Shipping regularities in India?

I will try to answer your few basic questions.....rest you will get on your own once you are sitting in front of a Logistics sales person.... #1. Shipping rates are dependent on number of shipments per day (for you, the seller), and on the surface area of your package (for the courier company). The best case (win-win) arises when you can commit a monthly number, and when they can play with the surface area of the package (meaning, they would love your packages if they are low density stuff or softlines...e.g., apparels, of books; but they are very strict when it comes to shipping a refrigerator) . If this win-win is achievable, you have a huge scope of negotiation in the pricing. Else, your negotiation will be solely based on the number of shipments you are going to commit. Every courier company has a different rate, you need to get separate quotes from every company and then compare your needs. #2. If you are shipping with-in India, well there are not many documents required for the sign-up. The major one being your company's TIN Number, Bank Account Details, A MoU (which differs for each courier company), MD's details, etc. (Basically all documents which any company gets after the incorporation of the organization). For overseas shipments, there are a few more documents required, because Govt of India and Excise department in specific wants to know what are you sending outside the country. And depending on the product you are shipping outside, different tax rates would apply. In the domestic shipping, you have to take special note of the fact that some of the states levy a special entry tax for the courier to enter their state - e.g., West Bengal. #3. When you ship something, there needs to be a few documents readily available on the packaging - this helps the company which ships (in identifying the packages), and the company carrier the courier (in explaining the authorities that what is being shipped) - Details of the company which is shipping the product, Where should the product be returned to in case no one receives the courier, Address of the person receiving it, Invoice (without the product details, for the sake of privacy), Inside the courier there should be an Invoice with the product details and the price. (More points to be added later...)

The approach I followed is - I got started with one, got to a reasonable number of shipments, took the bill and showed it to another and negotiated - its a continous process. The problem with shipping or payment gateways is when you have really low volumes, they charge you a lot - once you have got good volumes, you can slowly start acting as a customer and they as a service provider, which is the way it should be. On the other hand if you are venture funded or are part of some ecosystem (startup group or industry body), you can use that network effect to negotiate and get a good deal. Also my suggestion is go with a good service provider, even if the cost is higher

I was about to answer this. But as said, you should actually call them up. Negotiate with them like hell. Make your effort. Btw, you can send the parcel with your bill. Cost is around 150-200. Try your luck.

Hi Ajay ,You can collaborate with any courier company for your shipping requirements . But managing multiple courier companies and follow up is a tedious task . Moreover different courier company have different requirements of state related documents .Accounting of multiple combinations of rates of various companies is again cumbersome task . http://Ecourierz.com provides holistic solutions . Shipping documents include (Invoice +Declaration +AWBs+ State related documents) Shipping cost might vary from 120-140 per kg depending upon services . On Surface mode and heavy weight parcels rates are comparatively lesser . One point solution for all logistics needs is provided by http://ecourierz.com .Its best for any startup ecommerce company.

Pick up the phone and call them, instead on posting on quora. You may get reviews from quora but donkey work is yours. I know answers to all questions above (ask how? I picked up the phone and called them when I was in same situation) but I don't help those who don't make their efforts.