Sell pallets, or just clear them

Two different jobs share a dock. Selling is for stock that still has life: Grade A, Grade B or a Combo, in a size somebody asks for. Clearing is for the rest: Grade C, broken, mixed and the Cores that nobody on the dock wants to fix. A single pile is often both, and part of the work is telling which is which.

Four things, in this order. Size: the 48 x 40 is the most common wood pallet size in North America, so it moves easily, and the 48 x 45 has a loyal following in automotive. Grade: the fewer the repairs, the more a buyer wants it. Count: a trailer of one size is easier to place than six pallets of five. Rhythm: a dock that produces the same stack every week is easier to plan around than a one-off clear-out.

None of that sets a price on its own. The value guide explains what moves a number up or down without inventing figures.

• Receiving leads at auto suppliers who see 48 x 45 and 48 x 40 pile up side by side.
• Operations leads at cross-docks and fulfillment buildings near Detroit Metro Airport.
• Food wholesalers who need broken pallets off the lot.
• Small businesses and property managers with a few dozen to a few hundred pallets behind a building.

It is not set up for one or two free pallets for a craft project, and it does not handle liquidation or returns pallets.

Use the sorter. Add a row for each size and condition on your dock, and it sorts them into what looks worth selling, what needs clearing and what you could buy back sorted. It does not price anything and says so.

1. Gather

   Pull scattered pallets into one or two stacks with a clear aisle for a forklift.

2. Count

   Count one stack by hand and multiply, or count the layers. A rough number is fine; a wrong one is not.

3. Photograph

   One picture of the whole stack, one close-up of the worst pallet. These two images answer most questions.

4. Protect

   Stack on a hard surface and cover against rain. Dry wood is worth more than wet.

Sellers rarely say whether trucks can reach the pile, how high the doors are, or whether the pallets carried food, chemicals or oil. Each affects who can take them. A pile behind a locked gate on a Sunday is not a pile anyone can collect, and a note about the gate code or the contact on site is as useful as the count.

Six pages sit under this one. Use used pallets for sorted stock, cores for broken ones, mixed and broken piles for everything else, pickup for the logistics, recycling for what cannot be saved, and dock programs for a regular arrangement. Most docks need two of the six, and the sorter can tell you which.

Address, count, size, grade if known, a photo, the hours a truck can reach the dock, and a name to ask for at the gate. Mention anything unusual: a steep ramp, a low door, stacks inside a locked cage. The more of these a request holds, the fewer calls it takes to settle a pickup, and the sooner the dock is clear.

Do not worry about getting terms exactly right in the first message. Terms are agreed afterward, between you and the buyer, once the stack is understood.

Pallet supply swings with the seasons: heavy after harvest and holiday peaks, light in midwinter. Plants add a rhythm of shutdowns in summer and at year end. If your dock has a pattern, mention it in the request, so that a buyer can fit a pickup into the quiet part of your calendar.

If the pile holds several sizes and conditions, run it through the sorter first. It sorts rows of stock into worth selling, needs clearing and could be bought back sorted, and it hands the answer to the form so the request is already organised.

Write down what left and when. If you sell regularly, a simple log of dates, counts and sizes becomes a useful picture of your dock's rhythm, and next quarter's request practically writes itself.

• Sell used pallets Sound 48x40 and 48x45 pallets have value. Say the grade, the count and how often they pile up, with a photo if you can.
• Pallet cores Cores are the pallets nobody wants to fix. They still go somewhere: repair, dismantling or grinding. Send a count and photos.
• Pallet pickup Pallet pickup for docks, plants and back lots in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb. Say the count, the place and how the pile is stacked.
• Mixed and broken piles A mixed load of sizes, grades and broken boards is normal. How a pile gets cleared and what to say about it.
• Pallet recycling What happens to a Detroit pallet after pickup: sorted, repaired, dismantled for boards or ground. Send a recycling request.
• Dock programs For docks that ship and receive every week: one arrangement to clear inbound pallets and bring sorted stock back. Ask what fits.

Pick sell or clear, and describe the pile in your own words.