Buy boxes
Tell us the size, the grade and the volume. We pull from graded inventory, photograph the actual pallet, and quote delivered — not FOB-and-figure-it-out-later.
Start: buy boxes
Pre-filled for this service. Add the detail and it reaches the floor.
- Exact dimensions and style code
- Named grade, with the definition attached
- Photographs of the actual lot
- Piece count, not an estimate
- Freight, shown separately
- Cube maths so nothing is hidden
One pallet for gaylords (20 – 24 knocked down). 250 boxes or a mixed pallet for RSC shippers. Below that we will point you to somebody local rather than charge you freight that makes no sense.
Four steps, in this order, every time.
Spec it
Dimensions, wall, grade and monthly volume. Guesses welcome; we will narrow it with you.
See the pallet
We send photographs of the exact lot, with grade notes, before you commit.
Quote delivered
Freight included, lane by lane, with the cube maths shown so nothing is hidden.
Lock a standing order
Weekly or monthly releases at a fixed price, held in our yard until you call it.
Stock, graded, on a truck this week.
Everything here happens out of one building at 9869 Meeks Blvd, St. Louis. That is not a detail — it is the only reason the numbers work.
Four things move the number, and only one of them is volume.
Used box pricing confuses people because the obvious lever — how many you want — is the weakest of the four.
| Factor | Effect | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Size-run consistency | Largest single factor | Sorting 2,000 boxes into one size is the labour you are paying for |
| Grade | Significant | Grade A requires more rejects per saleable box, so it carries the sorting cost of the rejects |
| Lane and freight | Significant | Empty boxes are mostly air. Knocked-down cube decides whether a lane works at all |
| Volume | Modest | Helps, but a big order of mixed sizes still prices like a sorting job |
| Timing flexibility | Modest discount | Taking stock when it lands rather than on demand lets us avoid holding cost |
| Standing order | Best available price | Predictable releases let us plan grading capacity weeks ahead |
Questions worth asking any box supplier.
Will you photograph the actual pallet?
We always do, unprompted. If a supplier sends you stock photography or a picture of a different lot, that is the entire answer about how they grade.
How many times has this container been through your yard?
A supplier who grades on inbound can answer this. One who cannot is selling you a photograph. Our marked containers carry a stencil, so we genuinely know.
Is the grade on the invoice?
On ours, yes, with the definition. A price without a named grade is not a quote; it is a hope.
Who owns the freight risk?
We quote delivered. If a pallet arrives damaged, it is our problem to solve, not something to argue about with a carrier you never chose.
What happens if the count is short?
We credit it the day you tell us, no inspection required under 5%. Arguing about twelve boxes costs more than twelve boxes.
Supply and demand move in opposite directions for most of the year.
If you buy on a fixed monthly schedule you are riding across this blind. It is a pattern rather than a law — but there is a calendar, and most buyers do not know it exists.
| Period | Inbound supply | Outbound demand | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| January – February | Very high | Low | Best availability and price of the year |
| March – April | High | Moderate | Good availability; grade A plentiful |
| May – June | Moderate | Moderate | Balanced; agriculture starts pulling gaylords |
| July – August | Low | High | Tightening; lead times extend |
| September – October | Low | Very high | Tightest of the year |
| November – December | Rising | Falling | Availability recovers, grade quality dips |
Ten conversions we use every day.
None of these are difficult. All of them are regularly got wrong, usually by a factor of 1,728.
| From | To | Factor | Worked example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cubic inches | Cubic feet | ÷ 1,728 | 48 × 40 × 36 = 69,120 in³ = 40.0 ft³ |
| Square inches | Square feet | ÷ 144 | 13,528 in² = 93.9 ft² |
| Pounds per ft² | Board weight | × area in ft² | 93.9 ft² × 0.55 = 51.7 lb |
| Pounds | Kilograms | × 0.45359 | 51.7 lb = 23.5 kg |
| Inches | Millimetres | × 25.4 | 48" = 1,219 mm |
| Cubic feet | Cubic metres | × 0.02832 | 40.0 ft³ = 1.13 m³ |
| Short tons | Metric tonnes | × 0.90718 | 11,800 tons = 10,705 tonnes |
| Loose OCC volume | Weight | × 80 lb/yd³ | 40 yd³ ≈ 3,200 lb |
| Baled OCC volume | Weight | × 700 lb/yd³ | 2 yd³ bale ≈ 1,400 lb |
| Trailer volume (53') | Usable | × 0.72 | 3,489 ft³ → 2,512 ft³ |
Mullen and ECT, side by side.
