Receiving a Stone Shipment: Inspection Checklist and Damage Claims Guide

Most buying guides stop when the container leaves the port. For the importer, the risky hours start when it arrives. A container door opens, a forklift driver is waiting, a trucker wants a signature, and within a few minutes decisions are made that can decide who pays if a slab is cracked. This guide is about that moment: how to receive a stone shipment, what to inspect, in what order, and how to protect yourself if something is wrong.

It is written for importers, wholesalers and contractors who receive slabs or tiles in bundles. It does not replace your sales contract, your carrier’s terms or your insurer’s rules. Where those documents say something different from this article, follow them.

Why receiving day matters more than most buyers expect

Natural stone is heavy, brittle in thin sections and usually shipped upright in bundles. Even a well-packed load goes through trucks, ports, cranes and a long sea or road journey. Most shipments arrive in good order, but the ones that do not are usually argued about later, with photos taken at different times by different people. The buyers who resolve problems quickly are almost always the ones who documented the load before anything was moved.

It also helps to separate three kinds of problems, because they are handled differently:

• Transit damage: cracked slabs, chipped corners, scratched faces, broken crates, wet packaging. These point to the packing, the loading or the journey.
• Quality or specification differences: thickness, size, finish, color range or grading that does not match what was agreed. These point to the order and the supplier’s selection.
• Natural characteristics: veining, small natural fissures, color variation inside the normal range. These are part of the stone and are not automatic defects. Our guide to marble slab defects and repairs explains the difference between a natural feature and a real fault.

Before the shipment arrives: prepare the paperwork

A good receipt starts days earlier. Have these ready:

• The order confirmation with bundle codes, quantities, sizes, thickness and finish.
• The packing list and the supplier’s photos of the bundles, if you received them. If you ordered from photos, our article on evaluating marble slabs from online photos explains what those photos can and cannot show.
• The bill of lading or transport document, and the contact details of the carrier or freight forwarder.
• Your insurance policy details and the name of the person who can authorize a claim.
• A cleared, level, dry unloading area with enough room for the equipment, and a covered place to store bundles afterward.

Plan the equipment too. Slab bundles should be lifted and moved with suitable machinery and trained operators, not improvised. If you are unsure how your load was packed, read how marble slabs are packed for export so you know what a normal bundle, frame and strapping arrangement looks like.

Step 1: Inspect the outside before anything is opened

Walk around the container or truck before the doors are opened. Look at the seal and compare its number with the number on the shipping documents. Photograph it. Look for dents, water marks, signs of impact or anything unusual about the doors.

Then open the doors and stop. Take wide photos of the interior as it stands, before anything is removed. Check whether bundles have shifted, whether frames lean, whether straps or bracing are loose or broken, and whether there is water on the floor. This first set of photos is the most valuable evidence you will have, because it shows the load as the carrier delivered it.

Step 2: Record visible damage before you sign

If the delivery document asks for your signature, write down what you see. Many carriers and suppliers advise that signing a clean receipt can make a later claim harder. If you cannot inspect everything on the spot, because slabs are stacked tightly or it is getting dark, many buyers add a note such as “subject to inspection” before signing. Whether that wording protects you depends on the carrier and the contract, so ask your forwarder what notation they recommend in advance.

Be specific. “Damaged” is weak. “Bundle 3, two crates broken at the left side, two slabs visibly cracked, photographed” is useful.

Step 3: Unload in a way that does not create new damage

Unload one bundle at a time and keep the bundles in their loading order if you can, since that makes it easier to trace a problem back to a position in the container. Keep each bundle’s code visible. Do not open every bundle immediately if the weather is bad or the area is unsafe. It is better to store a bundle properly and open it the next morning than to lay slabs down in a hurry.

Never lean slabs against walls or stack them flat on uneven ground. Use level supports and protect edges. A slab that was fine when it arrived and breaks while it sits badly on your yard is your loss, not the carrier’s.

