Bought a Full Pallet Load at Tractor Supply and They Charged Me for The Pallet

[WM75Guy]

Have you ever bought a pallet load of anything and they would not let you have the pallet it was stacked on? I got the Tractor Supply Company 10% off coupon in the mail. Went to my local store in Athens to buy a pallet load of shavings (normally a 5% discount), 12 4'X6' 3/4" stall mats and Strongid 2X wormer. They were out of mats so the cashier called the Canton store and they had plenty of stall mats so I drove 25 miles to the Canton store. After paying $750 I went out to get things loaded on the trailer. The lot guys came out with a forklift and brought out the shavings. They stand about 10' tall and are at the max lift for my FEL so I always have them split it and put 20 of the 45 bags on a second pallet and wrap it with shrink wrap. The Athens store has done this for the last 5 years.

The Canton store not only did not want to let me have a second pallet but told me they had to unload all the bags on my trailer as I could not have the pallet the shavings came on. The mats were also on a pallet but I could not have it either. They wanted to stack everything on the trailer so would have to unload by hand. I explained that I unloaded with forks on the tractor. Still could not have the pallets as company policy changed this last year and they have to send the pallets back. I told them never mind I would get a refund and the head guy said I could buy the pallets for $8 each. We went back inside and I paid the $24 as I wanted the pallet under the mats. When I asked if I returned the pallets could I get a refund he stated they would not take them back.

I don't think I will be going back to the Canton store any time soon. Seems they don't understand the concept of a pallet load comes with the pallet or the concept of customer service. I will have the Athens store order what I need and wait for it.

 

[gwdixon]

The pallet charge is standard practice. The store pays a deposit on the pallet and forfeits if the pallet disappears. In other words, it costs them money. As you found, it is $8 at TSC.

Same from taking pallets from behind supermarkets and big box stores. I used to load up pallets for building pig pens but no more. There are surveillance cameras and rent-a-cops patrolling the parking lots.

 

[dave1949]

Well, keep the pallets and next time you buy something on pallets, tell them you want it stacked on your pallet.

 

[txdon]

The lumber store in town charged me $17 for the pallet when I bought a pallet of cement (42 bags). They said to keep my receipt and when I bring it back they would refund me. On my paver project I just kept exchanging the pallet (10 times) until I was finished with the driveway 3 years later. I took back the last pallet and showed them my original receipt and got my refund. They said that that was the oldest receipt for a pallet they had seen.

 

[dragoneggs]

Yep... bought a bunch of retaining wall block, delivered with a $20 deposit per pallet. The frustrating part is that I have to spend the gas money and time just to get my money back... oh well :confused3:

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. same here.. they won't let you have the pallet. they didn;t even offer to let me buy it.. Last time I went in for a pallate of feed I would have loved a pallet

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Around here there are two types of pallets, returnable and throwaways. Everywhere requires a deposit for the returnable ones and they are used over and over. Never have a problem getting the throwaways even at the big box stores. They are glad too get rid of them as it cost them to do that. We use a lot of pallets for our firewood operation. Yea, we have to replace or add a board now and then as the throwaways are not well constructed. Around the place we put everything on pallets for easy moving. Everything goes on pallets. I am with Randy on this. I stop going places that don't value my business enough to make it easy on me to unload.

Ron

 

[hawkeye08]

I don't buy much on pallets, always got the pallet for free. Must have been the throwaways. I need to pick up a load of pallets so I can take better advantage of using my forks around home.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

TSC here has never charged for pallets.

 

[Katahdin]

Me neither, I've bought several tons of ECO blocks by the pallet here at the TSC in Scarborough and have never been charged for it.

 

[bdog]

I was building fence and had a mixer set up on a trailer with a generator and a water tank. I would go get two pallets (forty two 80 pound bags each) of quickcrete and we would mix it straight off the trailer and use it to set posts. Hardware store wanted to charge for pallets. I told them I did not need them and just load the 6700 lbs of concrete by hand. They waffled and gave me the pallets to avoid the work but told me to bring them back when finished which i did.

 

[stuckmotor]

I got to keep the raggedy old pallet that my shipment came on when it was delivered by tractor trailer. What was attached to the pallet? Pallet forks.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The lumber store in town charged me $17 for the pallet when I bought a pallet of cement (42 bags). They said to keep my receipt and when I bring it back they would refund me. On my paver project I just kept exchanging the pallet (10 times) until I was finished with the driveway 3 years later. I took back the last pallet and showed them my original receipt and got my refund. They said that that was the oldest receipt for a pallet they had seen.

This has been standard business practice for at least 40 years.

 

[randy41]

i bought 26 bags of quick setting concrete at lowes (Galax VA) and they just gave me the pallet. i bought some insulation (special order) at lowes (Christiansburg VA) that was on pallets and they just loaded it into the back of the pickup.

 

[WM75Guy]

Well, keep the pallets and next time you buy something on pallets, tell them you want it stacked on your pallet.

That is my plan, to always take 2 with me. :thumbsup:

 

[Ken45101]

It's been a couple of years ago but when I bought 3 tons of pellets at TSC they double palleted them when loading on my trailer. Nothing was said. I will have to keep a close eye in the future.

 

[charlz]

Never heard of getting charged for a pallet. Lots of free ones on Craigslist and guys driving around with scary piles of them on beat-up trucks and trailers.... apparently they make a living collecting and re-selling pallets.

I buy several tons of wood pellets each year and getting rid of the pallets can be a pain. This year they were definitely 'throw away' pallets as they were constructed of 1/4 plywood. The '2x4' parts were just layers of plywood nailed and maybe glued together. As soon as you stepped on the pallet your foot would go right through the slats.

 

[hosspuller]

In this area, only GMA pallets aren't give aways. They're 40x48 inches. see link for details >> Acorn Products Inc. - types - Pallets

Other pallets are readily available free for the pick-up. Just get a few free pallets and ask the store to transfer to your pallet if they won't give you the pallet. I used "Craig's list" to dispose excess pallets for the factory I worked at. Pallets were a constant hassle.

 

[dave1949]

People scrounge pallets here for firewood, there is usually someone trying to get rid of the light-duty pallets.

It seems like some pallets are designed to be one-way throw aways. They are just strong enough to get the product to its destination without totally disintegrating.

 

[oosik]

Over the years I've bought lots of stuff - Lignetics, fertilizer, shavings etc - from Lowes, Best Buy, Kubota dealer etc and never paid a single penny for their crappy pallets. Usually the pallet is so beat to cr-p its not longer good for anything anyhow. The day some store tries to charge me for a pallet is the day I will find another dealer for that product.

To me, this sounds the same as a store putting parking meters in their loading area.