D2C and e-commerce conversion

@itsecomkid

A US dropshipping mentor reports that his India-based student has only about 40% of orders delivered, about 80% of orders are cash on delivery (COD) despite a 15% prepaid discount, and so he sees a 5-10 ROAS that is "normal" in India; he concludes Indian dropshippers have it very hard and the student is moving to US ads via a US LLC.

37k plays · 04 Sep 2026

What they said

Source: a one-on-one program where he mentors dropshippers; an intermediate student "Naga" based in India, dropshipping in India.
Claims from the student:
- Dropshipping in India is "absolutely cooked" and incredibly hard.
- Only 40% of his orders make it to the customer's doorstep (so 60% fail); he says this is standard across shipping companies in India, especially small parcels (what he ships), which cost about 20-30 US cents to ship.
- Cash on delivery is the norm: customers pay only if they receive the product. About 80% of his orders are COD even though customers can prepay; he offers a 15% discount on products for prepaid orders as the incentive.
- So ~80% of orders do not give cash until delivery, and ~40% of orders are never delivered (the speaker later corrects on screen "*60%" at about 96s: it is 60% that fail / 40% delivered).
- Meta ads metrics differ: he gets about a 5-10 ROAS, which sounds amazing in the US but in India is "very normal" because they struggle to be profitable; cash flow is super hard because tons of orders never get delivered and they cannot collect upfront cash. Chargebacks are probably also an issue but the least of their concern.
Respect for the Indian dropshipping scene; he had no idea after 4 years of dropshipping.
The student is trying to move to the U.S. market: he is helping with transitioning his knowledge/skills, getting a US-based LLC so he can run ads in the US.
Closing: "holy cow, these India guys, they have it rough."

Try this

India-focused D2C sellers: Measure your own numbers instead of trusting a single claim. Track the share of cash on delivery orders, the share of orders that are returned or never delivered, and break them down by courier and pincode.
D2C brands: Offer a prepaid discount. The reel's student gives 15% off for prepaid orders and still sees about 80% COD, so test the size of the incentive rather than assume it works.
D2C brands: Confirm COD orders by WhatsApp or a phone call before you ship. Orders that are not confirmed are the ones that tend to come back.
Advertisers: Report delivered ROAS, not the ROAS shown in the ads platform. A 5 to 10 ROAS on placed orders means little if a large share never arrives.
Sellers of low-price items: Parcel losses hurt most when the product is cheap. Higher-ticket items absorb a lost parcel better, so check how your price compares to shipping and loss costs.
Agencies and creators: Contested numbers make a good hook. Show your own client data on COD and returns and say whether it confirms or contradicts the claim.

Watch the original

Watch the full reel on Instagram by @itsecomkid. Follow them for more.

Video, voice and ideas belong to @itsecomkid. Shown here as a short preview with our own summary, for commentary and education. Want it removed? Tell us.

00:00