A popular question we get daily is “how much does a Gaylord Box cost?” Unfortunately, many buyers run into a roadblock when they research online as to how much an in-stock (new or used) or a custom-made Gaylord box costs. This article attempts to answer this important question, but keep in mind that costs vary in different parts of the country.

In-stock New and Reconditioned/Used Gaylord Boxes:

The convenience of companies like Balcon Enterprises, who stock common sized new and used Gaylord boxes, is a great advantage for companies that do not have the time to wait for custom-made boxes. Custom boxes can take 3-6 weeks to get and, in most cases, a pretty large minimum order. Companies that do not require a new box and can live with the size variances of a used box will see a significant cost savings. When it comes to buying new boxes, you pay for all the bells and whistles including paper type and weight, number of walls, box type, size, print or no print, and more. So, if you are in the market for new boxes, make sure you are speaking with someone who knows what they are talking about, can guide you through the process, and makes sure you get exactly what you need.

The savings from buying a used box can be double or more depending on the box you are looking at. The cost of used boxes is derived from three main categories: 1) Cost to buy used box, 2) Cost to refurbish used box, and 3) Cost to ship used box. Let’s break each one of these down:

1         Cost to buy used box. Balcon has long-standing relationships with our suppliers to get our boxes at a pre-negotiated rate. Just like all other commodities in this free enterprise system, this rate fluctuates from time to time depending on the supply and demand of the market. We must also pay freight carriers to haul this used material to our processing centers, so we can go through each box and make sure that you are satisfied when you get your order. This is not the case when you buy a load from a broker that ships boxes from their supplier directly to you, sight unseen. This is common in the industry, so buyer beware.

2         Cost to Refurbish Box. Not many companies do this, but at Balcon we do a “Helluva” job making sure our boxes are refurbished to the highest standards. All of our boxes are sorted by size, type, etc. We then go through each box and empty remaining contents, remove loose tape, and do a few other things we will keep secret, then BAMMM! it’s ready for sale. Customers have called to tell us that we sent the wrong boxes, that we sent them new boxes instead of used. We then got the pleasure of ensuring them they were indeed sent the used boxes they ordered. That’s how great they looked. Yes, this does cost a little more than buying from a broker, but wouldn’t you pay a little more per box if you knew that every box you received is exactly what you ordered without having to hassle with the broker over what you received vs what you ordered? Yep, that’s why we do it.

3         Cost to ship used box. Freight is probably the most frustrating part of shipping Gaylord boxes: new or used. They are big and take a lot of space in a truck. So, we try to make sure that when our customers order boxes, we ship them from the warehouse that is closest to their delivery location. We have strategic locations throughout the US that help reduce the cost of freight. If anyone tells you freight is free when they quote you boxes, don’t believe them. It is not free, they just added it into the total cost of the box. We do the same, but if you want it broken out, we do that too. Quantity on the order will also add to the total delivered cost. If you order one or two pallets instead of a full truckload, you will pay more per box on the smaller order. More details on freight was discussed in my blog post, How much does a FIBC bulk bag cost.

4         Profit. I know, I did not include this as one of the three items that go into cost, but I wanted to let you know what our cost was before we can offer it to our customers. We do not work for free and we need to add some profit to our boxes in order to keep our doors open and to allow me to post blogs such as this.

 I hope this has answered your questions as to what goes into answering the question of “How much does a Gaylord Box cost?” Feel free to send a response or email info@balconinc.com if you have any additional questions or comments.