Grade C pallets
Grade C, also called grade 3, is a used pallet with poor appearance, usually several repairs, and deck boards that may not be fully intact.
Turn it over and look
A 3D model built from the dimensions in the table. It loads when you ask.
What Grade C means
- Also called
- Grade 3
- Repairs
- Usually several
- Appearance
- Poor, and deck boards may not be fully intact
- Typical fate
- One-way shipping, or a core for a recycler to repair or dismantle
A Grade C is the bottom of the usable range. It has been repaired more than once, it looks it, and some of its boards may be missing or loose. It can still carry a load, which is why it has a grade at all and is not simply scrap.
Where it still works
- One-way freight. A shipment that will never come back does not need a handsome pallet. Heavy, low-value goods leaving a Detroit dock often go on the cheapest sound pallet.
- Floor storage. A pallet that sits on a floor under a stack of drums or bags does not need to roll through an automated line.
- Dunnage. Spacing and blocking inside a load.
Where it does not
Racking, automated lines, food and anything the customer will see. A Grade C that fails in a rack is a hazard, not a saving. When a pallet is past the point where a plug or plate will rescue it, call it a core and let a recycler decide: pallet cores explains what happens next.
Why sorting matters
Mixed into a stack, a few Grade C pallets pull the buyer's opinion of the whole pile down, and the stack is priced as if it were all C. Sorting them out costs a few minutes and changes what the rest is worth. If the pile is too big to sort by hand, mixed and broken piles covers clearing it as it stands.
Buying and selling Grade C
Buyers who want Grade C know it, and ask for it in a count. Sellers get the most from a stack when the grade is stated honestly and a photo shows the worst of it. Either way, the grades page puts all the grades side by side, and the repairs guide shows what the work looks like.
Questions about Grade C
Is Grade C safe to load?
For one-way floor freight, usually. For racking or for stacking pallets on top of each other, no.
Can it be upgraded?
Sometimes. A recycler can replace boards and plate stringers, turning it into a Grade B. That is why a Grade C is sometimes sold as a core.
Who buys it?
Recyclers, who repair or dismantle it, and shippers with one-way low-value freight.
The edge of the useful range
Past Grade C is scrap. A pallet with a split stringer, missing end boards or a bent deck is no longer a Grade C but a candidate for dismantling. Boards that are still sound can be reclaimed, and the rest is ground into mulch, composite material or biomass.
When Grade C is the right buy
For a one-way load of low-value goods leaving a yard for good, paying for Grade A is waste. A Grade C that carries the weight does the job. State the load honestly so the pallet matches it.
Safety
Never rack a Grade C.
Disposal
Do not burn pallets. A recycler is the correct route.
Honest descriptions
A buyer forgives a Grade C that is described as one.