Buying from a yard that grades before it prices
Book buy used ibc totes
One written channel for everything: quotes, bookings, freight and questions. A person reads every one of these.
Buying used IBC totes here takes four steps: send a request with liquid, quantity and zip; we check chemical compatibility and pull matching graded stock; we send photographs of the specific units with a delivered price; you approve and it ships, usually next business day inside San Francisco. There is no minimum order and no obligation attached to a quote.
How it runs, step by step
Send the request
Liquid or intended use, quantity, grade if you know it, and a zip code for freight. If you are unsure about grade, say so — we will recommend rather than upsell.
We check compatibility
HDPE resists most water-based chemistry but swells against certain solvents and degrades against strong oxidisers. Send the safety data sheet and we check resin and gasket compatibility before we quote, not after you have filled it.
We pull and photograph
Stock is pulled against unit numbers and photographed as it sits. You see the actual containers — scuffs, labels, cage condition — not a catalogue rendering.
Quote, hold, deliver
A delivered price with freight itemised separately, and a 48-hour hold on the stock. Approve it and the units go out on the next scheduled run for your area.
What a delivered price actually looks like
A worked example: twelve Grade A washed 275 gallon totes to a customer in Oakland, February 2026.
| Line | Detail | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 12 × 275 gal Grade A washed | Triple-rinse, new gasket, leak-tested | $1,860 |
| Tier discount (12+ units) | Applied automatically at twelve | −$186 |
| New vented lids ×12 | Prevents vacuum collapse on draw-down | $192 |
| Delivery, Oakland | Our flatbed, one drop, no liftgate needed | $180 |
| Empties collected on return leg | Credit for 8 units at Grade B | −$440 |
| Total | $1,606 |
What we need from you
Five answers. Supply them with the first email and the job is quoted and scheduled without a single round trip.
The liquid, or the use
Not the container — the contents. It determines chemical compatibility, the gasket material, the real gross weight and the grade you actually need. Roughly 40% of requests need a follow-up question and it is nearly always this one.
A quantity, even approximate
"About twelve" is enough to price a tier and decide whether we build a matched lot from inbound stock or pull from the yard floor.
A delivery postal code
Without it we can only quote ex-yard. With it you get a delivered price on the first reply.
Forklift or liftgate
A 275 gallon tote is 125 lb empty and does not come off a flatbed by hand. This is the single most common avoidable delivery failure.
A safety data sheet, ideally
It turns compatibility from a judgement into a check. Free, fifteen minutes, and it removes the most common cause of a rejected delivery.
What is included
- Grading and photographing the specific units against their unit numbers
- Chemical compatibility checking against your safety data sheet
- A new EPDM gasket on every outlet, and a valve replacement where there is any doubt
- Leak testing at 3 psi with a written record
- A 48-hour hold on the stock once quoted
- A delivered price with freight itemised separately
- Collection of your empties on the return leg where the schedule allows
What we will not do
- Any promise about a container you have not seen photographs of
- Selling you a grade above what your application needs
- Containers with prior contents nobody can name, at any price
If it is not listed, ask
Turnaround, price and process
Indicative 2026 figures. Where a lane or a service level genuinely varies, the range is the range rather than the flattering end of it.
| Stage | Target | What can slow it | What we do about it |
|---|---|---|---|
| First substantive reply | Same business day | Missing liquid, quantity or postal code | We ask once, specifically |
| Compatibility check | Within the first reply | No safety data sheet supplied | We flag the assumption in writing |
| Stock pulled and photographed | 1 business day | Matched-lot requests | Built from inbound stock over about a week |
| Delivered price | Within 1 business day | Brokered freight lanes | We quote the lane, then confirm the carrier |
| Stock hold | 48 hours from quote | — | Extended on request, honestly, if it is genuinely available |
| Dispatch, San Francisco | Next business day | Grade not yet washed | We tell you rather than substituting |
| Dispatch, wider Bay Area | 2–3 business days | Scheduled corridor runs | Joining one is cheaper than a dedicated trip |
The problems this actually solves
"The last supplier sent us mystery containers"
"We got a Grade A that was clearly a B"
"The delivery arrived and we could not unload it"
What you end up holding
Reused containers live or die on documentation. This is everything that leaves here with the job, and how long we keep our copy.
| Document | Issued | We retain | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior-contents record | With every container | 5 years | Compatibility, audits, your own HACCP or quality file |
| Grade record with intake photographs | With every container | 5 years | Settling any question about condition on arrival |
| Leak-test record | With every container | 5 years | Evidence the unit held 3 psi before dispatch |
| Wash certificate | Grade A units | 5 years | Food-safety and customer audits |
| UN periodic inspection record | Regulated service | 5 years | Keeping the container road-legal |
| Certificate of insurance | On request | Annual | Procurement onboarding, additional insured |
| Quarterly diversion statement | On request, free | Ongoing | CDP and municipal sustainability reporting |
Buy Used IBC Totes: FAQ
Is there a minimum order?
No. A single tote gets the same grading, documentation and wash as a fifty-tote order. Tiered pricing begins at twelve units and improves again at forty-eight, but nothing stops you buying one.
Can I collect instead of paying for delivery?
Yes. Will-call pickup at 1450 Bancroft Ave runs Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM and Saturday mornings by appointment. Bring straps and something that can carry 125 lb per empty container — a 275 gallon tote does not fit in a sedan.
What if the container arrives damaged?
Photograph it and send it through the same form within 48 hours. We replace it on the next run or credit it, your choice. Our delivered-damage rate is under half a percent, and it is almost always a cracked pallet from a rough forklift, not a leaking bottle.
Can you match a lot of identical units?
Usually, with a week of notice. Matched lots — same manufacturer, same valve, same pallet type — are built out of inbound stock rather than the yard floor. It costs nothing extra; it just needs time.
Can I get photographs of the actual containers before I pay?
Yes, and we send them as standard rather than on request. Stock is pulled against unit numbers and photographed as it sits — scuffs, labels, cage condition and all. What you approve is what ships. For remote buyers this is the whole basis of the transaction, so we would rather over-supply the pictures.
What happens if I order the wrong thing?
Unused and unfilled containers can go back within 14 days, less a 15% restocking charge and return freight. If a container is not as graded, or was damaged in our delivery, there is no charge at all and we collect it ourselves. If you filled it, we cannot take it back for credit but we will always buy it back as used stock at the prevailing grade price.
Do you hold stock for a project that has not been approved yet?
For 48 hours as standard, and longer if you ask and the stock is genuinely not in demand. What we will not do is tell you it is held when it is not, or invent an expiring offer to force a decision. If a pallet is genuinely moving we will say so and give you first refusal.