questions.
Storing a lot properly
- Keep stacks on a flat, dry slab, away from heaters, doorways and loading-bay draughts.
- Limit stack height to what the bottom pallet and the lift truck can safely manage.
- Shield pallets from sunlight with a tarp or a roof, since ultraviolet light chalks and embrittles some resins.
- Separate footprints, makers and grades with floor markings so pickers never guess.
- Leave an aisle wide enough for a fork truck to turn without clipping a corner.
Wear you can measure
- Deck bow: lay the straight edge across and slide a feeler between it and the deck.
- Runner flattening: compare the thickness of a worn runner with an unworn one.
- Corner loss: hold a square against the corner and note any missing plastic.
- Pocket height: measure the opening at both ends of each fork pocket.
- Weight: weigh three pallets on a platform scale and note the spread.
Walk-around checklist
The same four stops for every lot, in order. Tick each as you go.
- 1Deck seen in daylight
- 2Corners handled
- 3Runners seen from below
- 4Fork pockets tried with a fork or a jack
- Quantity counted in front of you
- Marks photographed
Words used on this page
- Runners
- Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.
- RFID
- Radio tag moulded or fixed into a pallet so it can be tracked.
- Fork pocket
- Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
- Pooling
- Renting pallets from a company that owns, tracks and collects them instead of buying.
What the sources say
- Plastic pallets weigh about 3 to 15 lb when light and up to 300 lb when heavy; a typical GMA wood pallet weighs about 37 lb. en.wikipedia.org
- Rehrig Pacific's heavy-duty nestable can be made with post-consumer or post-industrial recycled material, up to 30 percent in black and up to 10 percent in colour, and is RFID compatible. rehrigpacific.com
- Rehrig Pacific offers the standard-duty nestable with recycled content of up to 90 percent in black, and describes it as 100 percent recyclable. rehrigpacific.com
- That Nelson model lists about 60 pallets per stack and 1,800 per truck. nelsoncompany.com
How a request works
- Pick the footprint, then the grade you can live with.
- Say what the pallets will carry and how many you need.
- Read the written lot description that comes back.
- Agree the lot before anything moves.
The four grades, in a line each
- Like new. A few trips only. Clean, no cracks, no missing parts, deck and runners flat.
- Used and clean. Many trips, scuffs and colour variation, but whole and usable for general-purpose or closed-loop work.
- Repaired. A cracked or chipped part welded or swapped. Some designs use snap-lock parts for repair.
- Mixed lot. Mixed makers, colours and sizes sold by the truckload, sorted by footprint.
Questions people ask
Is a classified lot cheaper?
It often is. It is also unwritten, so every item above is on you.
What do I do about a missing rating?
Treat the rating as unknown and use the pallet at the lowest load.
Should I buy pallets with a logo?
Check ownership first. A logo or RFID tag may mean a pool operator owns the pallet.
Ask for a lot
Pick a footprint and a grade. The reply describes a matched lot in writing.