The five steps
- SourcingWe match your item to a mill that actually makes it. Türkiye has quarry owners, processors and trading companies, and they are not interchangeable. Buying a processed tile from a quarry company means somebody else is cutting it anyway, with a margin you cannot see and a quality step you cannot inspect.
- QuotationOne written quote. Price basis, packing, lead time, Incoterms and payment terms stated. Where a number is an estimate we label it as an estimate.
- SamplesPhysical samples before any commitment: a range set of several pieces, light to dark, rather than one tile. The approved range set is kept and the shipment is checked against it and against the grade named in the quote.
- Inspection before loadingSomeone from our side, or an independent inspector we appoint, is at the mill before the container is sealed. The checklist is below, the inspection is part of our price rather than an extra, and its scope is written into the quote. This is the step that separates a partner from an email address.
- Export file and freightCommercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, and either the hand-over to your forwarder under FOB or the booking under CIF and DAP. Your broker receives a clean set of documents that match the goods in the box.
What we check before the container is sealed
Each check is against the tolerances stated in the quotation, ASTM C503 or C1527 or the agreed specification, on a sampling basis stated there too.
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Selection against the approved range set | Color and vein must sit inside the approved range and the quoted grade. This is the most common source of a dispute. |
| Calibration and thickness | Out-of-calibration tile costs your installer time and gets blamed on you. |
| Squareness and edge condition | Chipped or out-of-square edges show up as waste on site, not in the crate. |
| Finish consistency across the lot | A polished batch finished on two different lines will not match on the floor. |
| Fill quality on travertine | Badly filled voids fail after installation, when replacement is expensive. |
| Crate construction and strapping | Stone that shifts in transit arrives broken, and weak crating is a common cause. |
| Quantity against the packing list | Short shipments are found at your yard unless somebody counts at the mill. |
| Markings and labeling | Item codes and crate marks must match the documents or your receiving team cannot book the goods in. |
| ISPM-15 stamp on every crate | US entry requires heat-treated, stamped wood packaging; an unstamped crate is refused or fumigated at your cost. We photograph the stamp. |
We photograph the goods, the crates and the loaded container, and send them to you whether or not you ask. The photographs cover your shipment, not a tour of our supplier's premises.
Delivery, not logistics
We are not a freight forwarder and we will not sell you freight as a separate service. Where risk legally passes to you depends on the Incoterm we agree, and the quote says which one applies. What does not change with the Incoterm is that we keep following the container after it sails, because a shipment that goes wrong is our problem too.
What we do not promise
- We do not hold stock in your country. Every order is produced or picked to order.
- We do not claim certifications we have not seen. Ask, and we find out what exists and tell you either way. See specifications.
- We do not name our mills publicly. Finding and vetting them is the work you are paying for, and it is the one thing we cannot hand over and still be useful. The FAQ says more about this.
- We do not quote a price before we know the selection, the format and the quantity.
- We do not quote your duty. Your broker does that.
What this costs you
Our margin is in the price of the goods, not in a separate fee. What you should compare is not our price against the mill's price, but our price against the mill's price plus your time, your travel, your quality risk and the cost of one container that arrives wrong.