How to import quartzite slabs

Importing stone is not complicated, but it fails in predictable places: a spec that was never pinned down, a bundle that was never photographed, or an Incoterm both sides understood differently. This is the process we run with buyers, in order.

1. Define the specification properly

Before price means anything, four things have to be fixed:

• Colour and pattern — by slab code where possible. Our catalogue labels every sheet.
• Size and format — natural quartzite is roughly 3300 × 2000 mm per bundle; engineered quartz comes in jumbo or super jumbo.
• Thickness — 2cm or 3cm, and how they mix across the project. See 2cm vs 3cm.
• Finish — polished, honed or leathered. This changes both appearance and price.

Vague enquiries get vague quotes, and vague quotes produce disputes at destination.

2. Approve the actual bundle

This is the step buyers skip and regret. Natural stone varies slab to slab, so a stock photograph tells you almost nothing about the sheets you will receive. Ask for photographs and video of the specific bundle, with the quantity visible in frame. Any supplier who cannot produce that is selling something they do not hold.

3. Decide FOB or CIF — and know where risk transfers

	FOB	CIF
Full name	Free On Board (named port of shipment)	Cost, Insurance and Freight (named port of destination)
Who books the main freight	You, the buyer	The seller
Who pays marine insurance	You	The seller, covering your risk
Where risk transfers to you	When the goods are on board at origin	When the goods are on board at origin — not at destination
Typical reason to choose it	You have your own forwarder and better rates	You want one delivered price and less admin

4. Packing

Slabs are packed in reinforced wooden A-frame bundles, with the faces protected and the packs braced so they cannot shift inside the container. Poor bracing is the single most common cause of edge damage and breakage claims, and it is invisible to you until the doors open. Ask for photographs of the loaded container before it is sealed.

5. Documents

• Commercial invoice
• Packing list
• Bill of lading
• Certificate of origin
• SGS test report, if you need third-party confirmation for your own customer or for customs

Tell us at the quoting stage if your market needs anything specific on the invoice or the certificate of origin — amending documents after the vessel sails is slow and sometimes impossible.

6. Inspection before shipment

Inspect the bundle before it leaves, not after it arrives. That can be your own inspector, a third-party agency, or the photographs and video we send of the actual bundle. What you are checking for: surface defects, resin-filled areas, thickness tolerance, edge condition and flatness.

7. Minimum order and mixing

Our minimum is one 20ft container, and within it you can mix colours, sizes and thicknesses. That structure exists because it is how real projects are bought — a container usually holds several parts of one job rather than one tile of one product.

The mistakes that actually cost money

• Approving from a stock photo. The bundle that arrives will not be the slab in the picture.
• Assuming CIF means the seller carries the risk. It does not.
• Leaving the finish vague. Polished and leathered are different products at different prices.
• Not asking for container photographs. Damage is almost always a loading problem.
• Specifying 3cm everywhere on a freight-sensitive budget. It can be half again the weight of 2cm for no gain on vanities and walls.

Start with the stone

If you are still choosing between natural and engineered, read quartzite vs quartz first. If you know what you want, the slab catalogue will give you the codes to quote against.