Got my first fish finder on Black Friday for the kayak. Elite 7 Ti2. However, I’m wondering about the condition of the side imaging transducer.

Is it normal for a new transducer to have small impressions or nicks on the soft outer material? I sent lowrance the picture below and they said it was perfectly normal. I’ve already swapped it out at the store and the other one was in about the same condition

What say you? Am I overthinking it or should I return/exchange it?

It might point to QA/QC issues in manufacturng or packagingbut it's unlikely to affect the performance as long as it's submerged. And you will accumulate similar scratches and marks after some use.

Good point. I honestly think it’s from the packaging. Instead of styrofoam they packed the transducer in this mold made of cardboard/soft wood chips and glue. I think the imperfections are from it being compressed against that material.