Two tests measuring two different failure modes. The equivalences below exist because carriers historically specified Mullen — treat them as conversational rather than contractual, and pick the test that matches how your boxes actually fail.
| Mullen (burst) | ECT (stacking) | Wall | Max size sum | Max gross weight | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 lb | 23 ECT | Single | 40" | 20 lb | Light retail, folding-carton replacement |
| 150 lb | 26 ECT | Single | 60" | 40 lb | Small parcel, light goods |
| 175 lb | 29 ECT | Single | 65" | 50 lb | General light shipper |
| 200 lb | 32 ECT | Single | 75" | 65 lb | The standard single-wall shipper |
| 250 lb | 40 ECT | Single | 85" | 80 lb | Heavier single wall |
| 275 lb | 44 ECT | Single | 95" | 95 lb | Top of the single-wall range |
| 275 lb | 48 ECT | Double | 100" | 120 lb | Entry double wall — the reuse workhorse |
| 350 lb | 51 ECT | Double | 110" | 180 lb | Heavy distribution |
| 400 lb | 55 ECT | Double | 120" | 225 lb | Industrial parts |
| 500 lb | 61 ECT | Double | 140" | 260 lb | Heavy double wall, bulk bins |
| 600 lb | 67 ECT | Triple | 160" | 300 lb | Entry triple wall |
| 700 lb | 71 ECT | Triple | 165" | 600 lb | Export crating replacement |
| 900 lb | 77 ECT | Triple | 170" | 1,200 lb | Heavy bulk bins |
| 1,100 lb | 82 ECT | Triple | 180" | 2,400 lb static | Gaylord standard |
“Max size sum” is length plus width plus depth. Exceeding it voids the certification even if the box is physically capable, which matters in a freight claim.
The nine points, in the order a grader checks them.
Ordered by how well each point predicts failure under load, not by how obvious it is. The first one is the least visible and the most important.
| # | What is checked | What disqualifies | Downgrades to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bottom third of the long panel | Soft, fuzzed or delaminated board from tine strikes | Recovery |
| 2 | Vertical corner squareness | Corners bowed outward from over-stuffing | C, or recovery if severe |
| 3 | Liner colour banding | Patchy darkening indicating moisture cycling | Recovery |
| 4 | Flap edge condition | Fuzzed or feathered edges; missing flap corners | C, or bench repair |
| 5 | Score line integrity | Cracked rather than creased folds | C, or bench re-score |
| 6 | Manufacturer's joint | Separated glue line or pulled staples | Bench repair |
| 7 | Interior cleanliness | Residue, dust, previous product traces | C |
| 8 | Print and label residue | Heavy multi-colour print or continuous tape bands | B at best; re-face station |
| 9 | Top edge crush | Crushing on stacked or racked units | Bench reinforcement, else C |
Before you ask for a price
The three facts that move a used-box quote more than anything else are your destination postal code, how many distinct sizes you need, and the grade your application genuinely requires. Send those three and you will get a number. Send 'what's your best price on 18-inch cubes' and you will get a clarifying question, because that sentence does not contain enough information to answer honestly.
Size-run consistency is the one people underestimate. Sorting two thousand boxes into one size takes a grader about nine minutes per pallet. Splitting the same heap across eleven sizes, counting each run, bundling in twenty-fives and banding takes closer to forty. That labour is the product — the board itself costs us very little, because somebody else was paying to throw it away.
What arrives
- Matched size runs, counted rather than estimated, bundled in twenty-fives.
- A band tag on every bundle stating size, style and grade.
- Knocked down, nested and banded, with the cube arithmetic on the paperwork.
- Photographs of the exact lot, sent before you commit to anything.
- A delivered price with freight shown separately, not folded into a single opaque number.
What we will not do
We will not blend grade C board into a grade B pallet and call the average honest. We will not quote a price without naming a grade. And we will not take an order where the freight makes reuse more expensive than buying new locally — we will say so and point you somewhere closer, which costs us a sale roughly once a fortnight.
Standing orders, and why most repeat customers end up on one
A standing order is a full truckload bought at truckload pricing and held in our yard under your name, released against your call-offs. You get the freight economics of a big order with the cash flow and floor space of a small one, and we get predictable grading capacity weeks ahead. It is the single most common arrangement we have, and most buyers have never been offered it.
Six things that happen between your email and a trailer.
None of these are automated. A person reads the enquiry, a person walks the floor, and a person photographs the pallet.
A grader reads it
Not a sales inbox. Someone who can look at your dimensions and tell you immediately whether they are inside or outside measurements.
We walk the floor
Against what is physically graded and available today, not against a catalogue or a forecast.
We photograph the lot
The actual pallet you would receive, with grade notes and any residue called out.
Freight is priced three ways
LTL, partial and full truckload quoted side by side, because the cheapest one is frequently not the obvious one.
You get the cube maths
Knocked-down cube, pallet fit and trailer count, so you can check that the freight number makes sense.
Release or hold
Ship it, or leave the balance in our yard against a standing order and call it off as you need it.
Buying, in practice.
How fast can you ship?
Graded stock in our yard ships the same week, often within 48 hours on Midwest lanes. Reconditioned containers that need bench time run a week to ten days. Custom new board is 10 – 15 working days. We will tell you which category your order falls into before you commit.
Can I buy a sample first?
On new board, yes. On used board we would rather send photographs of the actual lot, because stock turns constantly and a sample pulled today will not represent the pallet you receive in three weeks. Photographs of the real thing are more honest than a representative sample.
Do prices change often?
Spot prices move with the OCC commodity market, season and lane. Standing orders are priced for the term, which is one of their main attractions. We will tell you where the market is rather than leaving you to guess.
What happens if I order the wrong size?
Tell us before it ships and we will re-pick it. After it ships, we will work something out — usually by taking it back on a return leg that was running anyway. We would rather absorb a re-pick than have an unusable pallet sitting in your building.
Can I mix products on one order?
Yes, and you should. Boxes, lids, liners, corner boards and pallets travel on the same trailer. Splitting them across suppliers means paying freight twice on freight that is mostly air.
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 |
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 |