Three different problems are called breakage
When a container is unpacked, everything that is not whole gets called breakage. In practice there are three separate causes, and they are settled by three different parties: damage in transit, which is a matter between the consignee, the carrier and the insurer; a manufacturing defect that only becomes visible once the unit is unpacked; and damage during handling or installation on site, which is nobody’s but the installer’s.
They photograph identically. The reason to separate them at the container rather than a month later is that each has a different evidence requirement, a different person who owns it, and a different clock.
Under FOB, transit risk sits with the buyer
Our standard term is FOB Shenzhen, which means the risk passes when the goods are loaded on board. Everything that happens to a container after that point is a transit matter between the consignee and the carrier, which is why transit insurance is a decision to take deliberately rather than an optional line item. The cheapest moment to decide it is before the container is booked — afterwards you are buying cover on known damage.
The three things that settle any claim quickly
- Photographs taken before the packing is disturbed: the damaged piece, and its carton as it looked on arrival
- The model and carton reference from the packing list, so the piece can be traced back to a pallet and a loading position
- A count — how many units are affected out of how many received, because a claim is a rate, not an anecdote
A photograph of a broken bowl, on its own, cannot tell anyone whether the carton was crushed, dropped or opened. The carton in the frame is what makes the claim sortable, and it is the step that gets skipped.
What belongs in the order specification
Claims are handled through our export sales team, and the terms that decide whether a claim goes smoothly are commercial rather than technical — which means they can be agreed in advance. The warranty terms themselves are straightforward: the ceramic body carries a lifetime warranty, and fittings and parts are covered for five years. That covers the product; transit damage is a separate question, and it is the one worth writing down.
- The inspection window after arrival, and who inspects — the consignee, the forwarder, or a surveyor
- Whether a settlement is a replacement shipped with the next order or a credit against it
- Whether you want a flat allowance agreed up front and priced into the unit cost, or an event-by-event route
- Who the named contact is on our side, so a claim does not arrive at a general inbox
Why an allowance is normal, and what it is not
Ceramic is brittle, and a supplier that claims zero transit damage on a sea voyage is describing a wish rather than a rate. An allowance agreed up front is normal trade practice in this category: it converts an unpredictable argument into a predictable cost. What it is not is a substitute for packing and loading discipline — an allowance absorbs a normal rate, it does not absorb a bad plan.
Reducing the rate at the source
- The packing itself: seaworthy cartons and palletising, which we handle in-house
- The loading plan: voids filled, nothing heavy over light, and a plan that fits the mix
- The models: two-piece units generally tolerate handling better than large one-piece units, which need more protection per set
- The receiving end: a floor-loaded container is denser but slower to unload, and that is where handling damage happens
Send the destination with the enquiry
Transit distance, the number of handlings and the equipment at the receiving facility all move the rate. Tell us where the container is going and whether it will be palletised, and we will quote the packing and the loading plan that suits that route rather than the cheapest one on paper.
Related on this site
- The loading arithmetic behind the claim rate
- Catalogue, drawings and packing documents
- How we cast, glaze and fire, and how we pack
- Settle the claim procedure in the order specification