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For a new online seller in India, the choice comes down to where your orders go and how you want to manage them. Postal booking, a shipping aggregator, and a direct courier account are different ways to organise shipping. This guide explains the work each involves and how to assess a direct account with Shadowfax 360.
You can consider all three at low volumes. A seller dispatching 50 or 100 orders a month doesn't automatically need an aggregator, and a direct account doesn't always require a large shipment commitment. Shadowfax 360 (SF360), our self-serve shipping platform, has no minimum order commitment.
Start with your pickup address, typical parcels, and customer destinations. Those details will tell you more than a national coverage number or an advertised starting rate.
For a postal booking arrangement, establish the accepted parcel types, booking location, delivery coverage, and tracking process. Ask separately about collection from your address, cash on delivery (COD), business-account terms, and any eligibility conditions.
For occasional orders, check the local booking process and the service available for the destination. Compare the tariff for the postal product you would actually use. Retail and contractual rates are different. Make sure the price you compare is one you qualify for.
For occasional shipping, record the time needed to book, hand over, and track each parcel. Include that work in your decision alongside the quoted delivery charge.
An aggregator brings several courier partners into one platform. Depending on the route and parcel, it lets you choose among the available services without opening a separate account with each courier.
This can help when your customers are spread across destinations where different carriers perform well. Compare the options shown for your actual pickup and delivery PIN codes, then check who will handle a missed pickup, a billing dispute, or a return pickup.
Check the aggregator plan's subscription, shipment, and optional-service charges separately. A plan described as free may still charge for delivery, COD, or return parcels. Use the fee schedule that applies to your proposed account.
With a direct account, your commercial relationship is with the delivery provider. This may start through a self-serve platform or through a negotiated agreement for recurring business.
Shadowfax 360 is our self-serve shipping platform, with one dashboard connected to the Shadowfax logistics network. It is not a multi-carrier aggregator.
The platform lets eligible businesses create individual or bulk orders, check serviceability, track shipments, and manage COD. Custom API connections let businesses connect their own software. A seller can start without committing to a monthly order volume after completing verification and funding the shipping account.
As the business grows, a negotiated arrangement may become worth discussing if you have regular routes, specific pickup needs, or service requirements. There is no single monthly order count that makes this the right move. Compare the offer with the results and costs of your existing setup. SF360 already has an inbuilt agreement mechanism where, if you have a monthly range of 3000 to 10000 orders, you will have an agreement in SF360 which you can download, sign, and keep as reference and proof.
These are ways to start, not a ranking of service quality. Run the same parcel and destination checks for each provider on your shortlist. Faster delivery, COD, and RTO may have different availability from standard forward delivery.
Build a small set of representative orders. Include your usual parcel sizes, nearby and distant destinations, and the payment methods your customers use. Ask each option for a quote for that same set.
For shipping cost, include:
Keep another line for the money required before dispatch, such as a wallet recharge. An unused wallet balance ties up cash, but it is not an additional shipping charge. Likewise, the COD amount collected from your customer is sales money, not a logistics fee; count only the relevant fees as costs.
After a trial, compare the final charges with the quotes. Two useful measures are:
Cost per dispatched order = total shipping-related batch cost ÷ orders dispatched.
Cost per delivered order = the same batch cost ÷ orders delivered.
The second calculation includes the effect of orders that return undelivered. Keep the batch and cost definitions consistent across providers. Record customer returns separately, and include them on the same basis in each comparison.
SF360 uses zone-based flat-rate pricing for eligible shipments. Check the current rate for your parcel and route. A no-minimum-order offer answers the volume question; it does not establish the total cash needed to get started.
For occasional orders, check whether the booking and handover process fits your working day. Include time away from packing or selling when assessing the workload.
If courier choice matters across many destinations, test an aggregator. Check whether it offers useful alternatives on your actual routes, and how you raise a service issue after booking.
If you want to manage shipping through Shadowfax, try SF360. Test order creation, pickup, tracking, and payment reconciliation with a small batch. Shopify and WooCommerce connections are available for sellers who want to link their stores. For requirements beyond the self-serve account, discuss the relevant Shadowfax e-commerce and reverse logistics services and their commercial terms.
If your routes and shipment requirements become consistent, ask about a direct commercial agreement. Compare its commitments, rates, and support with what you already have. Higher volume alone is not a reason to change a setup that works.
You can also keep more than one option. A fallback for an unavailable destination or service can be useful without moving every order to a new provider.
For each service and destination you test, record whether pickup happened as arranged, the delivery outcome, the final cost, and the time spent resolving issues. For COD orders, follow the payment through to settlement. Check what happens to any undelivered parcel. Include the time spent on order entry, payment reconciliation, and support queries when comparing the work each option creates.
Use the results to decide which option fits your margins and customer promises. A cheap quote loses its appeal if recurring problems take more time and money to resolve.
If SF360 fits your shortlist, create an account and check your pickup address and regular delivery PIN codes before booking the first batch.
The time to start shipping depends on business verification, pickup availability, and the information your account needs. Shadowfax 360 offers online registration followed by verification and wallet recharge. Compare when each provider will let you book and hand over a real parcel; creating a login alone does not make you ready to ship.
Shadowfax 360 has no minimum order commitment, so those volumes need not rule out a direct shipping account. Other providers and plans set their own conditions. Check product eligibility, pickup and delivery coverage, and the cost of your usual parcels before choosing.
Choose the shipping model that fits your parcels, destinations, and daily work. Shadowfax 360 provides a self-serve way to ship through the Shadowfax network, with no minimum order commitment. Check pickup availability, account requirements, and the total cost of your usual parcels, then try a small batch.
Shadowfax 360 has no minimum order commitment. You still need to complete account verification, confirm serviceability, and fund the shipments you book. Check funding requirements and shipment charges separately from the volume requirement.
Shadowfax 360 does not have any monthly platform fee. Check the zone-based rate card based on your pickup and drop locations, calculate the full cost of your expected shipments, and recharge your wallet accordingly based on your needs.
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