Pack a real parcel first. Every mistake in delivery pricing comes from estimating instead of measuring, and one packed box tells you more than an afternoon of research.
The four steps
1. Pack your most typical item as you would actually send it.
2. Weigh it and measure it — length, width, height, in centimetres, of the packed box.
3. Work out the chargeable weight. Couriers bill the greater of the real weight and the size-derived one: length × width × height ÷ 5000, in kilograms. A big light box is charged as heavy. What is chargeable weight?
4. Get a real quote for that parcel to a nearby PIN code and a far one. Those two numbers are the floor and ceiling of your rates.
Then build the structure
Zones are where. Near, your state, the rest of India — or however your actual orders fall. Start with two or three; you can add more later. How to set delivery zones
A delivery option holds a price for each zone. Most stores need one to start with. Add a second only when something in your range clearly does not fit the first. What is a delivery profile?
Weight slabs, if what you sell varies a lot. Up to half a kilo, up to two, and so on.
The three mistakes
Guessing low to look competitive. You lose on every order and find out at the end of the month. Delivery is not where you win a sale — the item is.
Pricing from the item, not the box. A 20 cm vase in a 45 cm box is a 45 cm parcel.
Forgetting the packaging weighs something. Box, filler and tape add up, especially on small items where they can be a third of the weight.
What to do about the far PIN codes
Remote destinations cost more and some couriers surcharge them. Three options, in order of honesty:
Price the zone properly. Most honest, slightly fewer distant orders.
Average it across the country, accepting that near orders subsidise far ones. Simple, and fine if most of your buyers are near.
Offer pickup or local delivery for anything you cannot post economically. How to offer pickup
Check it after ten orders
This is the step people skip. Compare what you charged against what the courier actually billed, including any weight corrections that landed on your balance afterwards.
If you are short, fix the rate now rather than carrying it for a year. How to read your payout statement
More: how delivery is charged, should I offer free delivery, how to set delivery prices.