Two couriers can quote almost the same rate for a 500 g parcel from Indore to Pune and still give you very different results. One picks up every evening without a reminder and delivers on the first attempt. The other skips pickups during the Diwali rush, marks buyers “not available” without calling them, and takes three weeks to bring a returned parcel back. Your rate card will not show that difference. Your buyers and your bank balance will.
This guide is about judging the couriers themselves: the companies whose vans and delivery staff carry your parcels. If you are choosing a software platform that connects you to several couriers, read our guide on how to choose a courier aggregator as well. The two decisions overlap, but the questions are different.
Start with your own shipping profile
A courier that suits a Bengaluru electronics brand may be wrong for a Varanasi saree seller. Before you compare anyone, pull three months of orders and note:
| What to check in your data | Why it changes your choice |
|---|---|
| Top destination states and pincodes | Coverage and transit time vary by region |
| Share of orders to remote, hilly or North East pincodes | Some couriers treat these as special zones or do not serve them |
| Typical parcel weight and box size | Some couriers suit light flyers, others heavier boxes |
| Share of COD orders | COD coverage and remittance matter more |
| Fragile or high-value products | Handling and claims matter more |
| Return rate and reverse pickups | You need reverse coverage in the same pincodes |
Keep this profile next to you. Every question below should be answered for your lanes, not for India in general.
1. Coverage that matches your pincodes
A headline pincode count tells you little. What matters is whether the courier serves the pincodes your buyers live in, and for which services.
- Forward prepaid, forward COD and reverse pickup are often different lists. A pincode can be open for prepaid and closed for COD.
- Zones decide price and transit time. At the time of writing, Delhivery’s help centre describes zones from local (A) and regional (B) through metro-to-metro (C) and rest of India (D) to special zones (E and F) covering areas such as Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, the North East, Kashmir, Ladakh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Other couriers draw their zones differently, so the same route may fall into different bands.
- Out-of-delivery-area pincodes may be served with an extra charge or extra days.
Test your top 50 destination pincodes and a handful of difficult ones with a pincode serviceability checker before you go further.
2. Pickup reliability
A courier cannot deliver what it never collected. Missed pickups are one of the most common complaints small sellers have, and they hurt most during sales.
Ask the courier, and later measure:
- What is the pickup cut-off time for same-day collection at your pincode?
- Will they collect from a home address, and is there a minimum number of parcels?
- How do you report a missed pickup, and how fast is it fixed?
- Does pickup capacity hold up during festive peaks?
Keep a simple log: date, parcels ready, parcels collected, time of pickup. After a month you will know more than any sales pitch can tell you.
3. Delivery performance on your lanes
Transit time is only part of it. Look at what happens at the buyer’s door.
- Transit days by zone. Compare the promised and actual days for your top lanes.
- First-attempt delivery. Every extra attempt delays the buyer and raises the chance of refusal.
- Number of attempts before return. Policies differ. At the time of writing, Amazon Shipping India’s page lists three delivery attempts before it starts the RTO process. Ask each courier for its own rule.
- Quality of failed-attempt reasons. If many NDRs say “customer not available” but your buyers say nobody called, that is a pattern worth raising.
Our guide to NDR and RTO in e-commerce explains what these reports mean and how to act on them.
4. RTO handling
Some parcels will come back. How a courier handles that matters more than sellers expect.
- Speed. How many days does an RTO take to reach you? Stock stuck in transit cannot be resold.
- Visibility. Can you see where a returning parcel is, or does it vanish until it turns up?
- Charges. What is the RTO charge, and do surcharges apply to it as well? Delhivery’s rate card, for example, states that its destination city surcharge also applies to RTO shipments.
- Condition. Check returned parcels on arrival and record damage straight away.
5. COD handling
For many Indian sellers, COD is still a large share of orders, especially outside the metros. Ask:
- Which of your pincodes accept COD with this courier?
- Is there a maximum COD value per parcel?
- How is the COD charge worked out: a fixed fee, a percentage of order value, or whichever is higher?
- What is the remittance cycle, and what report shows which AWBs each payment covers?
If you ship through a platform, the remittance cycle may be set by the platform rather than the courier. Check whose terms apply.
Want more than one courier on your lanes? Courier Tales shows the integrated couriers that serve each pickup and delivery pincode, with estimated charges, so you can choose per order and set a courier priority for your account.
6. Lost and damaged parcel claims
Ask about claims before you need one. The answers vary a lot.
- How a claim is raised. A form in the courier’s panel, an email, or through your platform.