Step 4: A bundle-by-bundle inspection checklist

When you open a bundle, follow the same sequence every time so that nothing is skipped:

• Bundle code and count: confirm the code matches the packing list and count the slabs or tiles.
• Size and thickness: measure a few slabs with a tape and a thickness gauge, and compare with the order. Natural stone has tolerances, so know the ones you agreed.
• Surface and finish: check that the finish is what you ordered. Polished, honed, brushed and leather finishes look very different, and a mix-up is easier to spot early.
• Edges and corners: look for chips. They are the most common transit damage on marble and travertine.
• Cracks: look at both faces and the edges, in good light, ideally wet the surface lightly to make hairline cracks visible. Do not confuse a natural vein with a crack, and do not guess; photograph and ask.
• Back and reinforcement: where slabs have mesh or resin reinforcement, check that it looks intact and that there are no bubbles or separation.
• Color and pattern consistency: compare slabs inside the bundle and against the approved photos. Some variation is normal in natural stone; the question is whether it is within the range you agreed.
• Moisture and packing materials: note wet packaging, stained wood or any residue between slabs.

Photograph each slab with its bundle code or slab number visible, plus close-ups of anything you question. Save files under the order number, with the date, so each photo ties to a specific shipment.

Step 5: Decide what kind of problem you have

Once you have the facts, sort them. If the cause looks like transit damage, contact the carrier or forwarder and your insurer, and tell the supplier. If it looks like a mismatch with the order, contact the supplier with your measurements and photos. If it looks like natural variation, compare with the terms you agreed before you assume a claim exists.

Claim windows differ widely between contracts, carriers and insurers, and some are very short. Do not assume you have weeks. Report problems as soon as you find them, in writing, with the evidence attached, and ask each party in writing what its process and deadline are.

What to keep and what not to touch

Keep damaged slabs, crates and packing materials until everyone who needs to inspect them has done so. Cutting, reworking or discarding damaged stone before an inspection can weaken or end a claim. Store them separately, label them clearly, and keep them dry. Keep all photos, the signed documents, emails and measurements in a single folder.

Tips that save money on the next order

• Order a little more than the project needs. Even a careful shipment can lose a piece, and reordering the same lot later may not match. Our guide on how much stone fits in a shipping container helps with planning loads, and your quantity calculation should include a waste allowance.
• Agree inspection expectations in writing before you pay, including who confirms the packing and what photos you will receive before dispatch.
• Ask for photos of the loaded container if the supplier can provide them. They make it much easier to see whether damage happened before or after the doors closed.
• Train the people who unload. A short briefing on order, safe lifting and photographing prevents most receiving mistakes.

Receiving checklist you can print

• Documents ready: order, packing list, transport document, insurance details.
• Seal number checked and photographed before opening.
• Interior photographed before anything is moved.
• Visible damage written specifically on the delivery document before signing.
• Bundles unloaded one at a time, codes visible, stored level and dry.
• Each bundle checked for count, size, thickness, finish, edges, cracks, reinforcement and color.
• Photos named by order number and bundle code.
• Written notice sent to carrier, insurer and supplier right away if something is wrong.
• Damaged material kept untouched until inspected.

Frequently asked questions

Should I open every bundle on the day of delivery?
Ideally you check the outside of every bundle and the visible condition of the load that day, and inspect inside as many bundles as safely possible. If you cannot open them all, record that clearly on the paperwork and finish as soon as you can.

Is a small hairline in a slab always damage?
Not always. Some natural stones have fine natural fissures or healed veins. A crack that runs through the slab, or one that was not present in the approved photos, is different. If you are not sure, photograph it and ask a stone specialist or your supplier before you decide.

Who pays for a cracked slab?
It depends on the sales terms, the shipping terms and the insurance cover. The answer is in your contract and transport documents, not in a general guide, so check them before the shipment arrives.

How many photos are enough?
More than feels necessary. Wide shots of the container, each bundle, each slab with its number, and close-ups of every issue. Photos are cheap; missing evidence is expensive.

Can I cut or install slabs before I finish inspecting?
It is risky. Once a slab has been cut or installed, it is much harder to show that a defect existed on arrival. Finish the inspection first.

Next step

If you are planning an order, you can browse bundles with photos, codes, sizes and slab counts on our stone stock page, or start with the marble and travertine categories. When you know which bundles you want, contact the Develi Marble team with the bundle codes, quantity and destination, and we will reply with a price and shipping offer for your order.