While we are still few years away from 30 minutes drone shipping, currently being tested by American counterparts, Amazon India has rolled out guaranteed duration shipping service just like in the US.
This is big deal for Indians who shop online, because more often than not, even normal deliveries never reach on time.
There is a reason why no other online retailer has come up with a guaranteed duration service like this till date. Courier services in India are not as structured and matured as they are in US and most online retailers have to rely on them for deliveries, unless they have their own logistics arm like Flipkart.
Delayed deliveries is one of the sore points for online buyers in India, and with Amazon now providing guaranteed shipping speeds, the scenario may change completely.
Lets first look at what Amazon India is offering:
| Shipping Speed | Eligibility | Charges | Limited period offers |
| Guaranteed One-Day Delivery | Eligible addresses will see the option during checkout | Â 99 per order | Not applicable |
| Guaranteed Two-Day Delivery | Eligible addresses will see the option during checkout | Â 79 per order | Â 49 per order. |
| 2-4 Business Days | Eligible addresses will see the option during checkout |  49 per order. FREE for orders above  499 | FREE delivery for all orders |
| 5-10 Business Days | You’ll see this option if your address is not eligible for 2-4 Business Days option |
 49 per order. FREE for orders above  499 | FREE delivery for all orders |
For customer who need their deliveries in one day, Rs. 99 will be charged per order and for 2 days, it will be Rs. 79. Normal deliveries will be charged at Rs. 49 and shipping is free over Rs. 499.
The One and Two day shipping will be quite appealing for high value items like mobile phones as the customer will get it in less than 24 hours from ordering and most users should not mind paying Rs. 99 for such a quick delivery.
However, the one and two day deliveries and not available for all items – only items that are fulfilled by Amazon and that too they are not available for all pin-codes. Customers will have to check whether they are eligible for those options while placing the orders.
If by any chance. Amazon is not able to deliver in the guaranteed time period, they will refund the entire shipping charges that have been incurred by user for one or two day shipping.
With Amazon introducing guaranteed duration deliveries, it will be interesting to see if sites like Flipkart, Myntra and Jabong follow the same route as they are ones who have their own logistics arm and can possibly provide the same!
What do you think?
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