Pathao vs RedX vs Steadfast: How to Choose a Courier for Your Online Store

Why your courier choice matters

For your customer, the delivery is part of your shop. A late parcel, a rude call or a damaged box feels like your mistake, whoever caused it. For you, the courier also handles the cash for every cash-on-delivery order and brings back the parcels that are refused. That makes your courier one of the most important partners your store has.

What to compare

Delivery areas and coverage

Start with where your customers are. If most orders go to Dhaka, performance there matters most; if you sell across the country, ask how each courier handles districts and upazilas outside major cities, and whether some areas take longer or cost more.

Pickup

Ask whether the courier picks up from your location, what the cut-off time is for same-day pickup, and whether there's a minimum number of parcels. If pickup isn't available, find out where the nearest drop-off point is and how long it takes you to get there each day.

Charges and how they're calculated

Get the current rate card in writing. Check how charges change with weight and area, whether there's a separate charge for collecting cash on delivery, and what returns cost. Compare them against the delivery charges you show customers.

Cash-on-delivery handling and payouts

For cash-on-delivery sellers this is often the deciding factor. Ask how often payouts are made, by what method, what statement you receive, and how long it takes to resolve a payout that doesn't match your records.

Returns

Find out what happens when a customer refuses a parcel or can't be reached: how many delivery attempts are made, how long the parcel takes to come back, what it costs, and whether partial deliveries or exchanges are possible.

Status visibility

You and your customer should both be able to see where a parcel is. Check whether status updates are timely and clear, and whether the courier offers an integration so your store can book shipments and receive status updates automatically.

Customer experience

Riders represent your brand at the door. Pay attention to how customers describe their delivery: whether riders call before arriving, whether customers can reschedule, and how parcels are handled.

Merchant support

Problems will happen. Ask who you contact, how, and how quickly issues such as lost or damaged parcels are investigated, and what compensation, if any, applies.

A courier scorecard you can use

Write the answers down with the date. When terms change, you'll know exactly what changed.

Pathao, RedX and Steadfast: test with your own parcels

Each of the three runs merchant services for online sellers, and each has sellers who swear by it. The only comparison that really counts is how they perform for your parcels, to your customers' areas, this season. A simple way to find out:

1. Open merchant accounts with the couriers you're considering and get their current terms in writing.
2. Split a few weeks of orders between them, mixing areas inside and outside Dhaka.
3. For every parcel, record the booking date, delivery date, outcome (delivered, refused, returned) and any problems.
4. Match each payout to the parcels it covers.
5. Note how quickly each courier's support resolved any issue.
6. Compare the results by area, not just overall. One courier may do better in your main city and another elsewhere.

Why using more than one courier can make sense

• Redundancy. Holidays, sale seasons, weather and service disruptions can slow any courier. A second account lets you keep shipping.
• Coverage. You can send each parcel with the courier that performs better in that area.
• Comparison. Running two couriers side by side keeps your data current and shows you when one starts to slip.
• Leverage. When volume can move, conversations about service and terms tend to go better.

The cost is more work: more payouts and statements to reconcile, and more panels to check. That's where booking from your store helps, because every shipment, whichever courier carries it, stays attached to its order.

Prepare orders so any courier can deliver them

Plan for returns and failed deliveries

Every courier will bring some parcels back. Decide in advance how you'll handle them: check the returned item, restock it if it's sellable, update the order, and note the reason. Over time, the reasons show you what to fix, such as an unclear size chart, an area where deliveries take too long, or orders you should have confirmed first.

Set delivery charges your customers understand

What the courier charges you and what you charge your customer are two separate decisions. Many stores keep it simple with one charge inside Dhaka and one outside, and a higher charge for heavy or bulky products. Whatever you choose:

• Show the delivery charge before the shopper commits, on the product page or as soon as their address is known.
• Make sure it covers your real cost on most orders, or build the difference into your prices deliberately.
• If you offer free delivery, set a clear condition, such as a minimum order value, and check your margin can absorb it.
• Review it whenever your courier's rates change.

Signs it's time to add or switch a courier

• Delivery times in an area you sell to keep getting longer
• Payouts are often late or don't match your records, and disputes take a long time to resolve
• Customers complain about riders or damaged parcels
• Parcels sit at pickup for longer than your cut-off promised
• Support is hard to reach when something goes wrong

Because you're keeping a log, you'll see these trends in your own numbers rather than relying on a bad week or a single complaint.

Booking couriers from UrShop

You also set your own delivery charges for inside and outside Dhaka, with a different charge for products that cost more to ship. Shoppers see the delivery charge at checkout once their address is complete.

Courier setup checklist

Couriers are one part of running an online store; see how to start an online store in Bangladesh for the rest, and bKash and cash on delivery for how payments fit in.