@NinaCarter1023 I included loose items in the inventory before distributing any accessories. The seller's final contents message specifies a tool cable in each kit, but our received total can't complete 236 kits.

Send the received counts beside the final kit definition and invoice line. Ask the seller to explain its unit of sale using those exact documents.

Would packing error be a fair description at this point? The sealed outer box makes me suspect the contents were already like this when dispatched.

Call it a received-count discrepancy while the unit argument is open. You can show exactly what's short against your kit list without claiming how it happened.

@EllaAllen0294 The per-kit contents message settles the count basis. Show them that line and request the missing balance.

@NinaCarter1023 The contents message is relevant, but its relationship to the confirmed sale quantity still matters. A description of kit contents may need to be read alongside the order confirmation to resolve the units.

I overstated what the contents message alone settles. The request should first reconcile the per-kit description with the confirmed quantity and invoice, then identify the resulting shortage.

@NinaCarter1023 So one kit might count as several pieces? That's where I'd get lost.

Yes, but you need the definition used for this order. Write the unit beside every count: kits, pieces, or pairs if the documents actually use pairs.

@NinaCarter1023 I'll show the planned 236 kits separately from counts of individual accessories. A single undifferentiated quantity column could obscure the unit disagreement.

I can now present the received inventory alongside the two order descriptions. We still need to settle the quantity interpretation, and I don't yet have all the planned kits complete.

That gives the discussion a concrete basis while keeping the disputed units visible.