How cash on delivery works on Karwaan

Most guides to online shopping assume you have a card. Here, most people do not — and there is no reason that should stop you buying online. On Karwaan you order first and pay the courier in cash when the order reaches you.

Here is exactly how that works, including the parts people usually worry about.

You pay when the order arrives, not before

Nothing leaves your pocket when you place the order. You choose what you want, confirm your address, and the order goes to the seller. Money changes hands once — at your door, when the courier hands you the parcel.

The price you see is the price you pay

This is worth being precise about. The total shown when you place the order is the exact amount the courier will ask for. It already includes delivery and any cash-handling fee.

We are deliberate about this because the alternative is corrosive: if the number at the door does not match the number in the app, you are right not to trust it, and the reasonable response is to refuse the parcel. So the total is fixed at the moment you order.

Have the exact amount ready if you can. Couriers carry limited change.

Why we send a code before shipping

After you place an order we send a short code by SMS and ask you to enter it.

It exists because an order that costs nothing to place is easy to place by mistake — or by someone else using your number. Each one sends a courier on a wasted trip, and those trips are paid for by everyone else's delivery fees. Confirming the code takes a few seconds and keeps that cost out of the system.

If the SMS does not arrive, you can ask for a voice call instead. Mobile networks here are not always reliable, and we would rather call you than lose your order.

If you change your mind at the door

You can refuse the delivery. You pay nothing, and you do not need a reason.

This is a cancellation, not a return — there is no money to give back, because none has moved yet. It closes cleanly.

We do keep track of refusals. If a customer refuses very often we may ask for part-payment up front on future orders, because each refusal is a real cost somebody absorbs. For almost everyone this never comes up.

If you want to return something later

Once you have accepted and paid for an order, a return works like this:

1. You request the return and tell us why.
2. A courier collects the item from you.
3. Once it is checked, your refund is issued.

Because there was no card, there is nothing to reverse. You choose how to get your money back: cash when the courier collects the item, or store credit, which is instant.

What delivery times actually mean

You will see one of three things on a product page, and they mean different things:

• A date — we deliver to your district ourselves and are confident in it.
• A range of days — the seller ships it, or our coverage in your district is partial. A range is an honest answer where a date would be a guess.
• Not available in your area — we do not reach your district yet. You can ask to be notified when we do.

We would rather show a range than a date we cannot keep. A missed delivery date costs you a day of waiting; it is not a rounding error.