Pre owned plastic pallets
Pre owned plastic pallets are the used pallets a previous owner has cleared out, graded for what they can still do. We write down the wear and the marks before a buyer commits to a footprint.
- Also called
- Used, second hand
- Grades
- Like new to repaired
- Written lot
- Before price
- Shipping
- Settled per request
Why pallets get cleared out
Pallets become pre-owned whenever a warehouse changes size, a plant changes packaging, or a distribution centre clears a dock. A plant that retires a whole footprint at once wants the pallets used, not landfilled. A distribution centre with surplus wants them to leave.
Those lots are usually uniform in footprint and mixed in wear. Sorting is the job: footprint first, then deck, corners and runners.
The grades a pre-owned lot falls into
| Grade | What the lot looks like | What it should not carry |
|---|---|---|
| Like new | Clean, flat, no cracks | A food-contact claim without maker papers |
| Used and clean | Scuffed, gouged at corners, whole | Racking without a rating |
| Repaired | Welded or swapped parts | Racking, food contact, heavy stacks |
| Mixed lot | Makers and colours together | Automation that needs one rating |
Reading the lot description
A lot description lists the footprint, the count by style, the makers and colours, the number of welded or swapped pallets, any owner marks and the ratings where a deck plate shows one. If a line is missing, ask for it. The description is the product.
- Footprint in inches
- Count by style
- Makers and colours
- Welds and swaps
- Marks and tags
- Ratings shown or unknown
Pre-owned is a description, not a grade
Sellers use pre-owned for anything from a pallet that made one trip to one that has been through a decade of racks. The word tells a buyer nothing about wear, so this site treats it as a prompt to ask for a grade. Like new, used and clean, repaired and mixed each say something checkable. Pre-owned says only that someone owned it before you.
When a seller offers pre-owned pallets, ask what the decks and runners show, whether any piece has been welded or swapped, and whether any pallet carries another company's mark.
Where owners sell from
Owners who sell pre-owned pallets are often plants that changed packaging, distributors that closed a lane, or recyclers that sorted a lot. Their records differ. A plant can say what the pallets carried; a recycler can say what resin they are; a distributor can say how many trips they made. Ask the seller for whichever record they have and treat a missing record as a gap to fill by inspection.
What to write down about a lot
- Footprint in both units, with the readings you took rather than the label.
- Number of stacks, pallets per stack and any odd stacks left over.
- Makers and model numbers seen on plates or moulded into the ribs.
- Count of repaired, mismatched or cracked pieces, and where each sits.
- Marks, colours and any smell, with a note on who confirmed each.
When something looks wrong
- Stop unloading and photograph the fault before anything moves.
- Count how many pallets show the same fault, to see if it is a lot problem or a one-off.
- Tell the desk or the seller in writing the same day, with the photographs attached.
- Hold the affected stacks apart until you hear back.
- Keep one sample pallet unused, so the maker or an inspector can examine it.
Walk-around checklist
The same four stops for every lot, in order. Tick each as you go.
- 1Deck: flat and continuous
- 2Corners: gouges within a scuff
- 3Runners: no splits
- 4Fork pockets: unobstructed
- Count by style written
- Marks written
Words used on this page
- Racking load
- Weight a pallet carries bridging an open span in unsupported racking. Often the lowest rating.
- Fork pocket
- Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
- Closed loop
- Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.
- Welding repair
- Plastic is hard to glue, so cracked parts are normally welded.
- Runners
- Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.
What the sources say
- Static capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static. nelsoncompany.com
- That Nelson model lists about 60 pallets per stack and 1,800 per truck. nelsoncompany.com
- Only pallets designed for unsupported racking carry a racking rating. nelsoncompany.com
- 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
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
Why choose pre-owned?
Plastic pallets are made to be reused, and the ones in these lots have trips left. A multi-trip pallet is designed to be returned and reused many times.
Do pre-owned lots come cleaned?
The lot description says how clean the pallets are. Do not assume it, and see the cleaning guide.
Are they all one maker?
Only if the description says so. A closed-loop lot is uniform in maker and size.
Ask for a lot
Pick a footprint and a grade. The reply describes a matched lot in writing.