Packing and shipping for small Instagram sellers: a practical starter guide

The first few orders, you can walk to the post office. By the twentieth, shipping is a system: the right courier, the right box, a delivery charge that covers it, and a tracking number the buyer can check without asking you.

This guide covers each part of that system for a seller shipping from home, with rupee examples you can swap for your own numbers.

What one parcel really costs: a worked example

The order

One cotton kurti, about 400 g packed

Courier, within your state

₹55

Often more for another zone, say ₹80

Mailer bag

₹10

Bought in packs of 100

Tissue, thank-you card, label and tape

₹12

Total per parcel

₹77 to ₹102

Before any COD charge on cash orders

Illustrative rates. Get your own courier's rate card and weigh a few packed orders on a kitchen scale.

Couriers charge by the higher of actual weight and volumetric weight, which for most is length × width × height in centimetres divided by 5,000. A light cushion in a big box can cost more than a heavy kurti in a slim mailer, so pack as small as the product safely allows.

Choosing how to ship

• India Post (Speed Post) reaches almost every pincode and is often the cheapest for small, light parcels.
• Courier aggregators let you compare several couriers, book pickups from home and print labels from one account.
• Local delivery apps suit same-city orders such as cakes, flowers and gifts.
• Whatever you use, write down the tracking number for every parcel.

Packing checklist

• A box or mailer that fits — empty space is where things break
• Inner wrapping for anything fragile: bubble wrap, paper, or tissue plus a rigid card
• A waterproof layer for fabric and paper products
• The order number written inside, so a mixed-up parcel can be traced
• A small card with your store link and how to reach you
• A short video of high-value parcels being sealed, for your own records

Packing by product type

• Clothing: fold around tissue, seal in a poly bag, then a mailer. No box needed unless it is a gift.
• Jewellery: a small box or pouch inside a padded mailer, so the piece cannot slide out of a torn corner.
• Candles, ceramics and glass: wrap each item, then a box with padding on all sides, and 'Fragile' on the outside. Shake the box; if anything moves, add padding.
• Food and cakes: airtight packaging, ship early in the week so nothing sits in a warehouse over Sunday, and use local delivery for anything perishable.

Setting delivery charges

Work out your average shipping cost, including packaging, then pick one of: a flat charge per order, free shipping above an order value (with the cost built into prices), or different charges for nearby and far-away pincodes.

On Slaby you set a flat delivery fee, a free-delivery threshold and the pincodes you deliver to; checkout adds the charge before the buyer pays. You can also offer express delivery beside standard, with its own charge and delivery time. Express can cost the standard charge plus a premium — with a ₹60 standard charge and an ₹80 premium, a buyer below your free-delivery amount pays ₹140 for express — or the premium alone. Free delivery applies to standard only.

A daily dispatch routine

1. 1

   Check new orders each morning

   Approve UPI payments you have matched in your bank app, and accept or reject COD orders waiting in your 'COD to accept' list.

2. 2

   Pack and weigh

   Pack the day's orders, write the order number inside each, and weigh them so your courier booking is accurate.

3. 3

   Book pickups with your courier

   Where Shiprocket or Borzo booking is enabled on Slaby, connect your own account in Settings → Shipping → Courier accounts and book from the order screen. Otherwise, book on your courier's or aggregator's own site and enter the courier and tracking number on the order by hand — that always works.

4. 4

   Record the tracking number

   Enter the courier and tracking number on each order. The buyer gets an email with the update straight away.

5. 5

   Check the failed-deliveries queue

   Shipments the courier could not deliver appear here. Contact the buyer the same day and ask the courier to try again.

Stop the 'where is my order?' messages

Most of those messages come from a buyer with no information. Give them the information before they ask. On Slaby, the buyer gets an email when the order ships, and can track it on your store's tracking page with the order number and their phone — no account needed. The tracking page is also a button on your /links page and in your store footer.

Where your store has WhatsApp order updates switched on (Settings → Order alerts, available once WhatsApp is set up on Slaby), buyers also get shipped-with-tracking-link and delivered messages on WhatsApp, and can reply STOP to opt out. Otherwise, a short message when a parcel ships and on delivery day saves you a dozen questions later.

Common questions

Should I offer free shipping?

Free shipping above an order value is a good nudge to add one more item. Build the shipping cost into your prices or set the threshold where your margin covers it.

What if a parcel arrives damaged?

Ask for photos or an unboxing video. On Slaby you can require an unboxing video for return requests, and settle as an exchange, store credit or a refund you record.

Can I ship only to certain pincodes?

Yes. List the pincode prefixes you deliver to, and checkout refuses addresses outside them. You can also limit COD to a smaller set of pincodes.

Does Slaby book couriers for me?

It can, once Shiprocket and Borzo booking is enabled on Slaby: connect your own account in Settings → Shipping → Courier accounts and book from the order screen. Shipping with your own courier and entering the tracking number on the order by hand always works.

Should I offer express delivery?

If you sell gifts or anything with a deadline, yes. Show the delivery time for each option so buyers can see what the extra charge buys them.

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