I’d be more concerned about the scratches on the piston, without knowing depth & location, it’s hard to know. Clearly they shouldn’t have any & personally I would email the seller to air your concerns & see how they respond. Some pics might help people give you a better opinion. (Now Sold). 2008 Freelander 2 (Nazca Sand) SE TD4 Auto. Statutory write off & on WOVR for hail damage but still road legal.
171037Km as of 09/05/22
Superchips Bluefin Flash
Nanocom Evo II (also sold)

The pics I’ve taken aren’t very clear unfortunately.. I contacted the seller and they offered me £46 credit to spend on their site, now I know they’re based in Germany I won’t be using them again, so obviously that doesn’t help me.

Order the right stuff, pay for return shipping, request a refund and chalk it up to a lesson learned. No point in putting in a product you have little faith in and that may be damaged.

I wouldn't be worried about the time issue, the car's weight on the springs being many times heavier will compress both springs in a similar manner / speed.
The very light scratches in the 1st picture don't seem to be significant however the second seem deeper and could cause damage to seal IMHO.
I'd be seeking a replacement. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

If you decide to fit these I would carefully rub the scratches out with fine emery paper and then polish with metal polish to remove any sharp or rough surfaces that could damage the seals 2013 FL2 XS.
Defender 90 300 TDi.
Defender 90 300 TDi CSW.
1964 MGB Roadster.
1944 Willys MB "Jeep" with bullet holes. (gone)
17 hand Irish Drought Thoroughbred (mostly lame)
Nagging Old Boiler.

Since Brexit I've stopped buying anything from outside the UK if I can help it - its not worth the hassle. Especially if you have to return stuff as you may have to "export" it back to them.

But you do have to be careful. Its easy to get caught out.
My wife bought a phone from a .co.uk website. Turns out its really a company in Hong Kong, with a different website (techinthebasket.com), which uses the uk site as a hook. The phone is now lost in delivery. The company says its is investigating but is refusing to reimburse us even after 30+ working days .
We are now seeking reimbursement from our credit card company. Jules

Cheers to everyone who assisted and contributed to this thread it’s been really helpful in deciding what to do about the situation, as confident as I am that I can install the new struts, my lack of experience meant I was unsure what to expect regarding their condition on arrival. I’d considered Rommel’s suggestion of rubbing out the scratches but as people have said, they’re new, so I figured I shouldn’t have to be doing things like that, thankfully I’m not in a hurry. �

I’ve decided to send them back for a refund, After getting mucked about by 2 separate people on live chat this morning I got through to someone who agreed to return & refund, he’s sent a pre paid label and customs declaration by email, so that’s something.

A big thank you to everyone, as always!

Last edited by lowbrow on 1st May 2022 10:42 pm. Edited 2 times in total

I sent the struts back and the refund was payed into my bank the next working day after they received them, which is a good result.

Gonna just chalk this one up to experience and buy local next time!

jules wrote:

Since Brexit I've stopped buying anything from outside the UK if I can help it - its not worth the hassle. Especially if you have to return stuff as you may have to "export" it back to them.

But you do have to be careful. Its easy to get caught out.
My wife bought a phone from a .co.uk website. Turns out its really a company in Hong Kong, with a different website (techinthebasket.com), which uses the uk site as a hook. The phone is now lost in delivery. The company says its is investigating but is refusing to reimburse us even after 30+ working days .
We are now seeking reimbursement from our credit card company.