Here’s a question we are asked on a daily basis, usually 5+ times per day, 365 days a year! So here’s everything you need to know:

First, a “pallet” is a piece of wood that is designed to hold a lot of weight.  Pallets cannot ship through standard mail. Instead they have to ship “Freight” on freight trucks. This means they require a Lift Gate or loading dock to unload. With that being said, the EMPTY piece of wood usually costs $3 - $12 depending on the type of pallet. So when you ask “How much for a pallet?” what you are asking for is how much this costs:

However I am assuming you don’t want an EMPTY piece of wood (unless you are the crafty type and making some badass furniture out of it!):

My guess is that you are reading this article because you want to know how much PALLETS OF MERCHANDISE cost and how many pieces of inventory you receive, so let’s proceed!

A pallet can hold one item, such as a lawn mower or refrigerator. A pallet can hold 16 items, such as boxed microwaves. Or a pallet can hold 200+ pieces of sweaters or several thousand pieces of size ladies underwear:

So regarding your question, “How much do wholesale pallets cost? How many pieces do I get?”

My reply to you is, “Pallets OF WHAT?”

Your response to me is usually “Wholesale Clothing!” (or wholesale accessories, shoes, etc)

And I then ask you “What kind of clothing?” because a pallet of Gucci Coats is going to cost more than a pallet of Walmart socks. And a pallet of Store Return Walmart Sweatpants will cost more than a pallet of outdated Dollar Tree 2014 New Years Eve Decor. So as you can clearly see, there is no “set price” for a pallet because there’s so many variables that go into it; it would greatly help if you read our blog post" How Wholesale, Liquidations and Store Returns Work". With that being said, here’s a few factors to consider when determining the cost of a pallet:

New (“Traditional Wholesale”) vs Liquidation Wholesale vs Store Returns vs Salvage :

A brand spanking new Kathy Van Zeeland purse that is shipped out BEFORE it even hits stores may cost you $60 per piece x 150 pieces on a pallet = $9,000. That identical purse, sold as a liquidation may cost you $19 x 150 pieces on a pallet = $2,850. And if there was a pallet of 150 pieces of Kathy bags that were Store Returns you may be able to buy them for only $10 per piece, which would make this pallet $1,500. Finally, if you are buying this same item “Salvage” you might be able to drive the price down to $4 per bag = $600. As you will notice, a “pallet of Kathy Van Zeeland Bags” can range from $600 to $9,000 based on the CONDITION even though all of these pallets contain 150 pieces.

Next, you have to consider the quantity of pieces. New wholesale buyers love to ASSUME that buy purchasing pallets they are automatically getting the best deal, however this isn’t true. Pallet shipping is EASIEST FOR THE SELLER, but does NOT MEAN IT IS CHEAPEST FOR THE BUYER. For example, lets say you are located in Florida and the seller is in Michigan. Let’s also say the pallet contains 6 total boxes:

The cost to ship the pallet from MI to FL can be $389 whereas the cost for the seller to ship the six boxes individually may total $45 per box, which would equal $270. If this is the case it means the BUYER is spending an additional $119 on shipping because it saves the SELLER time. And, if the pallet contains 100 items, this is an additional $1.19 PER ITEM added-cost due to buying in pallet form versus having it shipped through standard mail. With that in mind, pallet shipping only makes financial sense if the amount you choose to purchase is too large to ship via traditional carriers or, if the thing(s) you are buying simply cannot ship through standard mail (such as a Hot Water Heater, which is too large to qualify for standard USPS, FedEx or UPS)

Another misconception most new buyers have is that by purchasing merchandise that ships on top of a wood pallet they are getting a better deal on the cost of the product. Again, this is not a guarantee and if you factor in the pallet shipping cost you may discover you are grossly overpaying for merchandise that you could have bought and had shipped via standard carriers (not on a pallet via freight). For example, let’s say you buy 50 full size mens North Face Parkas and our company, BigBrandWholesale.com, charges $39 per piece and ships for free inside the USA; this would make your total $1,950, out the door. Now let's pretend XYZ-Wholesale offers these identical parkas for only $37 per piece ($1,850) but they ship on a pallet, which adds on an additional $376; this means your adjusted total is $2,226 for the same purchase. You are spending an additional $276 to simply have the same items delivered by a semi truck. 

So, if you are trying to decide if you NEEEEEED Pallets or if you just want to buy a larger quantity of merchandise, take the time to compare both options.  Here at BigBrandWholesale.com we ship for FREE inside the USA, so whether you order 20 pieces or 2,000, you don't have to factor in the shipping expense.  

Love this article?  We have lots more like this!  Check out our How to Buy Inventory blog category.