A carton arrives damaged: what to record in the first ten minutes

In short

Write the damage on the delivery note before you sign it.
Photograph the carton, the carton mark and the damage before opening.
Keep all the packaging until the issue is closed.
Report once, against the item code and the carton number.

If a carton arrives damaged, do not sign the delivery note clean, photograph it before opening, and report it against the item code and carton number. Those three actions decide whether the carrier, the factory or the insurer can be held to anything.

Source: the arrival procedure we give to receivers on our own orders. What is paid, and by whom, depends on the contract and policy agreed before ordering; this guide covers the record, not the compensation.

What do you do at the door?

Note the damage on the delivery note before signing. Never write “received in good condition” if any carton is crushed, wet or torn. A remark such as “3 cartons crushed, contents not checked” keeps the claim open. A clean signature closes it.

What do you photograph?

The whole carton, showing where the damage is.
The carton mark and number, readable.
Close-ups of the damage to the packaging.
The piece inside, as it is first uncovered.
The damage to the piece, with something for scale.

Take them before the carton is fully opened, and keep the packaging. An insurer or carrier may ask to see how it was packed.

Stone table tops unpacked and checked in Orlando — **Orlando, FL · 16:48** Stone tops unpacked and checked

Braced timber crates lined up inside the house before unpacking — **La Crescenta, CA · 13:20** Crates brought inside before unpacking

How do you report it?

One record, not a string of messages. Give the item code, the carton number, the quantity affected and the photographs. On a multi-room order the carton number is what ties the damaged piece to the factory that made it and the container it travelled in.

Who is responsible?

It depends on what failed. Transit damage goes to the carrier or the insurer. A manufacturing defect goes to the factory. A packing error goes to whoever packed. The agent’s job is to route the record to the right party; the remedy, whether parts, repair or a claim, follows the contract. Local repair labour is its own question and should be answered before ordering, not after.

Red circles marking an issue at the foot of a metal table base — Deviation circled on the part and sent for the buyer's decision

What this means for an overseas buyer

Name the receiver before the goods ship and give them this procedure. The five steps, with the owner of each, are on the Quality & Delivery page, and how the scope of delivery is fixed is in the DDP guide.