How a pickup actually goes (start to finish)

Customers ask us all the time what to expect when we come pick up empties. Here's the whole sequence, beginning to end, in the order it usually happens.

Day 1 — you email us. Subject line "buy-back pickup, [your city]." In the body, tell us roughly how many totes, what they previously held, and a couple of photos if you have them. The photos help our dispatcher size the truck.

Day 1 or 2 — we quote. Per-tote price, pickup cost (often $0 for full pallets), and a couple of date options. The quote is good for two weeks.

Day-of — confirm window. Our dispatcher emails the morning of with a 90-minute pickup window. If you need a hard appointment time, say so when you accept the quote and we'll book it.

Pickup — driver arrives. Driver checks in at your front desk or shipping office, presents the bill of lading, and asks for direction to the pickup spot. We unfold our own pallet jack if you don't have a forklift available.

Loading — about 30 minutes for a typical load. Each tote gets blanket-wrapped on the truck to prevent cage abrasion. Driver counts, you sign the bill of lading, copies stay with both parties.

Payment — your choice. Cash on the spot, ACH within 24 hours, or net-15 invoice. We mostly cut checks on Fridays. Whatever you pick, you'll know before the truck leaves.

After — confirmation email. Within 24 hours of pickup, you'll get an email confirming receipt at our yard, with the final tote count and final payment status. If anything is different from the quote — say, two cages came in damaged enough to drop a grade — we tell you in this email, not on the phone, and we adjust price honestly.

That's it. No surprise hauling fees, no last-minute rate changes, no "we found mold in two of them so we have to discount." If we have an issue, we put it in writing with photos so you can see what we saw.