I'm Offering Free Shipping on Candles — Should Courier Cost be Included in Product Pricing or Treated as a Separate Marketing Expense?
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How much does free shipping cost me? On our ₹499 candle, absorbing an example ₹75 courier cuts contribution on a single-candle order from ₹277.55 to ₹204.05. On a three-candle order the drop is proportionally much smaller.
Is a free-shipping threshold better? Usually. With free shipping over ₹999 (your threshold, an example here), single and double orders pay shipping and three-candle orders ship free, keeping ₹787.15 on a three-candle order. See thresholds.
What decides the courier cost? Parcel weight against your courier's slabs. A 160 g candle in a glass jar with packaging can weigh 540 g packed (example weights), just over a 500 g slab. Weigh real parcels. See weight.
Four shipping policies, one candle
Take one ₹499 candle and run it through four policies. Materials cost ₹149.97. Per-candle packaging is an example ₹35.00 and per-order packaging an example ₹25.00. The payment gateway takes an example 2% of whatever the customer pays, including any shipping charge. Courier follows example slabs: ₹55.00 up to 500 g, ₹75.00 up to 1 kg, then ₹25.00 for each extra 500 g. None of these non-CSI figures is a market rate; they exist to show the shape of the decision.
| Order | Packed weight (example) | Courier (example) | Customer pays shipping | Free over ₹999 (example) | Always free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 candle · ₹499 | 540 g | ₹75.00 | ₹277.55 | ₹277.55 | ₹204.05 |
| 2 candles · ₹998 | 990 g | ₹75.00 | ₹581.60 | ₹581.60 | ₹508.10 |
| 3 candles · ₹1,497 | 1,440 g | ₹100.00 | ₹885.15 | ₹787.15 | ₹787.15 |
Read across the single-candle row. Absorbing shipping takes ₹73.50 off a ₹277.55 contribution, 26.5% of what the order was earning. On the three-candle row the same policy takes ₹98.00, only 11.1%. Free shipping is not expensive in general. It is expensive on small orders.
The fourth policy, free shipping as a marketing campaign, uses the same per-order numbers as "always free" but only for a set period or a set group of customers, such as first orders. It is covered in its own section, because the question there is not the margin on each order but whether the campaign brings in enough new customers.
Parcel weight decides the courier bill
Couriers charge by weight slab (and often by volumetric size), so the first job is to know what your parcel weighs. The candle is the smallest part. A 160 g fill sits in a glass jar whose empty weight is not published by CSI; the example here assumes 230 g. Add an example 60 g of per-candle packaging and 90 g for the mailer and void fill, and one candle ships at 540 g — just over a 500 g slab.
| Order | Wax and oil | Glass (example) | Packaging (example) | Packed weight | Slab | Courier (example) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 candle | 160 g | 230 g | 150 g | 540 g | 500 g–1 kg | ₹75.00 |
| 2 candles | 320 g | 460 g | 210 g | 990 g | 500 g–1 kg | ₹75.00 |
| 3 candles | 480 g | 690 g | 270 g | 1,440 g | over 1 kg | ₹100.00 |
The single-candle parcel misses the lower slab by 40 g. Trimming 50 g of packaging — a lighter mailer, less void fill — takes it to 490 g and the example courier drops from ₹75.00 to ₹55.00, saving ₹20.00 on every single-candle order. No change to the candle is worth that much. This is also why jar choice matters for shipping: the jar-size tier post compares packed weights across ₹499, ₹799 and ₹1,199 candles.
Thresholds: letting the order carry the courier
With free shipping over ₹999 — an example; choose your own — a single ₹499 candle pays shipping, two candles at ₹998 fall just short and pay too, and three candles at ₹1,497 ship free. The threshold sits just above a two-candle basket on purpose. A customer with two candles in the cart is one candle from free shipping, and many will add it. That third candle adds its own contribution and shares the courier, so the free-shipping order earns ₹787.15, against ₹581.60 for the two-candle order that paid shipping.