- Deadlines. At the time of writing, Delhivery’s help centre says claims for damaged, missing or different contents on a delivered shipment must be raised within 72 hours of delivery.
- Evidence. The same page asks for at least two images or one video of the product with the AWB number visible on the box or flyer, and lists a packaging video and GST invoice as optional but helpful.
- How much is covered. Couriers commonly limit their liability, and some offer extra cover at a price. Delhivery’s claims page, for example, refers to standard and “protect” liability coverage. Ask for the limits in writing.
Make evidence a habit: a short packing video for high-value orders and a photo of every parcel on the scale with the label showing. It also helps with weight disputes.
7. Parcel limits and restricted items
Every courier sets maximum weights and sizes and a list of items it will not carry. Amazon Shipping India, for example, lists parcels up to 18 kg and 70 × 70 × 45 cm on its small and medium parcel page at the time of writing. If you sell liquids, aerosols, batteries, perfumes or anything fragile and bulky, check each courier’s restricted list before you book.
8. Support and escalation
When a parcel is stuck, you need someone who answers. Find out who you contact for a specific AWB, how quickly they respond, and who handles escalations. Then test it: raise one real query during your trial and time the response.
A courier scorecard you can keep
Once you are shipping, track each courier on your main lanes every month. These metrics come from your own shipment data:
| Metric | How to calculate it |
|---|---|
| Pickup success | Parcels collected on the booked day ÷ parcels ready |
| Average transit days | Delivery date minus pickup date, by zone |
| First-attempt delivery | Delivered on first attempt ÷ total delivered |
| NDR rate | Shipments with at least one failed attempt ÷ total shipments |
| RTO rate | Shipments returned ÷ total shipments, split by COD and prepaid |
| RTO turnaround | Days from RTO start to receipt at your pickup address |
| Damage and loss | Claims raised ÷ total shipments |
| Charge accuracy | Shipments billed above the estimate ÷ total shipments |
Look at the numbers by lane, not as one national average. A courier can be strong in Maharashtra and weak in Assam. For a head-to-head of two widely used couriers, see Delhivery vs Xpressbees. Price comes after performance: our guide on how to compare courier rates shows how to do that part properly.
Why one courier is rarely enough
Few couriers are strong on every lane, every season. Many growing sellers end up with two or three: one for metro lanes, another that performs well in the North East or hill states, and a backup for festive overflow. Managing several separate courier accounts takes work, which is why many sellers book through a multi-courier shipping platform instead.
On Courier Tales, for example, you can book Delhivery, Xpressbees, Ekart, Shadowfax and Amazon Shipping (surface), depending on the pickup and delivery pincodes and your account settings. Tracking from each courier comes into one timeline, and failed delivery attempts appear in one list for action.
Final thoughts
Choose couriers the way you would hire staff: on evidence from real work, not on the interview. Start with coverage for your pincodes, run real orders, keep a scorecard by lane, and review it every month. The right courier for your business is the one whose numbers hold up on the routes your buyers actually live on.
Create your Courier Tales account to compare the couriers that serve each of your routes and track their performance from one dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
What matters most when choosing a courier partner?
Start with coverage of the pincodes you actually ship to, for both prepaid and COD. After that, look at pickup reliability and delivery performance on your busiest lanes. A courier with low rates that misses pickups or returns many parcels costs more in the end.
How do I know if a courier performs well on my routes?
Measure it from your own shipments. Track pickup success, transit days by zone, first-attempt delivery, NDR and RTO rates, and damage or loss. A few weeks of real orders on each courier gives you a fair comparison.
What should I check about lost and damaged parcel claims?
Ask how a claim is raised, what evidence is needed and how long you have to raise it. Some couriers set short windows after delivery and ask for photos or video with the AWB visible. Also ask how much of the parcel value is covered and whether extra cover is available.
Should I use only one courier for all my orders?
One courier is simpler, but rarely strong on every lane in India. Many sellers keep two or more couriers so they can route each order to one that serves the pincode well, and have a fallback during festive peaks.
Is choosing a courier the same as choosing a shipping platform?
No. A courier physically picks up and delivers your parcels. A shipping platform is software that lets you book with several couriers from one account. You need to judge both, and the questions are different.
Sources
- Rate Card, Delhivery One Help Center (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Lost & Damaged Claims, Delhivery One Help Center (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Small and medium parcel delivery, Amazon Shipping India (accessed 2 November 2026)
Courier, marketplace and tax rules change. Check the current terms with your courier, marketplace or adviser before relying on them.