Where to buy pallets: how to choose a pallet supplier

Plenty of businesses sell pallets in Finland: pallet suppliers, hardware stores, online shops, recycling companies and sawmills. On the surface the prices look similar, but the difference lies in what is behind the price. Does the seller have its own warehouse, or is it brokering someone else’s stock? Is delivery made with its own truck or with third-party freight? Does the supplier also buy pallets back when you have too many? This guide covers where it makes sense to buy pallets, what to ask a pallet supplier before your first order and what really sets suppliers apart.

We are a pallet supplier ourselves, so let us say it plainly: we are not a neutral party here. Instead, we tell you honestly which criteria a buyer should use and in which situations someone other than us is the better choice. The criteria are the same whoever you end up buying from.

Where can you buy pallets?

In practice there are four places to buy, and they serve different needs. Here they are compared side by side.

For business use, the choice is usually between a pallet supplier and a hardware store, and quantity decides it. You can pick up one pallet from a shop, but at ten pallets a supplier is already cheaper, and at a hundred pallets the difference is many times greater. Price levels are covered in more detail in the article pallet price.

Eight questions to ask a pallet supplier before your first order

These questions separate suppliers faster than a price comparison. The answers also tell you how reliable the deliveries are going to be.

1. Do you have your own warehouse? If so, the pallets leave straight away. If not, the seller fetches them from someone else and the delivery time stretches accordingly.
2. Who handles transport? A supplier with its own fleet can promise a delivery day and keep it. With third-party freight, the schedule is in someone else’s hands.
3. Which pallet types can I get from the same supplier? If you need EUR, FIN and half pallets as well as pallet collars, one delivery is cheaper and less hassle than three.
4. How is quality defined? Ask them to explain what grades A, B and C mean in practice for them specifically. The answer reveals whether their sorting is systematic.
5. Do the pallets carry the IPPC and ISPM 15 marking? For goods going for export, this is a requirement, not a wish.
6. What is the delivery time and what is the minimum order? Ask these together. A short delivery time does not help if the minimum order is three times your need.
7. Do you also buy pallets back? This is the question many people forget. It determines what happens to surplus pallets later.
8. Who is my contact person? A named person means you do not have to explain the situation from scratch every time.

Own warehouse or broker: how to tell the difference

Some pallet traders do not own any pallets but broker other people’s stock. That is not automatically a bad thing, but it affects price and schedule, so it is good to know in advance. A broker adds one more link to the chain, and every link costs money and slows things down.

You can spot the difference from a few signs. Ask how many pallets are in stock right now and whether you can come and see them. A company that owns a real warehouse answers directly and invites you over. Also ask whether you can collect the pallets yourself. If there is no collection point, or the address changes from one order to the next, the goods are coming from somewhere else.

Delivery matters more than the pallet price

The unit price of a pallet is easy to compare, so people focus on it too much. In practice, delivery makes up a large share of the total cost, and that is where the differences between suppliers are greatest.

Always ask whether freight is included in the price or invoiced separately, and what the delivery time is to your address specifically. Also ask what happens if the schedule slips. A supplier that runs its own trucks can rearrange its routes. One that relies on third-party freight cannot.

For large batches, it pays to calculate a full load. When the load is full, the freight cost per pallet drops considerably. How many pallets fit in a load is explained in the article how many pallets fit in a truck or container.

Quality: how to agree on it with the supplier

With used pallets, quality varies between suppliers more than price does. The A, B and C grading is common, but it is not an official standard, so the same letter means different things at different companies. What the grades usually mean is explained in the article pallet grades A, B and C.

When choosing a supplier, what matters is not the grading itself but how quality is agreed. Three things are worth sorting out before the first large order:

• Ask for a description in words, not letters. ”Intact, no repaired blocks, markings legible” is a specification. ”Grade B” is not.
• Ask for a sample batch or go and have a look. A trial batch of ten pallets costs little and tells you more than any brochure.
• Agree who inspects and when. Is the batch inspected on receipt or afterwards, and how long is the claims period?

What to look for in an individual pallet is covered in the article what to check in a used pallet.

Checking the supplier’s background

For a recurring delivery or a large one-off batch, it is worth spending five minutes checking the supplier’s background. These are the same things any purchasing department would look at.

