Guides / Cost and Ordering
Responding to a Hardwood Lumber Claim as the Seller: Steps, Evidence and Options
April 4, 2027
A buyer’s claim email is not a verdict, and your first reply should not be an argument or a credit. Acknowledge it in writing, ask for the evidence, check it against your own records and the order, and only then choose between a cure, a credit, a joint reinspection or a documented no. This guide is for the owner or export sales engineer of a mill or yard and covers that sequence from the seller’s chair.
It is general information as of October 2026, not legal advice. I found no public hardwood claim deadline that I could open, and I could not open the current NHLA rule book, so no hardwood notice period is quoted. Your contract and the rule book it names decide. Our guide for buyers, how to file a hardwood lumber quality claim, shows what evidence the other side is told to bring, which is useful to know before you reply.
The first reply
Send it the same day or the next business day. Keep it short and neutral.
- Confirm receipt, the order and invoice numbers and the bundles or container the claim names.
- Say you take it seriously and will answer after you review your records.
- Ask for the evidence that is missing: photos of the whole bundle with its tag, close views of the defect, tally recount, moisture readings with meter details, and the delivery receipt notes.
- Ask the buyer to hold the disputed bundles as they arrived and not to plane, sort, restack or dry them before inspection.
- Give one named contact and a date for your next message.
Do not admit fault, agree a credit or tell the buyer to scrap the lumber in this first message. Do not go silent either. Our guide to why sawmills lose hardwood RFQs is about enquiries, but the same rule applies to claims: a slow or vague reply costs more than a wrong one.
What the law and the order say
Three layers apply, and the first one is yours to control.
- The order and your quote. A named grading rule, tally basis, moisture range, notice period and inspection method lead. A rule book or sales code binds only when the contract says it governs, so check that your confirmation says so. See purchase order clauses for the lines that matter.
- US sales law. The Uniform Commercial Code section 2-607(3)(a) says that a buyer who has accepted goods must notify the seller of a breach within a reasonable time or be barred from any remedy. Section 2-513 gives the buyer a right to inspect goods at a reasonable place and time, and where the seller ships them the buyer may wait until they arrive.
- International sales. The UN sales convention (CISG) may apply to a cross-border sale unless the contract excludes it, so ask counsel. Article 39 says the buyer loses the right to rely on a lack of conformity unless it gives notice that states the nature of the problem within a reasonable time after it found or should have found it, and in any event within two years of actual handover, unless a contractual guarantee period says otherwise.
“Reasonable time” is not a number. If the buyer’s notice came weeks after arrival, say so politely and keep the point for later, but do not use it as your only answer. It tends to end the relationship without ending the dispute.
Check your own records first
Before you reply on the merits, pull everything from your side of the shipment.
| Record | What it can show | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Grade report or pre-shipment inspection | The grade and count when the lumber left | Pre-shipment lumber grading |
| Kiln charge sheet and final moisture log | Whether drying met the order | Kiln drying records |
| Tally sheet and bundle tags | Board feet, rounding rule, net or gross | Lumber tally sheet |
| Loading photos | Condition, wrap, strapping and tags at shipment | Lumber photos for buyers |
| Quote, order confirmation, delivery term | What you agreed and where your responsibility ended | Hardwood export price quote |
| Carrier and port papers | Dates, seal numbers, any damage notes | Your forwarder |
Read the buyer’s evidence against these. A moisture claim that rests on readings taken after weeks in a damp yard is different from one taken on the day of arrival. A grade claim that shows boards from one bundle needs checking against that bundle’s tag, not against the whole order. A claim about stain may point at storage after arrival, which our guide to sticker stain explains.
Match the response to the claim
| Claim type | What to check on your side | Options to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade report, rule edition named in the order, which bundles | Reinspection by an agreed inspector, partial credit for confirmed pieces |
| Tally or quantity | Rounding rule, net or gross, bundle tags | Joint recount of two or three bundles, credit for a confirmed shortfall |
| Moisture | Final moisture log, meter method, timing of the buyer’s readings | Joint readings, sorting or redrying at agreed cost, credit |
| Size or surfacing | Order spec, tolerance in the order | Measure a sample together, credit or replacement of the off-size part |
| Damage in transit | Delivery term, carrier notes, loading photos | Pass to the carrier or insurer, document, agree who files |
| Species or color mix | Reference sample or photos agreed in the order | Compare against the reference, replacement of the wrong lots |
Your options
You are not limited to paying or refusing.
- Cure. UCC section 2-508 says a seller whose delivery is rejected as nonconforming, with time for performance not yet expired, may notify the buyer in time that it intends to cure and make a conforming delivery within the contract time. A seller who had reasonable grounds to believe the delivery would be acceptable may get a further reasonable time if it notifies the buyer in time. CISG article 48 allows a cure even after the delivery date, at your cost, if it causes no unreasonable delay, no unreasonable inconvenience to the buyer and no uncertainty about repaying the buyer’s expenses. The buyer keeps any claim for damages, and the cure must be offered in writing.
