Reel deposits and reel charges, explained

Whether a reel has to go back depends on what it is made of and how it was billed. The short version: most wooden reels are one-way packaging, and most steel reels are returnable property with money attached.

Wooden reels: usually one-way

Southwire's reel packaging chart prints it in the heading: wooden reels are "non-returnable, no deposit required." That is why manufacturer wood programs are framed as free pickups rather than refunds. The reel is already yours to dispose of, and the maker offers to take it off your hands because it can reuse it. Nobody owes you a credit for a wooden reel unless your invoice shows a reel charge.

Steel reels: a charge, then a credit

Steel reels cost a great deal more to build, so manufacturers bill them and credit them back. Southwire's chart heads its steel reels "returnable, charges required" and prints a charge for every size, and its steel reel policy sets the terms:

• Return the reel within 12 months of the original shipment and you are credited the original reel invoice, sales tax included.
• After 12 months, the credit is forfeited, and an unpaid reel invoice becomes delinquent.
• Normal wear is expected. Charges apply only for exceptional damage, from abuse or unauthorised modifications, that makes the reel unusable.
• Request the return by email, on the web or in Southwire's reel app, not by phone. Give the original consignee, ship date, reel invoice number and reel serial numbers. Keep the verification email.
• Don't ship without consent. Southwire sends shipping instructions and may bill you for anything above its least-cost method.
• On large projects, a longer deferral of the reel charge can be negotiated when the order is quoted.

Blue Diamond, which ships HDPE conduit on metal reels, offers a choice. Either it sends a truck at its own cost and gives no credit, or you pay the freight and it credits each reel by size ($1.00 per inch of an assembled reel, for example). Its minimum is 50 flanges. The full terms are on the Blue Diamond entry.

Distributor deposits

When you buy through a distributor, the reel charge may appear on the distributor's invoice instead of the manufacturer's, under its own terms. The return then runs through the distributor. Read the invoice line, not the stencil, to know who to call.

A simple system that keeps the credits

1. Log every steel reel at receiving: serial number, manufacturer, invoice number and ship date.
2. Diary the return deadline (12 months from shipment, in Southwire's case) when the reel arrives, not when it empties.
3. Send the return request in writing as soon as the reel is empty, and file the confirmation.
4. Keep steel reels out of the wood pile. A steel reel that goes to scrap loses its credit for good.

Not sure what you have? The reel identifier sends steel reels to "return first" before it ever suggests scrap.