How to Ship a Pallet as a Private Person or Small Business

As a private person you book a pallet much like a parcel, with a little more preparation. You do not need a company, a VAT number or a contract with a carrier. You need a pallet, stretch film, exact dimensions and a spot a lorry can reach. At a family house that last one is usually the hardest part, and we will get to it.

When to send a pallet instead of parcels

A pallet pays off when the shipment weighs more than 70 kg, does not fit parcel dimensions, or consists of several boxes going to one address. A washing machine, an engine, a few square metres of tiles, stock for a small online shop. Or ten moving boxes.

Parcel carriers stop at around 30 kg and heavy-parcel services at 70 kg. Exactly where those lines run is covered in the guide to parcels over 30 kg and oversized items. Eurosender adds a simple rule: several pieces to one address usually cost less on a pallet, while pieces to different addresses are better off as separate parcels.

Pallet dimensions and how much you can load

A standard Euro pallet (EUR 1) measures 80 × 120 cm, weighs 20 to 25 kg empty and carries up to 1,500 kg. The load, pallet included, may be no more than 220 cm high. Smaller shipments can go on a smaller or lower pallet, which costs less.

The classes are Eurosender’s, verified on 9 October 2026. Height is measured from the ground to the highest point of the load, so the pallet itself counts. The carrier will not bring you a pallet. You have to find one yourself, which is fortunately not hard. Builders’ merchants and warehouses sell used Euro pallets, they are cheap on classifieds sites, and quite often someone gives one away just to be rid of it.

How to load and wrap a pallet

On a pallet, heavy items go at the bottom and light ones on top, boxes are stacked in columns and nothing may hang over the edge. Overhang is the most common cause of damage. Pallets stand tight against each other in the vehicle, and whatever sticks out takes the knocks.

1. Check the pallet. No cracked boards, no broken blocks.
2. Stack in columns. Boxes edge on edge, not interlocked like bricks. A column carries more.
3. Put cardboard or paper between layers so the boxes do not slide on each other.
4. Strap the load to the pallet, at least twice crosswise.
5. Wrap everything in stretch film, including the top edge of the pallet, so that load and pallet hold together as one piece.

Stackability matters. A pallet with a flat top that another one can stand on is cheaper, because the carrier can use the space above it. An irregular load or a “do not stack” sign raises the price. You can still send it. Just budget for it.

How much it costs to ship a pallet

According to Eurosender, pallet prices between European countries start at €206.89 including VAT. Its table of examples lists €206.89 from Austria to Germany, €239.01 from Germany to Austria and €238.57 from Poland to Germany. These are base prices as of May 2023, so treat them as a floor and not as a current price list.

The price is shaped mainly by distance, dimensions and weight, stackability, and by any equipment needed for loading. Density plays a part too: a heavy, compact pallet works out cheaper per kilo than a tall, light one. And then there is speed, which comes in three tiers.

• Express: 1–3 business days
• Priority: 2–5 business days
• Standard: 5–10 business days

For routes inside the EU you get a price as soon as you enter the details. For a pallet to the UK or outside the EU, Eurosender shows no instant price and prepares a custom quote. Customs clearance is added on those routes, and the guide to customs and VAT in international shipping summarises it.

For a pallet that stays inside one country, it is worth comparing local groupage carriers as well. Across borders, a broker is the simplest route for an individual. It spares you phoning round freight forwarders, who often have no interest in a single pallet from a private person.

Pallet collection and delivery

Pallet collection takes place on business days between 9:00 and 18:00, and from the ground floor only. The driver does not carry a pallet down the stairs or up them. You do not have to print a label, and on some routes collection can be booked for the same day.

At a house or a flat you face two things that a company with a loading dock and a forklift never has to think about.

• Access. An articulated lorry will not get down a narrow street. Announce limited access in advance and the carrier will send a smaller vehicle. Eurosender mentions vans with a capacity of 1,000 kg.
• Unloading. Without a forklift you need a vehicle with a tail-lift. It is booked in advance, for a surcharge.

A pallet is delivered kerbside, not into the garage or the cellar. And beware of a missed delivery, because it gets expensive. If the driver finds nobody there, or cannot reach the address because of something you did not report, you pay for a second attempt and possibly storage too.

Pallet insurance and paperwork

In road transport a pallet shipment is covered under the CMR Convention, which limits compensation by the weight of the shipment, not by its price. For goods that are light and expensive, basic cover is therefore low and extra insurance is worth paying for. Eurosender offers it at booking. Photograph the pallet from every side before collection, and check the film on delivery. Have any damage written on the delivery note. Without that, a claim is hard to push through. The procedure is described in the guide on how to file a parcel claim.

Moving a whole household on a pallet? Then the comparison in the guide to moving abroad is useful, where the pallet competes with courier boxes and with a removal company.