Stop flattening them
A knocked-down gaylord with intact scores is still sellable. A gaylord flattened across the vertical corner is fiber. The single highest-value change most plants can make is instructing receiving to collapse along the original score lines and stack flat, not to fold boxes however they land.
Six photographs
Buyers quote from images. Send two wide shots of the stack, two close shots of vertical corners, one interior shot, and one shot showing stack height against a person or forklift for scale. That set answers most grading questions without a site visit.
Count and sort before you quote
Separate by footprint and wall count. A mixed pile quotes at the lowest common grade; two sorted stacks quote individually and often net more. Sorting a few dozen boxes is quick work.
Understand the freight math
Empty boxes are volume, not weight, so haul cost depends on how many you can load, not what they weigh. A trailer holds roughly 400–600 knocked-down triple-wall gaylords. Small quantities often need to be combined with a nearby pickup before collection makes sense.