• Business ID and Trade Register. Every Finnish company has a Business ID (Y-tunnus). Check how long the company has been operating and whether its line of business really is pallets or something else.
• Prepayment register and tax debts. A quick check in the Finnish Tax Administration’s public registers that says a lot about the state of the business.
• Its own address and warehouse. Check on a map service whether the address really shows a pallet yard or just an office building.
• References from your own industry. Ask directly who they have delivered similar batches to.
• Availability. Do they answer the phone and email? This also predicts how things will go when there is a problem.

Pallets for export: ask this before ordering

If the goods are going outside the EU, a wooden pallet must be heat-treated and carry the IPPC stamp. Without it, the shipment can be held up at customs, and then the price of the pallet no longer matters.

When choosing a supplier, the question is simple: are the pallets ISPM 15 marked, and can you get a photo of the marking? A reliable supplier answers this without hesitation and sends a photo without being asked. A vague answer is an answer in itself. What the marking contains and how to read it is explained in the articles heat-treated pallets and ISPM 15 and how to identify a genuine EUR pallet.

Does the supplier also buy pallets back?

Of all the questions, this is the one most often forgotten and the one that costs the most. Pallets keep arriving with incoming goods, and at some point you have more than you need. If the supplier also buys pallets back, the surplus turns into income and leaves in one go. If not, the extra pallets stay in the yard and disposal costs money.

It is also worth asking whether a mixed batch is accepted and whether the pallets are collected from your premises. Practical advice on the selling side can be found in the article how to sell surplus pallets.

What to agree in writing

Pallet deals are often done over the phone, and for small batches that is enough. For recurring deliveries, a few things are still worth putting in writing so that you do not have to renegotiate them for every batch. How pallet prices are made up more generally is explained in the article pallet price.

How to request quotes you can actually compare

The main reason quotes cannot be compared is an incomplete request for quotation. When all suppliers receive the same information, you get back figures that are structured the same way. Always include these six things:

1. Pallet type and quantity. For example, 200 EUR pallets and 50 pallet collars. If you are not sure about the type, say what goes on the pallet and how heavy it is.
2. New or used, and for what use. The intended use tells the supplier more than a grade letter. ”Going for export to Asia” and ”for internal moves in the warehouse” lead to different quotes.
3. Delivery address and unloading point. Say whether there is a loading dock, whether a full-size truck and trailer can reach the site and whether you have a forklift for unloading. This has a direct effect on freight.
4. Preferred delivery time. Say whether it is urgent or whether the delivery can be fitted into a suitable route. A flexible schedule is cheaper.
5. Whether the need is one-off or recurring. If you use pallets every month, say so. Annual volume affects the price more than the size of a single batch.
6. Whether you have surplus pallets to get rid of. If so, the same truck can deliver and collect, which lowers the cost of both.

Contract models: one-off order, framework agreement or scheduled delivery

With a recurring need, it helps to know the ways a pallet supply can be arranged. The model affects price, storage space and how much work ordering takes.

The last model is the one people least often think to ask for, even though it is the most natural fit for many warehouses. If pallets arrive with incoming goods and you also use pallets yourself, it makes sense to handle both directions under the same agreement, and preferably on the same visit.

How many pallets to order at once

The price per pallet falls as the quantity grows, but storage space costs money and pallets suffer if they stand outdoors. A sensible order quantity comes from three figures: how many pallets you use per month, how many can sensibly be stored and what a full load is.

The rule of thumb is to order enough that deliveries are one to three months apart and the pallets fit under a shelter or indoors. If storage is outdoors, order more often and in smaller quantities: moisture damage costs more than a larger batch discount saves. Load sizes can be found in the article how many pallets fit in a truck or container.

Common mistakes when choosing a pallet supplier

• Comparing only the unit price. Freight and delivery time often turn the ranking upside down.
• Not asking about the minimum order. A good price on a batch of a hundred pallets does not help if you need ten.
• Trusting the letter. Grade B means different things at different companies. Ask for a description or a sample.
• Forgetting buy-back. Surplus pallets are a cost item if no one buys them.
• Not confirming the ISPM 15 marking. At worst, the problem only comes to light at customs.
• Putting the order out to tender every time. The working time eats up the saving, and ongoing cooperation would get you a better price.

