Used boxes & gaylords in Alexandria, VA.
Graded used corrugated, triple-wall bulk containers, recovered pallets and accessories, delivered into Alexandria from our yard in St. Louis. Gaylords dominate the outbound mix here — triple-wall bulk bins knocked down, banded, with telescoping lids ordered about half the time.
Quote for Alexandria
Add your postal code and dock details and we will quote delivered.
- Origin
- St. Louis, MO
- Freight zone
- Zone 3
- Approx. distance
- 800 mi
- Quote
- One business day
- Delivery
- 3 – 6 days
- Collection
- Scheduled, 5 – 10 days
Knocked down beats erected on every measure except unpacking labour, and the ratio is usually around eight to one.
What we ship, and how it arrives.
Everything leaves 9869 Meeks Blvd knocked down, banded and cube-checked, with the grade and dimensions on a band tag so your receiving team is never guessing.
Four things we will do on this lane.
- Reconditioning — Flap splices, patch panels, re-scoring and re-facing at our bench, then re-graded.
- Recycling & baling — Mill-spec #11 and #12 OCC with moisture control and contamination logging.
- Box management — A managed container pool held under your name, collected, graded and re-issued.
- Freight & logistics — Knocked down, banded and cube-checked so you are not paying to move air.
Industries we most often supply around Alexandria: Forest products, Food & agriculture, Distribution centres.
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Freight zone | Zone 3 — truckload lanes |
| Modes available | Full and partial truckload, LTL on small orders |
| Quote turnaround | One business day |
| Typical transit | 3 – 6 days |
| Collection | Scheduled, 5 – 10 days |
| Pricing basis | Delivered, with freight shown separately |
| Grading | By hand, within 24 hours of arrival at our yard |
| Minimum | Partial or full truckload recommended |
Four steps from enquiry to a trailer in Alexandria.
Send the spec
Dimensions, grade, count and your postal code. Approximations are welcome — we will narrow them with you.
See the pallet
We photograph the exact lot, with grade notes, before you commit to anything.
Quote delivered
Freight to Alexandria shown separately, with the cube arithmetic attached so nothing is hidden.
Release it
Knocked down, banded, cube-checked and on a trailer. Or held in our yard against a standing order.
Buying boxes in Alexandria.
Do you deliver to Alexandria?
Yes — Alexandria sits in zone 3 — truckload lanes, roughly 800 road miles from our dock. Modes available: full and partial truckload, ltl on small orders. Typical transit once released is 3 – 6 days.
What does it cost to get boxes here?
We quote delivered, so there is one number. Freight is shown separately on the quote and the cube arithmetic is attached, because on empty corrugated the freight is most of the decision and we would rather you could check it.
Will you buy used boxes from Alexandria?
On truckload volumes, yes. Below that the collection freight usually exceeds what the material is worth, and we will tell you so and suggest a local outlet instead.
What grades do you stock?
A (like new), B (good, light wear) and C (usable, visible wear), plus mixed loads priced honestly as mixed. The grade is written on the quote with its definition attached — never implied by the price.
Can I get a standing order?
Yes, and on a lane like Alexandria it is usually the best value available. We hold the balance in our yard under your name and release against your call-offs, which gives you truckload freight economics on smaller consumption.
What if my site has no loading dock?
Tell us before we quote. A liftgate or a straight truck is straightforward to plan for and expensive to add afterwards — it is the single most common reason a cheap quote becomes an expensive invoice.
Why empty packaging rates so badly.
