We Ordered 3,000 Units and Received 2,860
A Guide to Order Quantity Tolerance and Short Shipments from Chinese Factories - Why Quantities Come Up Short or Over, How to Set an Over/Short Tolerance, Checking Odd Cartons and Carton Counts, Requesting Spares, Claiming Shortages After Arrival, Request Wording, Contract Clauses and a Checklist

Hello, this is StartMade.

One of our clients imports silicone lids for kitchen use. They ordered 3,000 units and paid the balance in full, but when the warehouse ran its receiving check, there were only 2,860. That's 140 units short, about 4.7%. When they contacted the factory, the answer was: "Some came out defective during production, so we left them out. A few percent of difference is normal."

Going back to the contract, they found not a single line about quantity tolerance. The invoice said 3,000 units and they had paid for 3,000, but there was nothing that said how a difference should be settled. It took two weeks to agree on a deduction from the next order, and in the meantime they had to mark some of their online marketplace listings as sold out.

When you work with Chinese factories, quantity differences happen more often than you'd expect. In this post we cover why quantities come up short or over, how to set an over/short tolerance, how to check quantities before shipment, what to do when you find a shortage after arrival, and the request wording and contract clauses to use.

Quantity is easier to check than quality, yet it's usually the last thing anyone checks. If you don't write down in numbers how many units can be short and who pays for any overage, you'll be renegotiating every time a difference shows up.

1. Why Quantities Come Up Short or Over

Quantity differences usually come from how production works rather than from a factory trying to cheat you. Factories expect some defects and start production with a little extra material. If defects run higher than expected, the order comes up short; if they run lower, there's extra. On top of that come raw material minimum purchase quantities and counting mistakes at the packing stage.

We covered how to include quantity terms in your spec sheet and BOM in Episode 59, and how to track production progress in Episode 102.

2. Put a Number on the Over/Short Tolerance

Chinese factories call quantity tolerance "溢短装" (more-or-less clause). If your purchase order says something like "quantity ±3%," any difference inside that range becomes a settlement matter rather than a claim. You simply adjust payment to the quantity actually shipped.

These figures are common industry examples, not fixed rules. If you've already committed quantities to a sales channel, you can set different limits in each direction, such as "0% short, +3% over."

Alongside the range, agree on how you'll settle. Wording like "settled at actual shipped quantity × unit price" and "any overage beyond the tolerance is accepted at the buyer's option; if not accepted, the factory retrieves or disposes of it at its own cost" stops the factory from shipping leftovers and billing you for them.

3. Odd Cartons and Carton Counts - Counting Before Shipment

Pack 3,000 units at 48 per carton and you fill 62 cartons with 24 units left over. That last carton is the odd carton (尾箱), and if its outside isn't marked, the packing list and the actual quantity easily drift apart.

If you use a pre-shipment inspection (Episode 100), ask specifically for a quantity check to be included. Some inspectors look only at quality and never count cartons. Container loading is covered in Episode 101, and customs problems caused by mismatched packing lists and invoices in Episode 116.

4. Request Spares Separately

If your product has consumable parts or tends to get damaged in transit, it's worth requesting spares on top of the order quantity. Chinese factories call these "备品." Some factories include 1-2% of the order quantity free of charge, and others charge the unit price. Either way, put it in the purchase order. Spares requested only verbally tend to get used first to make up a short order quantity.

We covered how to manage spares and after-sales parts inventory in Episode 55.

5. When You Find a Shortage After Arrival

When you find a shortage, first work out where the units went missing. Who is responsible depends on where they disappeared.

Collect evidence on the day the goods arrive. Take photos and video of the cartons' outside, the waybill, the opening, and the actual count, and weigh the cartons too. If a few days pass and the stock gets mixed in, the factory will reply, "Didn't they go missing at your warehouse?" For cargo insurance claims see Episode 57, and for the claims process in general see Episode 36.

If you pay the balance only after receiving shipping documents, settling a shortage is much easier. Designing payment terms is covered in Episode 106, and quality retention money in Episode 110.

6. Sample Quantity Terms Request Wording

If all you send is "please get the quantity exactly right," the factory will reply "OK" and that's the end of it. Spell out the tolerance, the settlement basis, how odd cartons and spares are marked, and what documents you want before shipment.

