Who sells to us
Plants, warehouses, 3PLs, fulfillment centers and suppliers end up with gaylords they did not plan for. A model launch brings parts in gaylords, a program ends, an inbound lane changes, and a dock is full of single-trip boxes with nowhere to go. Baling them is the default. Selling or reusing them is usually better, if the boxes are dry and sound.
A request can cover used gaylords of any common footprint.
Three steps
- Count and measure. Footprint, wall count, bottom style, how many, and whether they are built or knocked down. A phone photo of the stamp helps.
- Check the grade. Single trip, clean and dry is Grade A. Visible wear but sound is Grade B. Heavy creasing is Grade C. Wet, torn or crushed is recycle-only. Use the grade sheet.
- Request a pickup. Send the numbers on the request card. Include the stamp, the base and a stack in photos.
What we ask about the boxes
| Grade | What it means | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| New | Never filled; flat-packed or assembled straight from the maker, full rated strength. | A new box is listed at its rating. |
| Grade A (like-new, single trip) | Used once, clean and dry, flaps and bottom intact; close to new. | Listed first; the closest to new. |
| Grade B (good, multi-use) | Visible wear, minor creasing or scuffs, old labels or print, but no structural weakness. | Listed for internal moves, returns and one-way lanes. |
| Grade C (functional, cosmetic wear) | Heavier creasing, some taped or reinforced repairs, fewer trips left; for one-way internal use, scrap collection or non-stacked storage. | Listed for scrap and non-stacked use. |
| Recycle only (Grade D) | Wet, torn, crushed or missing a bottom; structurally compromised and worth its fiber as OCC rather than reuse. | Goes out as OCC; see recycling. |
Boxes with print or old shipping labels are not a problem. See selling gaylords with print or labels. For a large clean-out, read clearing empties after a launch or program. For boxes past reuse, read recycling and OCC and bales.
What a buyer needs from a seller
A buyer cannot grade a box from a phone call. The grades in our catalogue are defined by wear, creasing, repairs, wetness and whether the bottom is intact, so a seller who sends one photo of the stamp, one of the base and one of a stack saves a day. The stamp gives the maker, the edge crush or burst figure and the weight limit (Wikipedia, Corrugated fiberboard, retrieved 12 November 2026), and the count tells the buyer whether the lot is a pallet, a truck or a pile.
Counting a truckload
A 53-foot van has 26 positions for 48 x 40 in pallets and about 42,000 to 45,000 lb of cargo capacity (ATS trailer guide, retrieved 12 November 2026). Knocked-down boxes stack flat and weigh little, so a full van of them can be hundreds of boxes; built boxes fill the van with air. Say which you have.
Pallets and counts
New triple-wall boxes are sold in bundles of five and pallet packs of 30 (Cary Company 48 x 40 x 48 listing, retrieved 12 November 2026), and a standard wood pallet can be listed with a dynamic capacity of 1 short ton (Wikipedia, Pallet, retrieved 12 November 2026). Tell the buyer which count unit you use, bundle, pallet or truck, since one pallet of flat boxes can be 30 and one pallet of built boxes can be a single layer of four.
Who unloads, and with what
A seller who can say whether the boxes are flat or built, on pallets or loose, and whether a dock, a forklift or a ramp is available has answered most of what a hauler asks. The trailer guide's dimensions (ATS trailer guide, retrieved 12 November 2026) show why: a 53-foot van is about 100 in wide inside, so a built octagon or a 48 in box has little room to spare for people working inside it.
In this section
- Plant and warehouse emptiesSingle-trip gaylords left from inbound freight or a program end. How to stack, count and describe them so a pickup request moves quickly.
- Printed and labeled boxesPrinting and old shipping labels don't stop a used gaylord from being reused. What does count: dry board, square corners and an intact bottom.
- RecyclingWet, torn or crushed gaylords become OCC. How we handle boxes past reuse, how bales are graded, and how to request a recycle pickup.
- OCC and balesWhat OCC means, how baled cardboard is graded and why its value moves, and when a gaylord is worth more as a box than as fiber.