The commercial detail behind every Karpat order.

Minimum order quantity

LCL (Less than Container Load)	15–20 m² stone tile; 8–12 m³ on architectural products
Full 20ft container (FCL)	~25–28 tonnes — stone loads out by weight, not volume. ≈ 450 m² of 20 mm marble (≈ 300 m² at 30 mm; proportionally more for lighter travertine or limestone); ≈ 600–800 m² of 12 mm porcelain
Full 40ft container	~26–28 tonnes — for dense stone a 40ft carries little more weight than a 20ft, so it is used for low-weight, high-volume items (porcelain, mosaics, lighter travertine)

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We import — you receive

You buy from a UK company. We bring the stone in from Turkey — ocean freight, cargo insurance, UK customs clearance, import duty and VAT — and deliver duty-paid to your yard, invoiced in GBP. No forwarder, no customs broker, no currency exposure at your end. Prefer to clear your own import? We also sell FOB and CIF for buyers with their own forwarders.

Turkish loading ports we use regularly

Mersin	Default for southern Turkey origin (Antalya, Burdur, parts of Afyon).
İzmir / Aliağa	Aegean region origin (Muğla, western Aegean producers, some Denizli routes).
Ambarlı / İstanbul	Marmara region origin (Bursa, Bilecik, Eskişehir producers).
Gemlik	Closest port for Bursa region producers; common for marble and architectural product.
İskenderun	Southeast Turkey origin; used for specific basalt and limestone producers.

We route through whichever Turkish port keeps the shipment most efficient from the producing region — our call to make, so you never have to.

UK discharge ports we use regularly

Felixstowe	UK's largest container port. Deepest service frequency. Default for southern England and Midlands inland delivery.
Tilbury / London Gateway	For London and South East inland delivery. London Gateway is the modern alternative.
Southampton	Suited to West Country, M3/M4 corridor inland delivery.
Liverpool	For Northwest England and Welsh delivery — useful when avoiding the M25.
Immingham / Hull	Northeast England and Yorkshire delivery; selected occasionally for specific routes.

We pick the discharge port to minimise your UK inland trucking — not because we have one preferred relationship.

How you buy

DDP <your UK postcode>	Our standard. We deliver to your yard, all-in — ocean freight, cargo insurance, UK customs clearance, import duty and VAT, and inland haulage. You receive the goods and one GBP invoice; nothing to arrange.
CIF <UK port>	We arrange ocean freight + cargo insurance to your chosen UK port. You clear UK customs and arrange inland delivery on your own EORI.
CFR <UK port>	We arrange ocean freight to your chosen UK port. You handle insurance, customs clearance and inland delivery.
FOB <TR port>	You arrange ocean freight, insurance, UK import and inland delivery from the Turkish port. Lowest unit price; for buyers with established forwarder relationships.

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Lead time

Stock items	3–4 weeks order-to-door (~25–30 days). Popular beige marbles and classic travertine, held ready to ship.
Cut-to-order	5–6 weeks order-to-door (specific finishes, sizes, or colour matching)
Bespoke / dimensional blocks	6–10 weeks (subject to block availability and finishing schedule)

Turkey→UK sea transit is about two weeks for a full container; the rest is production, booking, UK customs clearance, and inland haulage. We confirm a firm delivery window with every quote.

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Payment terms

First order	100% advance against proforma invoice, OR 60% advance + 40% before delivery (against the scanned bill of lading)
Orders 2–3	50% advance + 50% on shipping
Orders 4+ (established relationship)	30-day net or 60-day net, subject to credit insurance (Atradius / Allianz Trade)
Currency	Priced and invoiced in GBP (USD/EUR available on request). Quotes hold for 14 days.

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How we de-risk your first order

A first order with a new supplier is a considered decision. Here is how we make it a safe one — without asking you to take anything on trust.

You never pay 100% into the unknown

On a first order you can choose 60% advance + 40% against a scanned bill of lading — you release the balance only once the goods are produced, loaded, and documented, with the B/L in your hand. On a delivered (DDP) order — our standard — the entire freight, insurance, UK customs clearance, duty and import VAT sit with us until the material reaches your yard.

The paperwork is your leverage

Every container ships with a full, third-party-issued document pack — proof of preferential origin (the exporter's declaration on origin, or an EUR.1 movement certificate), CE Declaration of Performance, commercial invoice, bill of lading, and test reports on request. If the origin, grade, or compliance isn't as agreed, the documentation shows it.

Inspect before it sails

Inspect at the producer yard yourself, or appoint an independent pre-shipment surveyor (SGS, Bureau Veritas, or your own agent) at the loading port — we coordinate access. Nothing leaves Turkey unseen if you'd rather it didn't.

We are a real, checkable company

Karpat Trading Ltd is registered at Companies House (no. 16221500), registered in England and Wales, with a published registered office — all verifiable on the public record. Our GB EORI and UK VAT numbers are being finalised and will be shown here once issued.

Start small

You don't have to begin with a full container. A sample pack or an LCL part-load is a normal first step — prove the material and the process, then scale to full containers.

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Documentation included

Every shipment ships with the document pack relevant to UK customs clearance and trade-resale onward sale:

• Proof of preferential origin — the Turkish exporter's declaration on origin (routine), or an EUR.1 movement certificate (alternative), for UK-Turkey preferential duty
• CE Declaration of Performance (DoP) — per the relevant BS EN standard (12058, 1469, 14411)
• Commercial invoice + packing list — for customs clearance
• Bill of lading or seaway bill — original courier-shipped if requested
• Test reports (density, water absorption, flexural strength) — on request, no charge
• Quarry origin statement — named quarry of extraction, for project sustainability documentation

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Claims & non-conforming material

Stone is a natural material, and every order ships under clear terms for the rare occasion something arrives damaged or off-spec.

Transit damage	Note it on the delivery paperwork and report within 7 days with photographs. Shipments we carry in (DDP, CIF) include cargo insurance covering transit loss and breakage; we handle the claim with the carrier or insurer.
Off-sample / non-conforming	If material is materially different from the approved sample or agreed specification, we replace it or issue a credit — the resolution is agreed with you before any replacement ships.
Natural variation	Colour, veining, and shade vary naturally across stone, even within one quarry batch. Samples are representative, not an exact match; we flag the expected variation range for your material up front.

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Logistics partners

We work with multiple Turkey-UK trade-lane forwarders and don't tie any shipment to a single broker. Decision per-shipment based on routing, schedule, and buyer preference.

Davies Turner — long-standing Turkey-UK specialist with cross-dock warehousing in Felixstowe, Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow. Frequent default for new buyers because of their established Turkish lane and UK-wide footprint.

Geodis, DSV, Kuehne+Nagel, plus regional brokers at each UK port — used where their schedule, cost, or warehousing footprint better matches the specific shipment.

For documentation (import declarations, origin-proof verification, BS EN test report retrieval) we partner with whoever is broking the specific shipment, plus our own in-house oversight on every container.