Contact the used pallet desk

What to put in your message

If you are holding pallets with another company's name or tag on them, say so, and send a photograph of the mark.

1. The footprint, in inches or millimetres.
2. The grade you will accept: like new, used and clean, repaired or mixed.
3. What the pallets will carry, and whether racking is involved.
4. A quantity band: a few pallet-loads, a half truck or a truck.
5. The ZIP where they would arrive.

Other questions

Questions about a page, a source or a term on this site are welcome. If a figure looks wrong, send the page address and what you found, and we will check it against its source.

• Corrections to a page
• Questions about pool-marked pallets
• Questions about how a lot is graded

What to put in your first message

A reply is quickest when the first message already says the footprint in inches or millimetres, the grade you would accept, the number of pallets and the ZIP where they would be received. If you are unsure of a grade, describe the job instead: conveyors, a pallet jack, racks, a food room, a container. A person reads every message, so plain sentences are fine; there is no need to fill in the optional questions.

Nothing on this page is a booking or an order. It starts a written conversation about a lot that may or may not exist, and the first answer will say which. If a lot cannot be matched, the answer says so rather than offering something close.

Phone, address and hours

This desk does not publish a street address or a telephone number, and it does not hold open hours. Everything runs through the form above and the email address, which is read in the order messages arrive. That keeps a record in writing of what was asked and what was answered, which matters for a used lot where wear, repairs and marks are the whole point of the sale.

Attachments and photographs

Photographs help more than long descriptions. A clear shot of the plate, the corner and the underside of one pallet tells a reader what a paragraph cannot. Keep each file modest in size, name them by what they show, and say in the message which pallet each belongs to. If you hold a safety data sheet or a supplier specification for the pallets, mention it and say it can be sent on request.

Corrections and sources

Every fact on this site carries a source and a review date. If a figure looks out of date, a link has moved or a standard has been revised, write with the page address and the new reference. A correction that names its source can be checked in minutes, and the page is updated with a new review date once the change is confirmed.

Messages we can and cannot answer

This desk can describe how a used plastic lot would be sorted and graded, say which footprints are likely to match a need, and explain what a rating or a mark means. It cannot give engineering advice, quote a load capacity for a pallet it has not seen, or promise that a particular maker's model is in a lot. Questions of that kind go to the pallet's maker or to your building's engineer, and the desk will say so rather than guess.

Replies and response order

Messages are read in the order they arrive. A message that names a footprint, grade, quantity and ZIP can be answered in one reply; one that does not will get a short question back first. Use the same email address for follow-ups so the thread stays together, and attach photographs of any pallets you already have if your question is about matching them.

Language and formats

Write in plain English and give sizes in whichever unit you use, inches or millimetres. If a colleague abroad is the person who knows the specification, copy their line in as written and say who they are. Spreadsheets of many footprints are welcome as plain text pasted into the message, with one footprint per line, so that each can be matched on its own without opening an attachment.

Words used on this page

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.

Runners

Bottom rails that touch the floor or rack and carry the load.

Racking load

Weight a pallet carries bridging an open span in unsupported racking. Often the lowest rating.

What the sources say

• That Nelson model is under 5 in tall, which the page says suits air freight, and works with automation and most roller conveyors. nelsoncompany.com
• A 2010 insurer figure cited by ICC puts fire spread to a pallet above at about 18 minutes for plastic versus nearly 50 for wood. iccsafe.org
• An ICC article says unlisted plastic pallets may require raising the commodity hazard class by two classes, and gives an example needing about 55 percent more sprinkler water. iccsafe.org
• Static capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static. nelsoncompany.com

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