The five steps
Sourcing
We match your item to a mill that makes it. Türkiye has quarry owners, processors and trading companies, and they do different work. A processed tile bought from a quarry company is cut by somebody else, with a margin you cannot see and a quality step you cannot inspect.
Quotation
One written quote: price basis, packing, lead time, Incoterms, payment terms and validity. Where a figure is an estimate, the quote marks it. Lead time is quoted as two dates, production at the mill and sailing, so you can pre-sell against them. Transit from a Turkish port to the US East Coast is materially shorter than to the West Coast. Payment terms are set per order and written into the quotation; the usual structure is in the FAQ.
Samples
Physical samples before any commitment: a set of range samples, several pieces from light to dark, instead of one tile. We keep the approved range samples and check the shipment against them and against the grade named in the quote.
Inspection before loading
Someone from our side, or an independent inspector we appoint under a confidentiality agreement, is at the mill before the container is sealed. The checklist is below. The inspection is part of our price, and its scope is written into the quote. Pieces outside the approved range do not ship. We pull and replace them before the container is sealed. If we find a problem with an order, we tell you as soon as we know. Our supplier relationships are the business, so your own inspector can attend once the non-circumvention agreement that covers a mill visit is in place.
Export file and freight
Commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin, and either the handover to your forwarder under FOB or the booking under CIF or DAP. Your broker receives a set of documents that match the goods in the box.
What we check at the mill
Each check is against the tolerances and the material specification in the quotation, on a sampling basis stated there too.
- 1Selection against the approved range samples
- Color and vein must sit inside the approved range and the quoted grade. This is the most common source of a dispute.
- 2Calibration and thickness
- Installer time, lippage
- 3Squareness and edge condition
- Waste on site
- 4Finish consistency across the lot
- Shade mismatch on the floor
- 5Fills and repairs on the face
- Patches the grade does not allow
- 6Crate construction and strapping
- Breakage in transit
- 7Quantity against the packing list
- Short shipment
- 8Markings and labeling
- Item codes and crate marks must match the documents, or your receiving team cannot check the goods in. Private-label packing is handled as part of the order.
- 9ISPM-15 mark on every crate
- US entry requires ISPM-15 marked wood packaging, heat-treated or fumigated at origin. A non-compliant crate is denied entry and re-exported at the importer's cost, and CBP can add a penalty. We photograph the mark.
Photographs
We photograph the goods, the crates and the loaded container and send the photographs with every shipment. They show your goods only; mill premises stay out of the frame.
Delivery and risk
We quote FOB (Incoterms 2020) by default, or CIF or DAP if you want us to book the freight. Where risk passes to you depends on the Incoterm we agree, and the quote says which one applies.
Freight is not a separate service we sell. Whatever the Incoterm, we keep following the container after it sails.
Damage on arrival
Note it on the delivery receipt, photograph it before unloading, keep the crates and the packing list, and tell us in writing the same day. If you only find damage when you open the crates, tell us in writing within three business days.
No stock in the US; every order is produced or picked to order.