Defective Goods from China: How Claims Start

Last fact-checked: November 10, 2026.

If the goods arrive damaged, short, or off the spec, the first day is for evidence. It is not the day you find out whether anyone will pay. Photograph the cargo, keep the outer packing, and count against the packing list before cartons go in a bin. This page does not promise a refund, it does not offer a complaint to copy, and it does not suggest inventing damage. It connects the contract, the inspection, and the loading record to the conversation you will actually have.

Jars that were crushed, then thrown out

Glass jars arrive with cartons crushed along one side. A warehouse team unpacks what survived, throws the broken outer boxes away, and writes to the supplier asking for a refund. There is no photo of the marks, no count against the packing list, and no note of whether a customs exam had already opened the freight. The supplier asks what, exactly, was wrong. The buyer has the surviving jars and a memory. No amount of money is stated here, because none is owed by this article.

Off spec, transit damage, or a short count

The English Civil Code attachment, checked November 10, 2026, says in Article 620 that the buyer inspects within the agreed period, or in a timely manner if none was agreed. Article 621 says that missing the agreed notice period can deem the goods to conform, with the two-year outer period and the exception where the seller knew or should have known, as already set out on the purchase contract page. Article 582 lists repair, redoing, replacement, return, and a decrease in price or remuneration as the sort of default liability a party may reasonably request when the contract itself is silent. Article 594 states a four-year limitation for a lawsuit or arbitration on a dispute from a contract for the international sale of goods. Those are the published English sentences. They are not a forecast for your jars. A carrier's notice deadline was not verified on a public page that stated one number for every line, so no number is given. Read the bill of lading you were issued.

A customs examination is not the same event as a commercial quality miss. US import basics are on CBP's trade page, checked November 10, 2026. That page is not a damage form. If an exam opened the freight, write that down separately from a crushed carton you think happened at sea. What the arrival process itself looks like is what happens when cargo arrives.

The first day, in order

• Photograph the freight before you unpack everything, including marks and any seal that is still there.
• Keep the outer cartons. A discarded box cannot be photographed later.
• Count against the packing list the same day, and write the number down.
• Separate off-spec units, transit damage, and a short count into three notes.
• Pull the contract notice period, the inspection report, and the loading photos before you state a demand.
• Then talk about repair, replacement, a price discussion, or a next step the contract actually names.

Cargo insurance, if you bought it, is the policy in your file. No insurance tutorial is linked, because this check did not confirm a single official claims manual that fits every policy. The balance you still owe, or have paid, follows the T/T terms you agreed, not a hope that damage unwinds a wire by itself. The commercial description customs reads is the commercial invoice, which should match the packing list.

Pitfalls

• Throwing out damaged packing, then asking for money from photographs of clean shelves.
• Sending one angry note that mixes a short count, a color miss, and crush, so nobody can tell which paper answers which point.
• Missing the notice period you yourself agreed, then quoting Article 621 as if it extended a deadline you waived.
• Inventing damage, or asking a warehouse to. This page will not help with that.
• Treating Article 582's list as a court result. It is the fallback the English text describes when the contract is silent.

If the order is still open, put the evidence standard on the RFQ before the next shipment: who photographs, which count, and which notice period. The contract clauses that make that period real are the purchase-contract page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a refund?

This page cannot say. Article 582 describes requests a party may reasonably make when default liability was not written down, including return and a decrease in price. Your contract may say something narrower or wider. Counsel applies it. A blog does not.

How fast must I tell the carrier?

No single public number was verified for every carrier on November 10, 2026. Read the bill of lading and the carrier's current instructions. Do not use a figure from a forum.

What if customs opened the container?

Write the exam as its own event, with whatever notice the agency gave you. CBP's trade page is the US entry point checked for this article. Do not describe an exam as if it were a factory defect, or the reverse.

The check that follows this one is Third-Party Inspection in China, a factory audit before the first order, a quality agreement and the product spec, and product testing and compliance.

Official sources

• Civil Code, English attachment, Articles 582, 594, 615, 617, 620, and 621. Checked November 10, 2026. The Chinese text prevails.
• ITA, common export documents, on the packing list customs may use to check cargo. Checked November 10, 2026.
• CBP, trade. Checked November 10, 2026. Not a damage-claim form.

This is not legal advice. No carrier notice period and no insurance outcome were verified, so neither is stated as a number.