They did.
They sent a few photos of the items to the client, but the photos were taken from a distance. That was not really useful, actually… You couldn’t see the details.
The supplier claimed to be a “Top 3 manufacturer for modern Italian style home furniture in China” and kept pushing the client to arrange the balance payment: “Our professional QC checked everything. Quality is very good. No issues! Don’t worry! Arrange the balance today!”
But it was not the client’s first time dealing with China, so they were not naive enough to trust the supplier blindly. And the check was not in vain — the reality was very different from the supplier’s messages.