Before a wholesale press-on nail order leaves the supplier, ask for a packing list that connects each carton to the designs and quantities inside it. Check complete sets by design first, then carton totals, weights and dimensions. Keep individual nail pieces, loose accessories and any unshipped balance separate. A correct grand total can still conceal the wrong mix.
The useful question is not just "How many boxes are coming?" It is "Can our team tell what should be in each box without going back through the ordering conversation?"
This guide is a buyer's checking worksheet, not a customs form. Your importer or forwarder should confirm the documents and destination-specific information needed for the actual shipment.
Match the list to the final order, not the first quotation
Open the accepted order specification beside the proposed packing list. Check the order reference and revision date before counting anything. If a design was removed, a quantity changed or a branded box replaced the original card, the shipment record needs to reflect that decision.
Use the supplier's exact design reference and your own SKU where you have one. A retail name such as "Weekend French" is not a reliable substitute for the supplier reference unless both parties have mapped the two. Different designs can share a marketing name; the same design may also have more than one size or packaging version.
Keep those versions on separate lines when they must be counted separately. Our SKU and barcode guide explains the difference between a supplier reference, your internal SKU and a retail barcode. None should silently replace the others.
The cover image shows existing nail designs on sample cards. It is not a photograph of a packed order, a stock statement or a specification for how many pieces your sets contain.
Resolve "pieces" before checking the arithmetic
Ask what the quantity column counts. It may mean complete retail sets, individual nail pieces, backing cards or shipping cartons. A column headed only "quantity" leaves room for a costly misunderstanding.
Here is a hypothetical example, not a SENAILGLOBAL product format or order minimum: 40 retail sets containing 24 nail pieces each contain 960 nail pieces. If those sets are divided equally between two cartons, each carton holds 20 retail sets. The order is not 960 retail sets, and the carton count is not the product quantity.
Apply the same distinction to accessories. A sheet of adhesive tabs, a pack of sheets and an individual tab are different counting units. Ask for the agreed unit to be written out rather than guessing from a total.
You should already have the contents of one retail set in the approved kit specification. The packing list helps locate and count that product; it does not settle missing decisions about sizes, materials or accessories.
Give each mixed carton its own contents record
One design per carton is straightforward to describe. A mixed carton needs a line for each design and version inside it, all linked to the same carton identifier. Do not accept "assorted nails" as the only record if your team must receive and shelve those designs separately.
Use two checks:
- By carton: add the complete sets listed inside each carton and compare with its stated total.
- By order line: add that design and version across every carton and compare with the quantity due in this shipment.
These checks answer different questions. A carton can have the expected number of sets while one design is short and another is over. Equally, the order totals can be right while the carton identifiers are wrong, leaving your receiving team searching through every box.
Ask the supplier to confirm that the identifiers on the list match the actual carton markings. The U.S. International Trade Administration's packing-list guidance describes the document as a package-by-package record of contents, weights and measurements. Use that principle to make your own receiving record traceable; confirm the required document format with your forwarder.
Keep estimated measurements distinct from packed measurements
During quotation, carton dimensions and weights may still be estimates. Before dispatch, ask which figures have been measured on the packed shipment and which remain provisional.
Keep the unit visible beside each measurement. Distinguish the outside shipping-carton dimensions from the retail-box dimensions, and the gross packed weight from a product-only weight. Do not copy the dimensions of the display box into the freight record.
If the packing arrangement changes after the freight quote, ask whether the quote still applies. Moving a design into a different carton or adding packaging can change the shipment information even when the number of nail sets stays the same. The packaging and freight guide covers that comparison; a packing-list check is not a new freight quotation.
Show what is shipping now and what is still outstanding
For a partial order, keep three quantities visible for each design: the agreed order total, the quantity in this dispatch and the remaining balance. Note any quantity already dispatched separately. Samples or additional loose items should have their own descriptions and counting units.
Do not leave the full order quantity on a list intended to describe only the first dispatch. If two shipments use different transport arrangements, keep the carton identifiers and relevant documents connected to the right dispatch. See the air-versus-sea shipping guide when deciding the route itself.
The commercial invoice and packing list also need to describe a consistent shipment. They are not interchangeable: the International Trade Administration's document overview distinguishes the commercial transaction record from the packing details. Ask the supplier and forwarder to resolve a mismatch rather than editing a document yourself to make the totals look right.
A worksheet for the dispatch review
These are suggested checking fields, not a SENAILGLOBAL document format or a completed shipment record. Leave unknown information marked for confirmation.
Shipment reference
- Order reference and accepted revision:
- This dispatch reference and document date:
- Delivery destination and consignee, checked privately:
- Carton identifiers and total carton count:
- Measurements final or estimated:
- Outstanding questions and who will confirm them:
Repeat for each design within each carton
- Carton identifier:
- Supplier design reference and buyer SKU, if used:
- Size assortment or other agreed variant:
- Retail packaging version:
- Complete retail sets in this carton:
- Agreed nail pieces per set:
- Separately packed accessories or samples, with units:
Reconcile each order line
- Total agreed quantity:
- Quantity previously dispatched, if any:
- Quantity in this dispatch:
- Quantity remaining, with its status still to confirm:
- Difference needing review:
The arithmetic is a check, not permission to change the order. An unexpected extra design does not cancel out a missing one. Record the difference and get a written answer before treating the list as final.
Keep one final version for receiving
When an error is corrected, ask for the revised list with a clear date or revision reference. Mark the earlier copy as superseded in your records. If a carton is reopened and repacked afterwards, check whether the approved list still describes it.
FedEx's shipping-document guidance emphasizes consistency across shipment documents. That is useful guidance, not a statement that your order will travel with FedEx or that any particular customs outcome is guaranteed.
Keep the final packing record with the accepted product specification for the arrival check. Do not share consignee addresses, phone numbers or tracking labels in public posts to explain a discrepancy.
For a SENAILGLOBAL inquiry, start with the actual references from our current catalogs. Send quantities per design, the intended packaging and destination through the inquiry form, and mention any mixed-carton or split-dispatch requirements you need reviewed. Packing arrangements, documentation responsibilities and shipping costs need confirmation for your order; they are not automatic inclusions in a catalog price.