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Legal

Shipping & returns

Freight is usually the largest single variable in a used-tote price, and damage claims are won or lost in the ninety seconds before the driver pulls away. Both are worth reading properly.

Short answer

We ship LTL, lift-gate LTL, flatbed and full trailer to 48 states using reusable corner board and straps — never stretch-wrap. Note damage on the delivery receipt before the driver leaves, photograph it on the truck, and tell us within 48 hours.
  • Up to 42 nested empties per 53-ft van
  • Lift-gate available for no-dock sites
  • Reusable dunnage returns on the next inbound
  • 48-hour damage window, 20% restocking on sound returns

Freight question?

Quote · buy · sell · ship

One business day reply · No phone calls, ever

We reply here — no disposable addresses

US or Canada · 10 digits · format (555) 123-4567

US state or Canadian province

US ZIP or Canadian postal code — sets your freight

Units, or loads if you are selling

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Shipping methods

MethodBest forNotes
LTL, dock-to-dock1 – 8 unitsCheapest small-order option. Requires a dock and a forklift at both ends.
LTL with lift-gate1 – 4 units, no dockAdds a lift-gate fee. Units come to ground level; you still need a pallet jack.
Flatbed9 – 30 units, outdoor sitesGround-drop possible. Best for construction and agricultural destinations.
Full 53-ft van30 – 42 nested emptiesLowest cost per unit by a wide margin. Needs dock access and a crew.
Customer pickupAny quantitySavannah yard, including Saturday mornings. Bring straps — we load you.

Dunnage: no stretch-wrap

We secure loads with reusable corner board and ratchet straps that come back on the next inbound run. It costs us more per load and it means your receiving dock does not inherit a bale of film waste for every delivery. If your facility specifically requires shrink-wrapped pallets for an automated receiving process, say so at order time and we will quote it.

On delivery — do this

  1. 01

    Count before you sign

    Unit count against the bill of lading. A short count noted on the receipt is a straightforward claim; a short count reported the next morning is an argument.

  2. 02

    Walk the load on the truck

    Look for crushed cages, cracked bottles, sheared pallet feet and missing valve caps — in that order. Those are the four failures that happen in transit.

  3. 03

    Photograph anything suspect

    On the truck, with the trailer number visible if you can. Two photographs beat two paragraphs of description every time.

  4. 04

    Note it on the receipt, then tell us

    Write the exception on the delivery receipt before the driver leaves, then email us within 48 hours. We would rather replace a unit than litigate one.

Returns

  • Wrong grade supplied. Our error, our cost. We collect and replace, and you are not out freight either way.
  • Ordered the wrong thing. Sound, unused stock can come back within 14 days at a 20% restocking charge plus return freight.
  • Used, filled or modified. Not returnable. Once a container has held your product its grade history is gone, and we cannot honestly resell it as what it was.
  • As-is and scrap grades. Not returnable. That is what the price reflects.

Lead times

Order typeTypical lead time
Stock grades, Savannah pickupSame or next business day
Stock grades, delivered3 – 7 business days depending on lane
Reconditioning to order5 – 9 business days
Rebottling7 – 12 business days
UN re-certification and re-marking4 business days after test
Custom fabrication2 – 4 weeks, quoted per job

Claims

What a successful freight claim looks like

Published because the difference between a paid claim and a refused one is almost entirely what happened in the ninety seconds before the driver left.

Freight claim evidence, strongest first
EvidenceStrengthWhen to capture it
Specific exception noted on the delivery receiptStrongestBefore the driver leaves
Photographs of damage on the truckVery strongBefore unloading
Photographs with the trailer number visibleVery strongBefore unloading
Vague exception noted (“damaged”)ModerateBefore the driver leaves
Photographs after unloadingWeakStill worth taking
Clean receipt signed, damage reported next dayVery weakAvoid this situation
Clean receipt, reported after 48 hoursEffectively none—

Specificity matters more than people expect. “Unit 7 of 12, cage upright folded, bottle appears intact” supports a claim; “damaged” on its own frequently does not. Write what you can see, not a conclusion about it.

From the Yard Journal

Longer pieces from the people who run the wash line, the test bay and the trading desk.

Next move

Tell us the site constraints up front.

Dock or no dock, forklift or no forklift, door height, gate width, gravel or asphalt. A reconsignment because the truck cannot unload is the most expensive avoidable cost in this business.

Freight & palletizing guide Our freight service