The short version
- The liquid matters more than the container — it drives compatibility, weight and grade.
- A postal code lets us quote freight instead of saying "freight quoted separately".
- Mention empties you have; the return leg often reduces the total.
- Deadlines belong in the first line, not the last paragraph.
Why 40% of requests need a follow-up
We do not run a phone line, so everything arrives in writing and I read all of it. The volume is manageable; the round trips are not. When a request arrives without enough information to quote, the exchange takes two days instead of two hours, and neither of us enjoys it.
The missing piece is almost always the same. People tell me what container they want and not what is going in it. That is understandable — they are shopping for a tote — but the liquid is what determines compatibility, real weight, the grade you need and whether the container is even appropriate.
The four things that unlock a same-day price
| Tell me | Because it determines |
|---|---|
| What liquid is going in | Resin and gasket compatibility, grade, real gross weight |
| How many containers | Tier pricing, whether we build a matched lot, lead time |
| Delivery postal code | Freight lane and cost — otherwise I can only quote ex-yard |
| Forklift or liftgate | Whether the delivery can actually be unloaded |
Two optional extras that help a lot: a safety data sheet, which turns compatibility from a judgement into a check; and a grade preference, though if you are unsure it is genuinely better to say so and let me recommend. I would rather talk you down to a Grade B than sell you an A you did not need.
Five requests that got a same-day answer
Lightly edited, with permission. None of them are long.
- "12 totes for 50% caustic, delivered to 94607, we have a 5,000 lb forklift. SDS attached. Do you have matched valves?" — quoted in forty minutes, shipped in three days.
- "Need ~40 food-grade for crush, second week of August, Napa 94558. Prior product ideally syrup or juice for our HACCP file. Can we lease?" — quoted same day, leased rather than bought, saved them about $3,000.
- "Have 26 empties behind our plant in Hayward, held non-haz surfactant, photos of plate and label attached. What will you pay?" — priced next morning, collected on an existing route the following week.
- "Six 275s for construction water at a site in Daly City. Cheap is fine, they will get damaged. No forklift." — Grade C plus liftgate, quoted in twenty minutes.
- "Building a rain array on a 2,400 sq ft roof in Berkeley. Four or five linked totes, food-grade, want it plumbed. Budget flexible, timing is not — need it before the December rains." — fabrication quote in two days, installed in November.
What all five share: the liquid or the use is stated, the quantity is approximate but present, there is a location, and the constraint that actually matters — budget, timing, handling — is named explicitly.
Put the deadline in the first line
If something is genuinely urgent, say so at the top. I sort by deadline, and a "we need these by Thursday" buried in the fourth paragraph gets read at the same time as everything else.
Same-day delivery inside San Francisco is possible for requests that land before 10:00 AM when the stock is on the ground. It carries a $95 expedite fee and I will tell you honestly whether it is achievable rather than accepting and missing.
One more thing worth mentioning
Written by Wesley Kam, quote desk lead at IBC Totes San Francisco. Published December 5, 2024. Spotted something wrong? Tell us — we would rather fix it than defend it.