When a batch does not match what was agreed

Sooner or later a batch arrives that is not what you expected. That alone does not mark out a bad supplier, but what happens next does. Do this:

1. Document it immediately. Take photos of the load before unloading and of any deviations after unloading. Record the quantity and the date.
2. Report it straight away. Do not wait for the invoice. The sooner you report it, the easier it is to sort out for both parties.
3. Say what you want. A replacement batch, a credit or a partial discount. A clear request speeds up the solution.
4. Watch how the supplier reacts. This is the best single measure of the whole relationship. A quick, hassle-free fix is worth more than a price difference of a few per cent.

Switching supplier without interruption

If your current supplier is not working out, make the switch in a controlled way and not in the middle of a rush. In practice it goes like this: ask the new supplier for a trial batch at your normal ordering rhythm, check quality and delivery reliability, and only move the volume once two or three deliveries have gone as agreed.

Time the switch for a moment when you have a buffer in stock. If you have a couple of weeks’ worth of pallets ready, one late delivery will not stop anything. It is also worth asking the new supplier whether it will take away your surplus pallets at the same time: that way the switch lets you clear out the warehouse in one go.

Warning signs: when to be careful

The pallet trade is mostly straightforward, but a few signs are worth recognising. They do not mean you are dealing with a scam, but they show that something has been left unclarified, and that usually costs money later.

• The price is clearly lower than others and freight is not mentioned. Freight almost always has to be paid somewhere. Ask for a delivered price.
• Quality is only described in letters. If they will not describe ”grade B” in words and you cannot get a sample batch, the quality is undefined.
• You cannot visit the warehouse and there is no collection point. Then the goods come from a third party and the schedule depends on them.
• They will not commit to a delivery day. ”Sometime next week” in practice means the supplier is not in control of its fleet.
• The ISPM 15 question gets a vague answer. On export pallets, the marking is either there or it is not. There is no room for interpretation.
• The contact person changes every time. You have to explain the situation from the start, and the risk of mistakes grows with every order.

A good supplier answers these directly and willingly. If the answer is evasive, ask a follow-up question before you order a large batch.

Tender every time or commit to a partner?

For a one-off need, competitive tendering makes sense: ask two or three suppliers for a quote, compare the total including freight, and order. With a recurring need, the calculation changes.

When someone other than us is the better choice

In all honesty, there are situations where a pallet supplier is not the right place to go. If you need a single pallet for home use, a hardware store is quicker and easier. If you are in northern Finland and do not need a full load, a supplier closer to you will beat us on freight, whatever the pallet itself costs.

If, on the other hand, you need dozens or hundreds of pallets, want both new and used pallets from the same supplier or want to get rid of surplus pallets at the same time, then it makes sense to talk to a pallet supplier. We deliver throughout southern Finland with our own trucks from Hyvinkää. For larger orders, deliveries outside Finland can be arranged case by case.

Checklist before you order

Why buy pallets from Suomen Lavacenter

We have our own warehouse and our own trucks in Hyvinkää, so we are not a middleman and we do not depend on outside freight. We have thousands of pallets in stock at all times, and our range includes EUR pallets, FIN pallets, half pallets, forklift pallets, one-way pallets, display pallets, custom-size pallets and pallet collars, both new and used.

• Our own warehouse and fleet. The most common sizes leave straight away, and schedules hold.
• New and used from one supplier. Even in the same delivery.
• We also buy pallets back. Your surplus leaves and turns into income.
• Collection is possible. Our warehouse is at Varastokatu 19, Hyvinkää.
• The same contact person. A familiar person on every order.

Summary

Where you buy pallets is rarely decided by the unit price. What matters is the supplier’s own warehouse, its own transport, how quality is defined, ISPM 15 marking on export goods and whether the supplier also buys pallets back. Ask about these five things before your first order, whoever you buy from.

For a one-off need, a hardware store is quickest. For a company’s recurring need, a pallet supplier is almost always cheaper and less hassle, and the difference grows the more pallets you move. If you want to go deeper into which pallet to choose, read the pallet buying guide.

Frequently asked questions