LTL pricing keys off density. Knocked-down corrugated weighs almost nothing and occupies a full pallet position, so it lands near the expensive end of a scale designed around weight.
| Class | Density | Typical commodity | Where packaging sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50+ lb/ft³ | Bricks, steel bar | Rarely packaging |
| 55 | 35 – 50 | Hardwood flooring | Dense palletised goods |
| 60 | 30 – 35 | Car accessories | Heavy cartoned goods |
| 65 | 22.5 – 30 | Bottled beverages | Full case packs |
| 70 | 15 – 22.5 | Food in cartons | Typical dense distribution |
| 85 | 12 – 15 | Crated machinery | Palletised assemblies |
| 92.5 | 10.5 – 12 | Computers, monitors | Cushioned electronics |
| 100 | 9 – 10.5 | Boat covers, canvas | Light bulky goods |
| 125 | 7 – 8 | Small appliances | Void-filled cartons |
| 150 | 6 – 7 | Auto sheet metal | Erected boxes start here |
| 175 | 5 – 6 | Clothing, couches | Knocked-down heavy board |
| 200 | 4 – 5 | Aircraft parts | Knocked-down double wall |
| 250 | 3 – 4 | Mattresses, plasma TVs | Knocked-down single wall |
| 300 | 2 – 3 | Wood cabinets, tables | Erected gaylords |
| 400 | 1 – 2 | Deer antlers | Erected light bulk |
| 500 | < 1 | Gold dust, ping-pong balls | Loose void fill |
Note the two rows that matter here: knocked-down board is class 150 – 250, erected containers are class 300 – 400. That gap is the entire argument for banding everything flat.
Seven things about your dock that change the quote.
Declared before the quote these are free to plan around. Discovered on delivery day they are the single most common reason a cheap quote becomes an expensive invoice.
| Item | Specification | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Dock height | 48 – 52" typical | Below 44" a standard trailer needs a leveller or a ramp |
| Dock leveller capacity | 20,000 – 30,000 lb | Loaded gaylords on a pallet truck approach the limit |
| Door width | 8 – 9 ft | Double-stacked knocked-down bundles are wide |
| Apron depth | 100 – 130 ft | A 53-foot trailer needs room to square up |
| Liftgate requirement | If no dock | Add $75 – $150; declare it before the quote, not after |
| Receiving window | 3-day window ideal | Lets us consolidate; worth more than a volume discount |
| Forklift availability | 3,000 lb minimum | A loaded gaylord plus pallet exceeds many electric walkies |
How long each thing actually takes.
Measured from a confirmed order, not from the first email. Artwork approval and procurement onboarding sit outside these figures and are usually the real critical path.
| Item | Lead time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Graded used shippers, stock size | Same week | Often 48 hours on Midwest lanes |
| Graded gaylords, stock size | Same week | Knocked down and banded |
| Reconditioned gaylords | 7 – 10 days | Bench time plus re-grading |
| Lids, liners and accessories | Same week | Ships on the same pallet |
| Recovered pallets, repaired | 3 – 7 days | Depends on repair queue |
| New stock-size boxes | 2 – 5 days | 60+ sizes held in St. Louis |
| New custom die | 10 – 15 working days | Includes die making and first article |
| Printed new board, 1 – 4 colour | 10 – 15 working days | Plate making included |
| Honeycomb panel, stock | 5 days | Pressed from recovered board |
| Die-cut dunnage to profile | 7 – 10 days | Tooling for non-standard profiles adds time |
| Printed retail display | 10 – 12 days | Artwork approval is usually the critical path |
| Baler placement | 2 – 4 weeks | Site survey, delivery and commissioning |
Six things move the number, and volume is only the fourth.
Used box pricing confuses people because the obvious lever — how many you want — is among the weakest of the six. Spread is the gap between best and worst case on our own quote data.
| Factor | Spread | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Destination lane | 2.8× | Within-Midwest versus a long nationwide haul |
| Size-run consistency | 2.1× | A single matched size versus genuinely mixed sizes |
| Grade | 1.9× | Grade C versus grade A on the same size |
| Order volume | 1.3× | One pallet versus a full truckload, same lane and grade |
| Timing flexibility | 1.15× | Take-it-when-it-lands versus a fixed delivery date |
| Season | 1.1× | March versus October on the same lane |