We cannot tell you how many customers will add the extra candle; CSI publishes no data on your customers' behaviour, and nobody else's figures will match your shop. Track it: note your average candles per order before and after you introduce a threshold. If it rises, the threshold is working. If orders simply fall, move it.
When free shipping really is marketing
Free shipping is honestly a marketing cost when three things are true: it is limited (a festive week, first orders only, a launch), it has a budget, and you measure what it brings in. Then you compare it with any other way of winning customers. Suppose a Diwali campaign offers free shipping on first orders and 120 customers use it. At the example single-candle courier of ₹75.00, the campaign costs ₹9,000.00. That is ₹75.00 per new customer. If your ads cost an example ₹180.00 to win a first order, free shipping is the cheaper acquisition — provided those customers come back at full terms.
| Permanent free shipping | Time-limited free shipping | |
|---|---|---|
| Where courier sits | Per-order cost, above contribution | Marketing budget, below contribution |
| How you judge it | Contribution per order still healthy? | Cost per new customer vs other channels |
| What it needs | A price or threshold that covers it | A start date, an end date and a budget |
| On 100 single-candle orders | ₹7,350.00 less contribution every month | ₹7,500.00 for that campaign only |
| Risk | Margin quietly shrinks | Customers expect it forever |
The risk in the last row is real. A promotion that runs every month is no longer a promotion. If your "limited" free shipping has been on for a quarter, move it back into the product costing and price for it honestly. The profit post shows where it sits on the profit ladder either way.
Choosing your policy
Here is the break-even in full. With the customer paying shipping, 100 single-candle orders contribute ₹27,755.00. With free shipping they contribute ₹20,405.00, ₹7,350.00 less. Each extra free-shipping order contributes ₹204.05, so you need 7,350 ÷ 204.05 ≈ 36 extra orders a month — a 36% lift in orders — just to stand still. If you believe free shipping will lift orders by more than that, it pays. If you are not sure, a threshold is the safer test.
The candle underneath
A ₹499 candle that has to carry shipping on some orders needs a lean materials cost. The worked candle is a 160 g fill (illustrative — CSI does not publish the Salsa jar's fill weight, so weigh yours) at an 8% load: 12.8 g of Fresh Strawberries (₹48.33), 147.2 g of Natural Soy Pearl Wax (₹66.24), an Eco Thin C1 wick (₹5.90) and a Salsa jar with its lug cap (₹29.50). No fragrance ceiling for Natural Soy Pearl is quoted in this series; 8% is a working load, and the product page or CSI on WhatsApp can confirm the wax maker's maximum.
| Pack | Price | Per gram | Candles at 12.8 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 g | ₹113.28 | ₹7.55 | 1.17 |
| 50 g | ₹212.40 | ₹4.25 | 3.91 |
| 100 g | ₹377.60 | ₹3.78 | 7.81 |
| 500 g | ₹1,770.00 | ₹3.54 | 39.06 |
| 1 kg | ₹3,540.00 | ₹3.54 | 78.12 |
| Pack | Price | Per kg | 160 g candles at 8% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kg | ₹450.00 | ₹450.00 | 6.79 |
| 5 kg | ₹2,124.00 | ₹424.80 | 33.97 |
| 10 kg | ₹4,248.00 | ₹424.80 | 67.93 |
| 50 kg | ₹21,240.00 | ₹424.80 | 339.67 |
For the rest of the costing, the forgotten-costs post lists every cost beyond materials, and the gift-set post shows how bundles change margins. The reorder-shipping post covers the other side of shipping: what you pay on your own raw-material deliveries.
CANDLEMAKINGSUPPLIESINDIA supplies raw materials, not finished candles. Free shipping on your candles costs a supplier nothing, and a busier shop orders more wax. We have still written a page that tells you to be careful with it, because a policy that quietly removes a third of every small order's contribution is a risk to the business that buys from us.
