The sell desk
Sell your pallets in Orlando, and know first what they're worth
ORLANDO — Every receiving dock sheds pallets, and what they are worth depends on three things the seller can see before asking: how many, what size and grade, and whether the stack is sorted. Sorted stacks of one size sit at the top. Mixed piles and cores sit lower. Broken ones are a clearing job.
Sorted, mixed or core
Pallet buyers think in three piles. A sorted stack is one size and one grade, stacked square: the easiest to price and to move. A mixed load is the unsorted pile a dock collects over weeks, with sizes and grades together. A core is a used pallet a shipper no longer needs, sold or handed to a recycler for inspection, repair, dismantling or, if beyond repair, grinding.
Which pile you have decides who wants it. Sorted Grade A and B stacks go back into use as pallets. Cores go to the repair line. Mixed loads go to someone who will sort them.
What usually sells
| What you have | How the trade sees it | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Sorted 48 x 40, Grade A or B | Ready to reuse, the easiest to place | Used pallets |
| Cores, one size or many | Raw material for repair, dismantling or grinding | Pallet cores |
| A steady weekly flow | A supply, which is a different job from a one-off | Pallet buyback |
| Mixed sizes and grades | Sorted by the buyer, so valued lower | Mixed loads |
| Broken or wet stacks | Usually a disposal question, not a sale | Broken pallets |
What to check before you ask
- Count and size. A stack of 48 x 40s and a stack of 42 x 42s are separate offers.
- Build. Block and stringer pallets are handled and valued differently.
- Condition. If a stack has sat uncovered through a Florida summer, say so; moisture and mould change the answer.
- Access. A dock with a ramp and a forklift is a different job from a back lot behind a store.
No prices here
Prices for pallets are not published, because the number belongs to the stack. The worth guide explains what moves it, and a request is where it gets answered.
Why a trailer count helps a seller too
A seller can think in trailers, but only roughly. A 53-foot trailer takes 26 loaded pallets of 48 x 40 laid out straight, two across and thirteen deep, and sources disagree on turned and pinwheel layouts, which reach 28 to 30. Empties travel stacked in towers, so a back lot of 200 does not divide by 26; count it by towers instead, fifteen pallets to a tower.
Photograph the stack, not the yard
- One picture of the end of a stack, so the stringers and any plugs show.
- One of the top deck in daylight, so board colour and cracks show.
- One wide picture that gives the number of stacks and how high they are.
- A tape laid across the deck, which settles the size without a word.
Counting a stack without moving it
Count by towers. A pallet of the usual stringer build stands about 5.5 inches tall, so a tower of 15 is roughly 82 inches high. Twelve towers of 15 is 180 pallets, and a yard of 200 can be counted in a minute from a gate. The height is an assumption, not a measurement: a pallet with thick deck boards or a block frame stands higher, and the count changes with it. State how you counted when you send the figure.
Who buys pallets
Four kinds of buyer take used pallets. Recyclers repair and resell them. Rebuilders break them down and build new ones from the parts. Brokers move sorted stock between sellers and users without handling much of it themselves. End users, such as distributors and manufacturers, buy what they will ship on. Each wants a different description: a recycler asks about condition, a rebuilder about the lumber, a broker about the count and an end user about size and grade.
Sources
Last reviewed 12 November 2026.
Classifieds: send your request
Say the size, the count, the grade as best you know it, and whether the pallets are block or stringer.