The line called Shipping & Protection covers one parcel from one seller. It has two parts: the courier charge, and insurance for the item while it travels.
One charge per seller
Items from the same seller travel together in one parcel. You pay one courier charge for the combined weight and one insurance fee for the combined value.
Items from different sellers travel separately, so each one adds its own charge. This is why four items from one seller costs much less to ship than four items from four sellers.
The courier part
This comes from the weight of the whole parcel and the service the seller chose. The usual service is India Post Speed Post (Insured). Some sellers offer free shipping, and when they do they are paying it themselves.
The protection part
Insurance is not charged on the full sale price. It is charged on a declared value taken from fixed bands, which keeps the cost sensible on expensive items.
| Parcel value | Declared value used |
|---|---|
| Below ₹5,000 | ₹1,000 |
| ₹5,000 to ₹9,999 | ₹2,000 |
| ₹10,000 to ₹24,999 | ₹3,000 |
| ₹25,000 to ₹49,999 | ₹5,000 |
| ₹50,000 to ₹99,999 | ₹10,000 |
| ₹1,00,000 to ₹1,99,999 | ₹15,000 |
| ₹2,00,000 and above | ₹20,000 |
The fee is ₹10 for the first ₹200 of declared value, then ₹6 for every ₹100 after that. An ₹8,000 parcel uses a declared value of ₹2,000, which works out to ₹118 of insurance on top of the courier charge. The total is rounded to whole rupees.
Insurance is not the same as buyer protection
Insurance covers the parcel in transit. Buyer protection is the separate process that holds your money until you confirm the item arrived. Both apply to an eBuy order. Neither applies to a deal done outside eBuy.