§1How it works
The supplier collects used pallets from your dock (or the receiver's) on a schedule, sorts them, and credits you per pallet by grade. Broken pallets usually earn nothing or carry a disposal charge. Some suppliers net the credit against your purchase invoice.
§2What to write down
- Credit per pallet by grade, and how grades are defined at your dock.
- Pickup frequency and the minimum trailer count.
- Who counts and how disputes are settled (photos, joint counts).
- Whether credits are indexed like purchase prices.
- Treatment of non-standard sizes and broken pallets.
§3Count it in cost per trip
In a one-way program, cost per trip = price + disposal − buyback credit. The cost-per-trip calculator has a field for each. A program where your own cores come back to your supplier as #1 recycled pallets is a closed loop in all but name; model it that way if the numbers allow.
§4Counting and condition
Most disputes in buyback programs are about counts and condition. Agree who counts, when, and how damaged pallets are graded and priced before the first pickup. A signed pickup ticket with the count and grade, kept by both sides, removes most arguments.
If credits are netted against new-pallet invoices, make sure the invoice shows both lines. Netting can hide a falling buyback rate.
§5What a buyback is worth
A buyback credit lowers your cost per trip directly: in the one-way model, cost per trip = price + disposal − buyback credit. Use the cost-per-trip calculator to see how a change in the credit compares with a change in the new-pallet price.
§6Terms to write down
Put the buyback price, the grades it applies to, the pickup frequency and the minimum pickup quantity in the contract, and link the buyback price to the same review dates as the new-pallet price so the two move together.