TL;DR: When a chandelier is delivered in Australia, photograph the carton before opening it, then check the glass and crystal parts, the frame finish, and that every fitting, globe and mounting bracket listed is actually in the box. Do this on arrival, not on installation day. Keep all packaging until the fixture is installed and working.
What Should You Check When Your Chandelier Is Delivered?
A chandelier is one of the more fragile things you will ever have shipped to your door. It travels with glass or crystal components, a finished metal frame that marks easily, and a bag of small fittings that decide whether installation day goes smoothly or not at all. The most expensive mistake is leaving the box sealed in a spare room until the electrician arrives. This guide covers what to inspect, in what order, and what to do if something is wrong.
Why you should open the box immediately
Time works against you
Discovering a cracked arm or a missing bracket weeks later is a much harder conversation than reporting it the day it arrives. It is also more expensive: if you find the problem with a licensed electrician already on site, you are paying for a call-out that cannot be completed.
Open and inspect on arrival even if installation is a month away. You do not have to assemble anything, just verify.
What to check, in order
A five-point inspection
- Photograph the carton before you open it, including any crush damage or courier labels.
- Glass and crystal components. Check each arm, globe and drop for chips or hairline cracks. Hold pieces to the light.
- Frame and finish. Look for scratches, dents or plating marks, particularly on brass and gold finishes which show handling.
- Fittings and hardware. Mounting bracket, canopy, chain or rod, screws and the earth wire. This is the most common shortfall.
- Globe count and type. Count them against the listing and check the fitting, typically E14, E27, G9 or B22. Our guide to globe types explains the differences.
| Item | What to look for | If wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Crystal / glass | Chips, hairline cracks | Photograph, report before assembling |
| Frame finish | Scratches, plating marks | Photograph in daylight |
| Mounting hardware | All present | Report before booking an electrician |
| Globes | Count and fitting type | Source correct type before install |
What to do if something is damaged
Photograph first, unpack second
If you see damage, stop and photograph it in place before removing anything else. Keep every piece of packaging, including the moulded inserts. Then report it to the retailer promptly with the photos attached.
Under Australian Consumer Law, goods must be of acceptable quality, and consumer guarantees apply regardless of any separate warranty. Photographs taken on the day of arrival make that conversation short and factual.
Keep the packaging
Until it is installed and working
Do not flatten the box straight away. The moulded inserts are the only safe way to move a fixture with delicate arms, and you need the packaging if anything has to go back. Once the chandelier is mounted and switched on successfully, the box has done its job.
Before the electrician arrives
The pre-installation check
Two things to confirm before installation day: that your ceiling point can take the fixture's weight, and that any dimmer you plan to use is compatible with the globes supplied. Our guide to chandelier weight limits and the chandelier installation guide cover both. All electrical work in Australia must be carried out by a licensed electrician in line with AS/NZS 3000 (Wiring Rules).
Check the dimensions against your room
Measure before the electrician books in
Unpack the fixture and confirm it matches the listed dimensions. A chandelier advertised at 600mm across should measure close to that, and the supplied chain or rod should give you the drop you planned. Most fixtures ship with 1.5m of adjustable chain or cable, which an electrician shortens on site to suit your ceiling.
Re-check two numbers against the room while the box is open: the diameter against your space, and the intended drop against your ceiling height. On a standard 2.4m Australian ceiling you want the base no lower than 2.1m in a walkway, or 75 to 90cm above a dining tabletop. Discovering a mismatch now is a returns conversation; discovering it with the electrician on a ladder is an expensive one.
Buying with fewer surprises
Most delivery problems trace back to the buying decision, not the courier. Knowing what a fixture should include before it ships makes the inspection quick. Our guide to spotting a quality chandelier and the chandelier shopping checklist both help. Browse the Lume Designs chandelier collection when you are ready.
Storing a chandelier before installation
If the electrician is weeks away
Once you have inspected everything, repack the components in their moulded inserts and store the carton flat, upright and somewhere dry. Do not store a chandelier in a garage or shed through an Australian summer, where heat can affect adhesives on crystal fittings and humidity can dull metal finishes.
Keep the fittings bag taped to the inside of the carton rather than loose in a drawer, because a missing bracket found on installation day is the single most common cause of a wasted electrician call-out. If you removed protective film from any part during inspection, note it, since that film is often the only thing preventing scratches during handling.
Frequently asked questions
What should you check when a chandelier is delivered?
Photograph the carton before opening it, then check the glass or crystal components, the frame finish, and that all fittings and mounting hardware are present. Count the globes against the listing. Do this before installation day, because a missing part is far easier to resolve early.
Should you open a chandelier box straight away?
Yes. Inspect it on arrival even if installation is weeks away. Damage and missing parts are much simpler to resolve when reported promptly, and you do not want to discover a cracked component with an electrician already booked and standing in your living room.
What do you do if a chandelier arrives damaged?
Photograph the packaging and the damaged part before unpacking anything further, keep all packaging materials, and report it to the retailer promptly with those photos. Under Australian Consumer Law, goods must be of acceptable quality, and clear photographic evidence taken on arrival makes any claim straightforward.
How long should you keep chandelier packaging?
Keep it until the fixture is installed and working. Packaging is needed if anything has to be returned, and the moulded inserts are the only safe way to transport delicate crystal or glass arms. Once the light is up and functioning, the box can go.
Do you need an electrician to install a chandelier?
Yes. All electrical work in Australia must be carried out by a licensed electrician in line with AS/NZS 3000 (Wiring Rules). Unpacking, inspecting and assembling decorative components is fine to do yourself, but connecting the fixture to mains wiring is not.
Ten minutes with the box on the day it arrives is the simplest insurance in the whole process. It costs nothing, it needs no tools, and it turns the one genuinely stressful part of buying a large fixture online into a short, factual check you have already completed long before anyone climbs a ladder.
Written by William Walker. Published 23 July. Last updated 23 July.