Once-used, clean
Our top grade. Boxes that have shipped exactly once, have intact flaps, no structural damage, and look almost new. No staining, no label residue beyond what a Sharpie and a scraper can erase. Ideal for brand-facing uses or food-adjacent applications.
Lightly used, structural
Two or three trips. Minor scuffs, possibly some label residue, maybe a small tear on one flap that's been re-taped. Fully structural — nothing wrong with it mechanically. This is the most popular grade because it's 30% cheaper than grade A for 95% of use cases.
Visibly worked, sound
Four or more trips. You can tell it's been used — dock rash, stamp bleed, retaped seams. Still fully structural and load-rated. Perfect for internal dunnage, move-outs, scrap collection, or any job where the box is doing work instead of selling a brand.
Needs work
Structurally questionable on arrival. Re-taped, maybe with one flap replaced. We don't ship grade D unless a customer specifically asks — usually for scrap consolidation where the box is about to get baled anyway. Sold at a discount and marked clearly.
Baled
Not really a grade — it's the end of the line. If a box can't make grade D it becomes bale stock and goes to a downstream paper mill. We list this because we want the whole lifecycle on one page.
Why a custom grading system and not a standard one?
The industry has informal grading conventions but no hard standard that everyone agrees on. After eight years of arguing with customers about whose grade was right, we wrote our own, stapled it to the dock door, and use it every single day. It’s on this page because transparency is easier than re-explaining.
How we grade, step by step.
- Visual inspection. The grader looks at all four walls and the bottom for tears, dock rash, label residue, water staining, and structural damage.
- Flap check. Both top and bottom flaps are inspected for splits, tears, and tape integrity.
- Stamp / label inspection. Existing stamps and labels are noted; heavy markings push the grade down.
- Odor check. The grader sniffs the inside. Strong odors disqualify a box for cannabis or food-adjacent customers.
- Structural test. The grader pushes on a wall to check for delamination or softness — common on boxes that have been wet.
- Grade stamp. A or B or C is stamped on the inside of one flap. The same grade gets written on the pallet card.
- Re-tape if needed. Borderline boxes get re-taped with gummed paper tape to bring them up to grade.
- Outbound staging. The graded box goes to the right rack in Zone E based on footprint and grade.
Common grading edge cases.
- Box has a small tear on one flap but is otherwise grade A. Goes to grade B, gets re-taped.
- Box has heavy printing on three walls but is otherwise grade A. Goes to grade B because it’s no longer brand-neutral for resale.
- Box has water staining but no structural softness. Goes to grade C and gets routed to scrap consolidation customers.
- Box has a residual food smell. Routed to industrial customers, never to cannabis or food customers.
- Box has a hazmat sticker, even an old one. Pulled from the resale pile and routed to specialty disposal.
The promise behind the grading.
Every grade we ship is in writing on the BOL. If you receive a load and the boxes don’t match the grade we promised, photograph the discrepancy, email us within 48 hours, and we’ll either credit the units, send replacements on the next delivery, or take the load back and pay return freight. This is in writing on every quote and we’ve honored it every time it’s come up. Last year that worked out to roughly 0.21% of shipments — tiny, but the policy is what makes first-time customers willing to commit.
Grading FAQ.
How accurate is your grading?
Across roughly 1,400 shipments last year, the customer disputed our grading on 3 of them — about 0.21%. Our internal target is under 1% and we’ve been below that threshold every year since we wrote down the rubric in 2019.
Can I order a mix of grades on the same pallet?
Yes — mixed-grade pallets are common when customers want grade A for visible operations and grade C for back-of-house use. We’ll pack them on separate clearly-labeled pallets within the same shipment.
Do you ever ship grade D?
Almost never, and only with explicit written request. Grade D stock is structurally questionable and we don’t want a customer to receive it without knowing exactly what they’re getting.
What grade do you recommend for first-time customers?
Grade B. It’s 30% cheaper than grade A and works for 95% of applications. If grade B doesn’t meet your needs, you’ll know quickly and can step up to grade A for the next order.