FAQ for a “Durable Pallet Scale” on the Internet

For this months article, I wanted to take a few minutes and answer a few questions I found online while searching for a “durable pallet scale” on a popular ecommerce website.

For the record, at Central Carolina Scale, we recommend that you contact us (RFQ form, phone, or email) to discuss what scale features you need and what a realistic price you’re looking for and what we can offer.

However, in today’s ultra fast paced world, many customers would rather just buy the cheapest “durable pallet scale” that they can find by clicking a couple of buttons and adding to a shopping cart.

Below are a few answers to some of the questions that potential buyers asked.

Q: Will it work outdoors?
A: The standard 4×4 pallet scale will not work in this environment. This assumes that you are using a low cost plastic weight indicator which is often what is used at this price level.  Some folks mention placing indicators in bags or taking the indicator inside every night, which is not really the long term way to do this. If you’re looking for an outdoor solution, you really need a scale with good quality load cells, protective junction box, and a stainless steel IP66 or better weight indicator. Contact us (RFQ form or by phone) for more details.

Q: What kind of long term results can anyone provide me about this scale?
A: Generally, our typical industrial pallet scales are built well and provide years of great service. A lot depends on how the scales are used and if they are abused. Where is starts getting dicey is when you start using cheaper quality products such as certain cheap plastic weight indicators and certain load cells that have no manufacturer label on them. 

Q: Can I get the scale with a longer cord?
A: This is an example where a little communication can go a long way. If you contact us before purchasing a pallet scale, we can typically customize certain things if needed. For example, if you need a longer cord between the scale platform and the digital weight indicator, we can typically do that ahead of time. If you wait and ask for that after the fact, now you run the risk of having to do another calibration since you’re changing cable lengths. 

Q: Is the scale weatherproof? Can the platform be left outside?
A: If you will contact us ahead of time, we can put together a quote for a pallet scale that you could leave outside if needed. We can also use a stainless steel IP68 weight indicator but we recommend trying to protect the digital weight readout in a covered area if you can. 

I could go on and on with this but ultimately I hope you get the overall theme I’m trying to shed light on. The truth is, these days if you search hard enough, you can almost find any item online for just about any price you realistically want. Quality is often shaky however…  But it often doesn’t matter to many of those sellers because as long as the scale performs well for a few weeks, they get a good star rating and all is well.

If you think about it, if a seller is offering a “durable 4×4 pallet scale” for some price below $500 with “Free Shipping” there’s some cheap products being peddled in order to accomplish this. Let’s unpack the costs on this deal for a minute.

Freight is usually at least $125 to $200 depending on where you’re shipping from/to. Let’s average it and say $162 for freight.

Weight indicator is at least $150.

Scale Platform is $188 in order to make this math add up.

Here’s where I get a little suspicious. This platform has (4) load cells inside. The standard load cell is at least $125 each. Well that’s $500 right there…. The scale is also going to include a junction box with a summing board inside. That’s another minimum of $80.  How is this “durable pallet scale” able to be sold for ~ $188 as part of the package with indicator?

And, this doesn’t take into account anything about “seller fees” or “credit card fees” which surely exist as well. 

And of course, many of these offers provide a factory warranty and tech support.

Bottom line, if you purchase a scale like this, it might work for a few days, a few weeks or a few months… who knows?  But the quality of the items is suspicious in order to meet that price. And often when quality is reduced in order to meet a certain price, then the durability often suffers. 

We want you to purchase a 4×4 pallet scale from us. We sell quality products. We can’t match the pricing that you see above, and frankly, we don’t really want to match those prices because in order to match it, we know that we’d be cutting corners like crazy! 

At CCS, we believe in providing customers with a quality item, like for example, a B-Tek Scales Clydesdale. We can certainly provide you with alternative choices in an attempt to meet a budget price. However, in a world where the line between value and junk is getting blurry… we try really hard to not sell “junk”. Please contact us and allow us to work with you to find a quality product at a reasonable price.  Call (919) 776-7737 or complete our RFQ on our website.