In English: "Quantity tolerance ±3%, settled at the actual shipped quantity. Any overage beyond the tolerance requires our prior written consent; otherwise we may refuse it and related costs are borne by your company. Mark the actual quantity separately on the outside of the odd carton. Pack spares (1% of the order quantity) in separate cartons marked SPARE, not counted in the normal quantity. Before shipment, provide a packing list showing quantity and gross weight per carton, plus photos of the carton count at container loading." For tips on communicating with factories, see Episode 41.

7. Clauses to Put in Your Contract

By the time a problem shows up, it's too late to agree on quantity terms. Put them in your purchase order or purchase contract in advance.

• Quantity tolerance (±%), with separate limits for short and over
• Settlement based on actual shipped quantity
• No obligation to accept overage beyond the tolerance without the buyer's written consent
• Deadline for reporting shortages (e.g., 7-14 days after receipt) and how they're resolved (make-up, deduction, refund)
• Spare quantity, whether free or paid, and the obligation to pack spares separately
• Units per carton and the obligation to mark the odd carton

How to set quality standards and liability by contract is covered in Episode 103.

8. Three Real Cases

These are anonymized versions of situations we often see in consultations. Figures are illustrative.

Case 1 - 140 Silicone Lids Short

This is the case from the start of the post. From the next order on, the client wrote "0% short, +2% over, settled at actual shipped quantity" into the purchase order, and got a packing list with quantity and weight per carton before paying the balance. Over the next three orders, every quantity difference stayed within 1%, and settlement was done at the invoice stage.

Case 2 - 12% Overage on Printed Gift Boxes

A client ordered 5,000 custom printed gift boxes and received 5,600, and the factory invoiced for the extra 600. The explanation was that they had printed extra to allow for printing loss, and fewer came out defective than expected. With no tolerance in the contract, the client ended up taking the overage at half the unit price, and from the next order added "±5%, overage shipped only with written consent."

Case 3 - Unmarked Odd Carton

A client received 2,000 phone cases packed 50 per carton in 40 cartons. The factory had made only 1,980, put 30 in the last carton, and labeled it "50PCS" like all the others. The receiving staff counted only the cartons and booked 2,000 units, and the 20-unit shortage turned up only a month later during a stock count. The factory refused responsibility, saying the report came too late. Now this client weighs every carton at receiving.

9. Common Mistakes

• Leaving the quantity tolerance out of the purchase order
• Paying the balance based only on the invoice quantity
• Counting cartons at receiving without checking what's inside
• Requesting spares only verbally, so they arrive mixed into the order quantity
• Finding a shortage weeks later, when the factory no longer accepts responsibility
• Paying in full when the factory ships extra and invoices for it

10. Quantity Management Checklist

When Ordering

• Set the quantity tolerance (±%) separately for short and over
• Wrote settlement at actual shipped quantity into the PO
• Added a condition that overage ships only with written consent
• Agreed on the spare quantity and whether it's free or paid

Before Shipment

• Received a packing list with quantity and gross weight per carton
• Confirmed the odd carton is marked with its actual quantity
• Confirmed spares are packed in separate cartons
• Received photos of the carton count at loading

At Receiving

• Checked the carton count and condition
• Opened random cartons and counted the units
• Weighed cartons and pulled out any that looked off
• If short, collected evidence the same day and reported within the deadline

Wrapping Up - Quantity Is Part of the Spec

Many buyers check quality carefully but let quantity slide, assuming the factory will get it right. Yet a quantity difference hits your sales plan, inventory, and settlement all at once. If your purchase order states in numbers how many percent is acceptable, who pays for overage, and how a shortage gets made up, a difference becomes a matter of settlement rather than negotiation.

There's something you can do right now. Open a purchase order you have in progress and check whether there's a ± next to the quantity. If there isn't, send the wording above to the factory and get it agreed this week.

StartMade supports you on the ground with designing quantity terms in your purchase orders, checking quantities and cartons before shipment, and negotiating shortage claims. If a quantity mismatch has ever thrown off your sales schedule, we'll handle it with you from the next order.