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Two courier quotes can sit ₹10 apart on the rate card and end up far apart on your monthly bill. The rate card prices one forward trip. Your bill prices everything else too: parcels that come back, cash on delivery (COD) collection, weight corrections, surcharges and tax.
Short answer: For an Indian SME shipping around 500 orders a month, the most cost-effective option is the one with the lowest cost per delivered order, not the lowest headline rate. Price Shadowfax 360 first. Rates start from ₹39* for eligible parcels, by zone, with zero COD charges, no extra RTO (return to origin) charge, D+2 COD payouts, free doorstep pickup, no minimum order and no monthly platform fee. Those are the lines that can flip a rate-card ranking. Then compare it with other quotes on your own order data and test the winner with a pilot.
Take last month's orders and run each quote through this:
Cost per delivered order = (forward charges on every shipped parcel + RTO charges + COD fees + weight adjustments + surcharges + GST) ÷ parcels delivered
An RTO is a parcel that couldn't be delivered and came back to you. You still pay its forward freight, but it earns nothing. So every RTO raises the cost of the orders that do get delivered.
The rates below are hypothetical, not real quotes. Assume 500 shipments, 75 RTO (15%) and 425 delivered, of which 250 are COD. All figures are before GST, with no weight adjustments or surcharges.
The quote that looked ₹10 cheaper ends up ₹10 dearer per delivered order. Quote B has no COD fee and no RTO fee, the same structure Shadowfax 360 uses. The 75 returns still cost you forward freight, packaging, blocked stock and a lost sale. No return fee makes RTO cheaper. It doesn't make it free.
A clean rate card is one where nothing shows up for the first time on your bill. Ask every courier or aggregator to confirm each line below:
For what drives each line, see what changes ecommerce shipping charges.
Quotes only compare if they rest on the same numbers. Send every provider the same request, filled in from your own records:
New with no history? Say so and give a labelled estimate. Ask for a re-quote after your first month of real data.
When a courier changes a parcel's billed weight, ask for the measurement record and the sum behind it before you accept the charge. Billing usually uses the higher of actual weight or volumetric weight, worked out from the box size. The divisor and rounding rule change the result. Ask for:
Keep booking records of packed weight and size. Photograph each parcel on a scale with its dimensions visible. If you dispute a charge, check the courier's photo, measurements, divisor and rounding against your records before the deadline. Shadowfax 360 has no weight slab charges. Read what no-weight-slab shipping means.
Judge COD on two things: what collection costs and when the cash lands. Ask when the settlement clock starts, whether it counts business days, what can delay a payout and how you match each payout to orders. Ask for a sample settlement report with order ID, tracking number, COD amount, deductions and bank reference. Shadowfax pays COD on a D+2 basis: two business days after delivery. Read how delivery-based COD remittance works, or see how to check a COD settlement cycle before switching couriers.
Shadowfax 360 is our shipping platform for SMEs and D2C sellers. It runs on Shadowfax's own delivery network, so you ship direct and manage orders, pickups, tracking and COD in one place. The network covers 16,372+ PIN codes across 2,500+ cities, with same-day, next-day and standard delivery. It delivers 98%+ of orders on time and runs 99.5% same-day pickups.
Every parcel travels on the Shadowfax network, so one company handles it from pickup to COD payout. Your final cost depends on your zones, parcel sizes, shipment mix and RTO rate, so price Shadowfax 360 against your own orders.
Next step: check serviceability and rates on Shadowfax 360 for your PIN codes. Then run last month's orders through the formula and pilot the winner. Basically, the seller does not have to wait for a quote from the provider (Shadowfax) as he can get the cost details on Shadowfax 360 directly.
The one with the lowest cost per delivered order on your own shipment mix. Start with Shadowfax 360: rates from ₹39* by zone, no COD fee, no extra RTO charge, no minimum order and no monthly platform fee. Compare it with other itemised quotes, then pilot the best one.
Shadowfax 360 charges no COD fee or extra RTO cost and pays COD two business days after delivery, so it removes the lines that grow fastest. Put every quote through the formula with your own lanes, parcel sizes and return rate, and get weight rules in writing.
Shadowfax 360 publishes its key terms: rates from ₹39* by zone, zero COD charges, no extra RTO costs, free pickup and no monthly platform fee. A clean rate card states every line in writing, so nothing appears for the first time on your bill. Hold every provider to the table above.
No. You've still paid forward freight and packaging, your stock is tied up, and you've lost the sale.
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