How Freight Delivery Works When You Buy a Pallet
Pallets do not arrive in a parcel van. They come by freight, and the process catches out almost every first-time buyer.
Before the truck arrives
Someone has to be there to receive it. Freight carriers do not leave pallets unattended and a missed delivery costs time on both sides. Pallets and truckloads move by freight. Someone needs to be available to receive the delivery.
Unloading
A loading dock makes this trivial. Without one you need a way to get a loaded pallet off a trailer, whether that is a forklift, a liftgate arrangement, or people and time to break the pallet down by hand where that is practical.
Inspect before you sign
This is the single most important paragraph on this page. Look at the load before you sign the delivery paperwork. If shrink wrap is torn, boxes are crushed or the pallet is visibly short, write it on the paperwork before signing and photograph it.
A clean signature is a statement that the freight arrived in good order. Recovering a damage claim after a clean signature is considerably harder, for us as much as for you.
Raising a claim
We cover freight damage and significant shortage and the window is 48 hours from delivery. We need damage noted on the delivery paperwork before you sign, plus photographs. On an approved claim we arrange and pay the return freight.
What shipping costs here
Shipping is included in the listed price. There is no separate freight charge at checkout. Transit is 2 to 7 business days across the lower 48, and Alaska and Hawaii take longer, and we confirm the timeline with you before dispatch.
More guides
Liquidation basics
What a liquidation pallet actually is, what unmanifested means, and who should not buy one.
Pricing a pallet
Cost per piece, realistic sell-through, and the costs that never appear on the invoice.
Amazon returns
What is really inside an Amazon returns pallet, and why the unboxing videos mislead.