- Price adjustment. Under CISG article 50 a buyer can reduce the price in proportion to the difference between the value of the goods delivered and the value conforming goods would have had, but cannot do so if the seller cures. Under the UCC section 2-714(2), for goods the buyer has accepted, damages are generally the difference in value at the time and place of acceptance between the goods as accepted and as warranted. Section 2-717 lets the buyer deduct damages from the unpaid price after notice to the seller, so watch for short payments that arrive without a notice.
- Joint reinspection. UCC section 2-515 gives either party the right, on reasonable notice, to inspect, test and sample the goods, including those held by the other party, and lets the parties agree a third party inspection whose findings bind them in later litigation or adjustment. Agree the inspector, the standard and the cost split first.
- A reasoned no. If your records and the order show the lumber met the order, say so with the documents attached and offer a joint reinspection anyway. A no that comes with evidence is easier to defend than one without.
On the cost of an inspector, a wood scientist answering on a trade forum in 2006 said that NHLA usually sends a grader to settle a dispute and recalled, with an “I think,” that the loser pays when the difference is above 5 percent. Treat that as a lead to confirm in the rule book, not as a rule. He added that the grader’s pay is negotiated and varies widely.
Settle it in writing
If you agree a credit, a replacement or a price change, write what it covers: the bundles, the quantity in board feet, any freight or rehandling included and a statement that the settlement closes the claim for that shipment. Keep the buyer’s photos, your records, the inspector’s report and the signed settlement together in one folder. If the buyer deducts from the unpaid balance, check the amount against what you agreed.
Write the next quote so the next claim is shorter
- Name the grading rule and its edition.
- State the tally basis and the rounding rule.
- Give the moisture range and the test method.
- Set a written notice period, with a shorter one for moisture, and require the buyer to hold disputed bundles intact.
- Name the inspection method and who pays if the claim is upheld and who if it is not.
- State a tolerance on quantity before a credit is due.
Our guide on inspecting a hardwood delivery shows what the buyer is told to check on arrival, so your terms can match it. If you offer deposit and balance terms, see getting paid on hardwood lumber exports for how open claims interact with payment.
Talk to us
If you sell hardwood lumber and want buyer requests that state the grading rule, tally basis and moisture up front, which makes a later claim easier to settle, see for suppliers. Tell us your species, grades, drying and tally basis. Talk to us if you want to go through how your quote and order terms should read. We reply within 24 business hours and we make no promise of orders.
Sources
- Uniform Commercial Code 2-508, cure by seller (Cornell LII)
- Uniform Commercial Code 2-515, preserving evidence of goods in dispute (Cornell LII)
- Uniform Commercial Code 2-607, notice of breach (Cornell LII)
- Uniform Commercial Code 2-513, buyer’s right to inspection (Cornell LII)
- Uniform Commercial Code 2-714, buyer’s damages for accepted goods (Cornell LII)
- Uniform Commercial Code 2-717, deduction of damages from the price (Cornell LII)
- CISG article 39, notice of lack of conformity (cisg-online.org)
- CISG article 48, seller’s right to cure (cisg-online.org)
- CISG article 50, reduction of the price (cisg-online.org)
- WoodWeb, Lumber Grader Qualifications and Reimbursement (2006 forum answer)
Frequently asked questions
How fast should a seller answer a hardwood lumber claim?
Acknowledge it in writing within one business day, even if you cannot answer the merits yet. No public rule sets a seller reply time that I could open. The legal pressure runs the other way: the buyer must give notice within a reasonable time, so a quick, factual reply keeps the facts fresh for both sides.
Can a seller inspect the lumber the buyer is complaining about?
Yes, if you ask with reasonable notice. The US Uniform Commercial Code section 2-515 gives either party the right to inspect, test and sample the goods, including goods held by the other party, and lets the parties agree a third party inspection whose findings bind them. Ask for access before any bundle is opened or reworked.
Can a seller fix a bad shipment instead of paying a credit?
Sometimes. UCC section 2-508 lets a seller who notifies the buyer in time make a conforming delivery within the contract time, and CISG article 48 allows a cure after the delivery date if it causes no unreasonable delay or inconvenience to the buyer. Under the CISG the buyer keeps any claim for damages, so offer a cure in writing and agree the terms.
Who pays for a third party lumber reinspection?
It depends on the contract. A wood scientist answering on a trade forum in 2006 recalled that the loser pays when the difference is above 5 percent, and said it was a recollection, not a rule. Fees are negotiated. Write the inspector, the standard and the cost split into the order so you do not argue about it later.
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