Services

Whatever happens next to a box, one form

Buying, selling, recycling and moving bulk containers usually means finding four different companies. Here it means one request, passed to partner suppliers in our network.

BuySellRecyclePickup & delivery

At a glance

Quote request: Free, no obligation
Fulfilled by: Partner suppliers
Requests from: Across the US
Pricing: By written quote

Request a quote

Which service do you need?

Fill this in once. A partner supplier in our network follows up with grade, construction, quantity and freight.

First name

Last name

Phone

US or Canada numbers only

Company

Address line

City

State / Province

Postal code

US ZIP code or Canadian postal code

Product type

Select service

Quantity

Grade

Message

✳ required. Every field is checked before sending so genuine requests never sit behind spam. Your details are shared with partner suppliers in our network to prepare this quote. See the privacy policy.

Four ways in

Pick the one that matches your dock

Each service is fulfilled by partner suppliers in our network, where available near you.

Service 01

Buy Used Gaylords

Request graded used gaylords by the bundle or the truckload. A partner supplier in our network quotes your load.

Service 02

Sell Your Gaylords

Turn a dock corner full of empties into an offer from a partner supplier who buys used containers.

Service 03

Recycling & Baling

Recycling pickup for corrugated that is past reuse, arranged through partner suppliers.

Service 04

Pickup & Delivery

Delivery of containers and pickup of empties, arranged through partner suppliers and their carriers.

Where the savings usually are

Three common sources of avoidable packaging spend

“Buying new where used performs identically, buying one size for every load, and paying to dispose of material somebody would buy.”

A common pattern in bulk packaging

How engagements start

Four steps, no discovery call

One written request starts it.

Step 01

You describe it

Product, quantity, location, deadline. A little real detail beats a long meeting.

Step 02

We match it

Your request goes to a partner supplier in our network who can serve your area.

Step 03

The supplier quotes

Grade, construction, quantity and freight, with their terms.

Step 04

You decide

Accept, ask questions or walk away. The request is free and carries no obligation.

Reference

The used-container year

Supply and demand swing with harvest, retail peak and the January reset. Plan around them.

Knocked-down gaylord boxes banded onto pallets and loaded inside a trailer — Knocked-down gaylords, banded and floor-loaded in a dry van.

Warehouse floor with pallets of knocked-down gaylord boxes, racking and a forklift — Used containers on pallets, sorted and waiting to be graded.

Outdoor storage area with banded pallets of flattened gaylord boxes under a blue sky — Flattened containers on pallets outdoors. Corrugated has little wet strength, so cover it quickly.

The used-container year, month by month
Period	Supply	Demand	What to do
January – March	High — post-peak returns flood the market	Low	Best buying window of the year. Buy the annual pool if you have storage.
April – June	Tightening	Rising with early produce	Plan summer needs now, while supply is still reasonable.
July – September	Scarce, especially tall triple wall	Peak	Reserve inventory in June. Sell empties now — they are worth the most.
October – November	Moderate	High through retail peak	Confirm freight capacity early; carriers reprice light freight.
December	Flood in the last ten days	Falling	Opportunistic buying if you can take a load on short notice.

Quality control

The twelve-point inspection, in order

What a careful supplier checks on every used unit, and what you can check at receiving. The cheapest rejection happens first, which is why odor and moisture come before anything cosmetic.

Odor

Thirty seconds in open air, nose at the opening.

Any persistent smell — instant rejection.

Moisture

Hand and meter at the bottom score line where it hides.

Staining above the bottom score, or any delamination.

Vertical corners

Thumb pressure at knee, waist and shoulder height.

Hollow give, shear, or crush longer than four inches.

Bottom flaps

Fold test on each flap; the score must hold.

Two or more dead scores sends the unit to cutting.

Squareness

Diagonal measurement across the open top.

Over 3/8 inch of rack drops the grade.

Interior cleanliness

Visual plus a wipe for residue and dust film.

Grease strike-through, product residue, staining.

Pest evidence

Corners, flutes and under the bottom flaps.

Frass, gnaw marks or webbing — rejected outright.

Wall thickness

Caliper at two points on a cut edge.

Mislabelled construction should be re-specified before it is quoted.

Print & labels

Check for conflicting brands and old spec marks.

Covered, or graded down if legibility matters.

Top edge

Fray, crush and compression over the perimeter.

Over a quarter of the perimeter → trim candidate.

Previous repair

Tape, V-board inserts, replaced flaps from another life.

Should be declared on the quote, not presented as original.

Origin lane

Where the unit came from and what was in it.

Industrial origins never enter the food-adjacent lane.

FAQ

Common questions on this subject

Short answers to common questions. If yours is not covered, ask it on the form and a partner supplier in our network can answer it with your quote.

All 33 answers

How much do used gaylords cost?

Pricing is set by the partner supplier who quotes your request. Grade, wall count, height, quantity and freight all move the number, and freight is usually the biggest variable, so ask for it as a separate line.

What areas do you serve?

Gaylord Boxes takes requests from across the United States. Availability depends on partner suppliers near your dock, and freight distance affects the price.

Who am I dealing with?

Gaylord Boxes is a referral service. Your request goes to a partner supplier in our network, and that supplier quotes and fulfils the order, including price, delivery and terms.

Can I collect a load myself?

Often, yes. Whether a dock pickup is possible depends on the partner supplier who quotes your request. Say on the form that you would like to collect, and the supplier will confirm whether that works and when.

Can you match a competitor's price?

Pricing is set by the partner supplier who quotes your request. When comparing quotes, check that both are graded per unit, both include freight, and both are quoting the same wall count: those three differences explain most gaps.

How does selling empties work?

Send photographs and a count through the form. A partner supplier who buys used containers reviews them, makes an offer by grade and arranges collection if the numbers work. Small quantities may need to be combined with a nearby pickup.

What about confidential printing on our boxes?

Mention it on the form. Options include covering old marks, cutting the printed panel away, or sending the unit straight to recycling. The supplier handling your load will confirm what they can do.

How long will containers last in outdoor storage?

Not long. Corrugated has almost no wet strength; one serious rain event can turn sellable stock into recycling. If you have no indoor space, schedule collections more often instead.

Go deeper

For the curious

Market note

How the OCC Market Actually Prices Your Fiber

Old Corrugated Containers is a traded commodity with a published index, a seasonal rhythm and a contamination penalty. Here is how it decides what your bales are worth.

Keep reading

Start with whichever end of the loop you are on

Buying, selling, recycling or moving: it all begins the same way. Tell us what you have and what you need it to do.

Get a quote How it works