Shipping & Delivery Policy

1. Delivery Methods

AbhiLaya offers multiple delivery methods depending on your location, the seller's location, and the product type:

2. How Delivery Works

• Order Assignment: When you place an order, it is split by seller and fleet type. Each portion is assigned to the best available rider based on proximity, zone, and fleet matching.
• Pickup: The rider travels to the seller's location. The seller hands over the parcel labeled with a unique Parcel Tag (PK-XXXX code). The rider confirms pickup in the app.
• Transit: For same-city deliveries, the rider proceeds directly to your location. For inter-city orders, the parcel is routed through city hubs.
• Delivery: The rider arrives at your delivery address. You may be asked to provide the delivery OTP for verification. Payment is collected (for COD orders) or confirmed as prepaid.

3. Delivery Areas

AbhiLaya operates in multiple cities across Pakistan. Delivery availability depends on:

• Your location being within the serviceable radius of your city (typically 15–20 km from city center, defined by city boundary polygons)
• The seller's delivery radius (some sellers have custom maximum delivery distances)
• Inter-city lanes: for orders from sellers in other cities, a serviceable inter-city lane must exist between the origin and destination cities

You can check if delivery is available to your location by entering your address during checkout. The system automatically validates your coordinates against city boundaries and seller radii.

4. Delivery Fees

Delivery fees are calculated based on:

• Distance: The Haversine distance between the seller and your delivery location
• Fleet Type: Different fleets have different base fees and per-kilometer rates
• Bulk Items: Orders with more than the free item threshold (typically 2–3 items) incur a per-extra-item surcharge
• Express Surcharge: Optional Barq Raftar delivery adds approximately Rs. 80 to your order
• Inter-City Linehaul: Cross-city orders include a flat linehaul fee per parcel

5. Self-Delivery by Sellers

Some sellers are approved for self-delivery. In these cases:

• The seller handles the delivery directly — no rider is assigned
• Delivery is charged at the seller's own per-kilometer rate
• The seller provides a delivery OTP that you must share upon receiving the order
• Self-delivery is not available for inter-city orders

6. Inter-City Delivery

For orders where the seller is in a different city from the customer:

• A local rider picks up the parcel from the seller and delivers it to the origin city hub
• The parcel is manifested onto a linehaul shipment between the two city hubs
• Upon arrival at the destination hub, a local rider delivers the parcel to you
• You can track your parcel using the tracking code (format: PCL-YYMMDD-XXXXX)
• Inter-city deliveries typically take 2–3 business days depending on the distance and manifest schedule

7. Delayed Orders (Store Closed)

If a seller's store is closed when you place an order:

• Your order is accepted and queued for dispatch
• Express delivery is not available for queued orders
• The order is dispatched when the store opens according to its scheduled timings
• If the store is closed due to a category urgency rule, the order may be blocked entirely (immediate urgency categories like groceries and food)

8. Delivery Issues

• Failed Delivery: If the rider cannot reach you (wrong address, unavailable, phone off), the order is marked as delivery failed. The rider returns the product to the seller. Repeated delivery failures may result in account restriction.
• Handover Failure: If a seller fails to handover the product to the rider, the order is reassigned to another seller (if available) or cancelled. The seller's reliability score is penalized.
• Damaged in Transit: Report any damaged items through the order issue reporting system within the eligible window. See our Refund & Cancellation Policy.

9. Tracking Your Order

You can track your order status in real-time:

• Open the AbhiLaya app or website and go to My Orders
• Each order shows its current status: Order Placed → Processing → Rider Assigned → Picked Up → In Transit → Delivered
• For inter-city orders, parcel tracking shows: Pickup → At Origin Hub → Manifested → In Transit → At Destination Hub → Out for Delivery → Delivered
• Your unique Parcel Tag (PK-XXXX) is displayed on the order — use this to verify your package with the rider