Oil and wax prices are CSI live pricing, pulled on 24 September 2026. The wick price is the one verified for Blog 760 on 10 September 2026; jar and tin prices are from CSI's catalogue for this series. Contribution figures are plain arithmetic on those prices and the labelled examples, shown to two decimals.
Courier slabs, parcel weights, jar glass weight, packaging costs, the gateway rate, the ₹999 threshold and the ad cost per customer are examples only — not CSI figures, not market rates. CSI does not publish a free-shipping threshold or delivery times for its own orders here, and none is implied. For a materials quote with GST invoicing, message us on WhatsApp at +91 7397976926.
Frequently asked questions
- My Candle Looks Profitable Before Packaging but the Final Boxed Product Becomes Expensive — How Should I Calculate Packaging Cost per Order?
- I Can Make a Candle for ₹150 in Raw Materials — What Other Costs Am I Forgetting Before Deciding My Selling Price?
- Should I Calculate Candle Profit Based Only on Materials or Include Labour, Electricity, Packaging, Payment Fees and Shipping Supplies?
- I Sell Individual Candles and Gift Sets — How Do I Calculate Margins Correctly When the Same Raw Materials Are Used Across Both?
- I'm Comparing a ₹499, ₹799 and ₹1,199 Candle — How Does Jar Size Affect Raw-Material Cost, Shipping Weight and Achievable Margin?
- I Want to Introduce a Smaller Affordable Candle — How Do I Determine Whether the Lower Selling Price Still Makes Sense After Fixed Packaging Costs?
- My Raw Materials Cost ₹180 for a Candle I Want to Sell at ₹499 — How Do I Know Whether That Leaves Enough Margin for a Sustainable Business?
- I'm Ordering Wax, Wicks, Fragrance and Jars from the Same Supplier — Can Consolidating Orders Reduce My Actual Landed Raw-Material Cost?
Customer reviews: The six reviews at the top of this page are genuine, published Judge.me reviews left by CSI customers on the product pages named on each card — Eco Candle Wicks, Premium Candle Wicking Needle and Bamboo Wick Holder. They are general product reviews, not assessments of the guidance set out here. Names, star ratings, dates and products are as recorded by Judge.me and wording is unedited. "Verified buyer" appears only on the three reviews Judge.me recorded as verified — Monika Deep, Subhankar Roy and Sneha Tamang; the reviews from Ashwini, LJ and Lalitha Jagan are published but not recorded as verified, and carry no badge.
Figures pulled 24 September 2026, CSI live pricing: Fresh Strawberries Fragrance Oil ₹113.28 / 15 g, ₹212.40 / 50 g, ₹377.60 / 100 g, ₹1,770.00 / 500 g, ₹3,540.00 / 1 kg. Natural Soy Pearl Wax ₹450.00 / 1 kg, ₹2,124.00 / 5 kg, ₹4,248.00 / 10 kg, ₹21,240.00 / 50 kg. 200 ml Salsa Glass Jar with golden lug cap ₹200.60 / 5, ₹2,950.00 / 100. Golden Aluminium Tin 85 g fill ₹360.00 / 12. Figures verified 10 September 2026 (Blog 760): Eco Candle Wicks Thin C1 ₹5.90 each; Candle Making Weighing Scale ₹354.00.
Non-price figures and assumptions: The 160 g fill is illustrative; the Salsa jar's fill weight and glass weight are not published. 8% working load (12.8 g oil + 147.2 g wax); no fragrance ceiling for Natural Soy Pearl is quoted in this series. EXAMPLE figures to replace with your own: per-candle packaging ₹35.00, per-order packaging ₹25.00, gateway 2% of amount paid, courier ₹55.00 up to 500 g / ₹75.00 up to 1 kg / ₹25.00 per extra 500 g, jar glass 230 g, packaging 60 g per candle and 90 g per order, threshold ₹999, ad cost per first order ₹180.00. No GST rate is stated. Diwali 2026 falls on 8 November. Prices and availability change — the linked product pages are always authoritative.