You open a box, and the product inside doesn’t work. Nobody is upset. There’s no customer waiting, and nobody is going to phone to ask about it. So you put it on the shelf to deal with later.
A month later, it’s still there, and now it has company.
Faulty stock is easy to forget because nothing pushes you to deal with it. But every unit on that shelf is something you paid for and can’t sell.
Your supplier will usually put it right. Someone just has to ask.
Why faulty stock gets left on the shelf
A customer repair has someone waiting at the other end. Faulty stock doesn’t, so it keeps slipping down the list.
It’s nobody’s job.
Whoever finds it is usually busy doing something else. They assume someone else will sort it out.
The details get lost.
By the time someone looks at it, nobody remembers when it came in, which order it was on or what was wrong with it.
It feels too small to bother with.
One unit doesn’t seem worth the paperwork, until you look at the whole shelf.
Nobody knows what’s been claimed.
Some units have been reported to the supplier, and some haven’t. They all look the same on the shelf.
Get it recorded on the day you find it
The best time to deal with a faulty unit is the moment you find it. It only takes a few minutes, and it’s the difference between a claim you can send and a mystery you’ll have to solve later.
Write down what the product is, its serial number and what’s wrong with it, and take a few photos. You don’t have to send the claim that day. You just need to make sure it doesn’t get forgotten.
Then ask for what you’re owed
Once it’s recorded, tell your supplier what happened and what you’d like: a credit or a replacement. Some suppliers will want the unit back, and others will ask you to keep it or scrap it. Make a note of what they say, and keep the claim open until the credit or the replacement has actually arrived.
How RepairStep helps
In RepairStep, you add it as “Faulty unit - found in stock”, with the details and photos, and it’s on record straight away.
REP-1311
Stand mixer
No customer - found faulty in stock
- Fault
- Motor doesn’t start. Found when unpacking the delivery.
- Photos
- 3 photos
It then shows under “To claim” on your list until you either start a claim or decide not to claim. So every faulty unit gets a decision, and nothing sits there forever.
- REP-1311Stand mixerFaulty unit - found in stock
- REP-1307Air fryerFaulty unit - found in stock
- REP-1294Coffee grinderFaulty unit - replaced
When you’re ready, you choose the supplier, say whether you’d like a credit or a replacement, and add the amount. Your supplier gets a link by email, with no account to set up, and can reply from there.
CLM-0187
Stand mixer
Northline Distribution
- What happened
- Stock fault
- Asking for
- Credit
- Amount
- $145.00
The claim stays open until someone records the outcome. You can also note what happens to the unit, so you know whether it’s going back, waiting to be collected or has been scrapped.
So instead of walking over to the shelf and trying to work it all out, you can see what’s waiting and what each supplier still owes you.
You can try it on your first 20 repairs for free, with all the features and no credit card.
Frequently asked questions
What if a customer returned the faulty unit?
That works too. You can add it as “Faulty unit - replaced” or “Faulty unit - refunded”, depending on what you gave the customer, and claim it back the same way.
What if I don’t want to claim for a unit?
You can mark it as not claiming, so it’s clear the decision was made and nobody needs to come back to it. If you change your mind, you can still claim it later.
Does my supplier need to use RepairStep?
No. They can see and answer the claim from a link in an email, without an account.
What if my supplier only credits part of the claim?
Record the amount you actually received. Your totals use that figure, so they show what you really got back.