A wholesale clothing delivery checklist helps a UK boutique separate what has arrived from what is ready to sell. The useful check is not just whether the parcel contains the right number of bags: it is whether each ordered style, colour, size and selling unit matches the goods in front of you.
Use this receiving routine before putting new stock on the rail or making it available online. It is a suggested internal workflow, not a replacement for your supplier’s terms or a guarantee that a return will be accepted.
Prepare the order record before opening the delivery
Have the order confirmation, any packing note and a blank receiving sheet together. Record the supplier, order number, delivery date, parcel count and the person doing the check. If the delivery arrives in separate consignments, give each receipt its own date and keep it linked to the original order.
Set aside a clean checking area and a separate space for anything that needs clarification. Avoid mixing the new delivery into existing stock until you have counted it: otherwise a spare piece already on the rail can conceal a shortage, or an older garment can be mistaken for part of the new order.
If the outer packaging is damaged, photograph its condition and the relevant parcel label before discarding anything. Keep identifying photographs private when they contain customer or delivery details. Record what you can see without assuming whether damage occurred at packing, in transit or elsewhere.
Match style, colour and size before counting totals
Work through one order line at a time. Compare the style reference or SKU, product description, selected colour and size with the garment and its labels. Similar-looking prints are not necessarily the same style, and a familiar product name is not enough to identify a particular colourway.
Use the order record to identify the intended colour, not just your memory of a screen image. Catwalk’s terms of service explain that appearance can vary between screens. If the label and order disagree, record both rather than silently renaming the garment to make them match.
Check the size on each item, including repeated pieces within a pack. Where a size is a range, copy the range as supplied. Do not convert a label into another sizing system or describe it as fitting every customer without evidence.
Count packs, saleable units and set components separately
A carton count is not a garment count. Nor should an order quantity be multiplied by a pack size until you know what that quantity represents. Some records show packs; others already show individual units. Use the stated selling unit and contents for the exact ordered line.
Catwalk’s terms allow individual pieces or the pack or size ratio shown on the product page. The minimum-order and pack guide explains that distinction. Do not assume that every style uses the same pack arrangement.
- Expected: record the confirmed number of units and any stated size breakdown.
- Received: count the actual units for that style, colour and size.
- Condition: separate units that pass your checks from units held for a query.
- Sets: record the saleable set and its included components separately. A missing component matters even when the number of packaged sets looks correct.
For a co-ord, check that the expected top and bottom are both present and belong to the ordered set. Do not add its component garments to your stock as separate saleable products unless that is genuinely how you intend and are able to sell them. Keep your inventory unit consistent with your product listing.
Inspect condition before steaming, relabelling or listing
Look at the front, back, seams, hems and any closures. Check for visible marks, holes, loose attachments or a fastening that does not operate normally. Handle gently: this is an inspection, not a stress test. Record the exact location of a concern so another person can find it.
Read the fibre-content and care information on the actual item before copying it into your own listing. If the label conflicts with the supplier’s product description, hold the claim and ask for clarification. Photographs cannot establish composition, wash performance or the condition of a garment you have not inspected.
Keep tags and packaging with any queried item. Do not wash, repair, alter or remove labels from it while waiting for instructions. A general inspection also does not replace any product-specific compliance checks required for your resale activity.
Report a discrepancy with evidence, not a guess
A useful report states the order number, exact item, expected quantity, received quantity and the issue. Include an overall photograph that identifies the item and a clear close-up of the concern. For a colour or size mismatch, show the relevant label and quote the ordered option. Keep a copy of your message and the reply.
For Catwalk orders, the current Returns and Refunds Policy asks buyers to check orders on arrival, report damaged, faulty or incorrect goods immediately after delivery, and include clear photographs where possible. Return requests must be made within seven calendar days of receipt; where receipt cannot be verified, the dispatch date may be used as the reference. If a delivery delay creates a problem with that window, contact Catwalk immediately for review.
Email sales@catwalkwholesale.com with the order number, items and reason, and wait for instructions before sending anything back. Eligibility, exclusions and return-postage conditions apply: read the full policy rather than treating this checklist as an automatic refund entitlement. Do not assume the consumer return rules you offer your own customers are the terms of your wholesale purchase.
Copy this wholesale clothing delivery checklist
Use one entry per style, colour and size, or per clearly identified set. Keep unresolved items visible rather than closing the delivery because most of it is correct.
- Receipt: supplier, order number, arrival date, parcels received and checker.
- Identity: style reference, ordered colour and size; received label details.
- Unit basis: piece, pack or set; expected contents and any size ratio.
- Counts: expected units, actual units, checked saleable units and units on hold.
- Condition: checks completed, exact concern and photograph reference.
- Product information: label composition and care; missing or conflicting details.
- Follow-up: supplier contacted, date, response and the next action owner.
- Release: who approved the checked stock for sale and when the inventory was updated.
Release checked stock without losing the open query
Update your own inventory only for the quantities you have verified and decided are saleable. Keep held stock identifiable and unavailable to customers while you resolve the issue. If different staff handle receiving and online listings, pass on the checked quantity and exact colour-and-size identity, not just “the delivery has arrived”.
Close each discrepancy only when the agreed outcome is recorded. Keep the original count and correspondence rather than overwriting them with the final total. When the next delivery arrives, start a new receipt: a previous check does not prove the condition or contents of a later batch.
For checks before buying, use the wholesale autumn layering checklist. Receiving is the next, separate decision: confirming what arrived and what your boutique can accurately offer for sale.