How Pallet Pricing and Margins Actually Work

Pallet buying looks like gambling until you learn the three numbers. Then it looks like arithmetic.

1. Cost per sellable unit

Pallet price ÷ (piece count × sellable rate). A $650, 500-piece load at an 85% sellable rate = $1.53 per sellable unit. This single number lets you compare any two loads, manifested or not.

2. Average realized sale

Not the sticker — the blended average across your channels after the duds. Bin stores blend the whole price curve; online sellers blend like-new and open-box tiers.

3. Delivered cost, not pallet cost

A $550 pallet plus $320 LTL freight is an $870 pallet. This is where free-freight suppliers quietly change your margin — the listed price IS the landed cost. Ours ships free to all 50 states, liftgate included.

The margin formula

(Average realized sale − cost per sellable unit) × sellable units − channel fees = load profit. Run it before buying, then again after sorting. The gap between predicted and actual is your grading skill improving week over week.

New to this? Start with the full pallet buying guide.