When a shipment can't be delivered and the courier sends it back to you. You pay freight both ways, plus usually an RTO fee — and you still don't have the sale.
PP
Pure Parcel Editorial
October 22, 2026 · 4 min read
In 45 seconds
RTO (Return to Origin): When a shipment can't be delivered and the courier sends it back to you.
Why you care: RTO is the single biggest silent killer of Indian e-commerce margins.
In practice: A ₹500 COD order that RTOs can cost ₹120–180 in forward + reverse freight and fees
Every Indian courier, inside your store. An order comes in,
we quote every connected carrier on the order page — you book the best rate, hyperlocal or national.
RTO (Return to Origin) — When a shipment can't be delivered and the courier sends it back to you. You pay freight both ways, plus usually an RTO fee — and you still don't have the sale.
Why it matters to your store
RTO is the single biggest silent killer of Indian e-commerce margins. COD RTO rates commonly run 20–35% versus 2–5% for prepaid. Reducing RTO beats negotiating rates for most sellers.
This is the vocabulary every courier invoice, NDR report and rate card is written in — learn it once, save money forever.
A ₹500 COD order that RTOs can cost ₹120–180 in forward + reverse freight and fees — on an order that never generated revenue.
The bottom line
Shipping jargon is really just the billing manual in disguise — every term on this list maps to a line
on an invoice or a lever on your margins. Pure Parcel is built so you rarely have to think about it:
statuses normalise, bills reconcile, and quotes already include the surcharges.
Ship every courier without leaving your store
Pure Parcel is the multi-courier layer for Indian stores — hyperlocal and national carriers in one booking flow.
Porter, Borzo & national carriers, on the order page
Live rate comparison on every order
Your own courier accounts or ours — your rates apply
Carrier rate & platform fee shown as separate lines
COD collection & tracking built in
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