Used plastic pallets vs new
Used plastic pallets cost less than new ones and carry some history. New ones have a documented rating and no past. The choice depends on whether your load needs the paperwork or only the footprint.
- Used
- Less up front, wear to read
- New
- Maker's rating, no history
- Both
- Outside ISPM 15
- Plastic life
- Often described as 100 trips or more
Side by side
| Question | Used | New |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | Maker's rating if the plate survives | Maker's rating, current model |
| History | Unknown beyond what the wear shows | None |
| Food or pharma papers | Often unavailable | Available from the maker |
| Uniformity | A lot may be mixed | Uniform |
| Footprint choice | Whatever is being cleared | Whatever is made |
| Repair history | Welds and swaps possible | None |
When used is the right answer
Plastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and a used one is a pallet with trips left. General shipping and storage, closed loops, floor-level work and export are all jobs where a used pallet in the right footprint does the same work as a new one.
When to buy new
Buy new when the paperwork is the product: direct food contact, regulated pharma, rated racking, or fire-listed storage. A used pallet seldom comes with the papers those need.
- Direct food contact
- Pharma and healthcare
- Rated racking
- Fire-listed storage
- Uniform automation
A question of what the job needs
New pallets carry a documented rating and a clean history. Used pallets cost the buyer a few questions and a closer look. For many jobs, the difference does not matter: closed-loop use, general warehouse floors, one-trip export. For others it does: food contact, racking, pharmaceutical and automated systems. Decide which kind of job you have before you decide which kind of pallet.
Hidden costs of buying used
The cost of buying used is not only the pallet. It includes the time to inspect a sample, the risk of a lot that does not fit the footprint, the chance that a pallet fails in the field and the paper chase for a rating. The cost of buying new includes the price and the lead time. Neither is free, and the right choice depends on which cost your operation absorbs more easily.
Trial before commitment
The least risky way to compare is to run both side by side for a week. Put a few used and a few new pallets on the same line, note jams, breakages and handling comments, and ask the crew which they prefer. Numbers from your own dock settle the argument more convincingly than any article, including this one.
Photographs worth taking
- One wide shot of each stack with a tape or a person for scale.
- The four corners of a sample pallet, close enough to show gouges.
- The underside, including the runners and the bottom of each fork pocket.
- Any plate, label, moulded number or mark, shot square on and in raking light.
- Repairs and cracks, with a coin or a ruler beside them to show size.
Comparing two lots fairly
- Use the same footprint for both, measured in the same units.
- Compare grade by wear, not by the seller's letter.
- Count makers present in each, since fewer makers means a more uniform lot.
- Compare the share of repaired pieces, and where the repairs sit.
- Set freight, timing and handling beside the wear, rather than in place of it.
Walk-around checklist
The same four stops for every lot, in order. Tick each as you go.
- 1Deck: used: flat; new: flat
- 2Corners: used: scuffed; new: square
- 3Runners: used: scuffed; new: crisp
- 4Fork pockets: used: scraped; new: clean
- Rating source named for either
Words used on this page
- 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.
- 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.
What the sources say
- That used pallet is listed as pharma and food safe but not approved for direct food contact, in colours that vary. nelsoncompany.com
- Only pallets designed for unsupported racking carry a racking rating. nelsoncompany.com
- 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
- Static capacity is the highest of the three ratings; racking is often the lowest; dynamic is always lower than static. 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 used cheaper?
It is the usual reason to buy used. This site states no prices.
Does used last as long?
It has fewer trips left than new. The wear tells you how many.
Which is better for racking?
Whichever has a rating that fits and no repairs.
Ask for a lot
Pick a footprint and a grade. The reply describes a matched lot in writing.