How to Sell Online from Outside Dhaka to All 64 Districts

Short answer: an online shop outside Dhaka works well when it sources what its own district does well, sells it to the whole country, and sends most orders from home. Orders for Dhaka are the exception: a parcel picked up outside Dhaka and delivered in Dhaka costs more than one that starts inside Dhaka, and a refused one travels back the long way. So keep a small stock of your fastest-selling products at a Dhaka location (your own, a relative's shop, a partner or a 3PL) and send Dhaka orders from there.

If you run an online business or a Facebook shop from Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Bogura or Cumilla, this guide covers what changes when a parcel goes to Dhaka, what a refused parcel costs, how to set up a Dhaka location, and how to cut refusals before you ship.

1. What changes when a parcel goes to Dhaka

Couriers price a parcel by where it is picked up, where it goes and how much it weighs. A parcel from your district to a Dhaka buyer is an outside-Dhaka-to-Dhaka trip. Pathao publishes its prices for each trip:

Source: Pathao's delivery charge page, checked 22 October 2026 (the page says it was last updated 21 May 2026).

Three things stand out:

1. Dhaka orders cost more from home. Up to 500 g, the same parcel costs ৳110 from your district and ৳60 from a Dhaka pickup (Pathao, checked 22 October 2026).
2. Your own city is cheap. Up to 500 g, a parcel within your own city outside Dhaka costs ৳60, the same as inside Dhaka (Pathao, checked 22 October 2026).
3. With Pathao and Steadfast, cash on delivery costs the same percentage wherever the parcel goes. Pathao charges 1 % COD on all deliveries (Pathao, checked 22 October 2026). Steadfast charges 1 % for cash on delivery and risk management (Steadfast's pricing, checked 22 October 2026); its zone prices come from its calculator. For RedX, check RedX's own rates.

A longer trip usually also means more days between the order and the doorstep, and more time for a buyer to change their mind.

2. What a refused parcel costs

Check your courier's return charge before you set your prices; couriers set it differently. Steadfast's terms say it does not charge for return parcels, and also that the merchant pays the delivery charge for every parcel handed over, delivered or cancelled (Steadfast's terms, checked 22 October 2026).

So even with no return charge, a returned parcel still costs:

• the outward delivery: up to 500 g from a district to Dhaka on Pathao, that is ৳110 (Pathao, checked 22 October 2026);
• the packaging;
• the days off sale: a refused parcel goes back to where it was picked up, so stock sent from home spends days on the road both ways before you can sell it again.

Price for the returns you actually have. Measure your own return rate per courier and per district; there is no official national figure. Our guide on reducing returns shows how to fold it into your price.

3. Why sellers outside Dhaka have an edge

• Buying close to the source. Chattogram sellers are near the port; Rajshahi sellers near weavers and orchards; Sylhet sellers near tea gardens and Manipuri weavers; Khulna and Jashore sellers near tanneries, Sundarbans honey and date-palm molasses. Fewer hands between the maker and you.
• Space you already have. You may already have a home, a family shop or a godown to work from, instead of renting in Dhaka.
• A story buyers believe. A silk saree sent from Rajshahi or honey from the Sundarbans side carries its origin with it. Say where it comes from, who made it and what it is, and show real photos.

4. Keep a Dhaka location

Most of your stock stays at home. Send a carton of the two or three products Dhaka buyers order most to a place in Dhaka:

• a room or shop of your own;
• a relative's or friend's shop;
• a partner shop that packs for you;
• a 3PL, a warehouse that stores and packs for a fee.

Dhaka orders then leave from Dhaka; every other order leaves from home. Before you start, weigh what the Dhaka place costs you each month (rent, a partner's share, a 3PL's fees) against the difference on each Dhaka order, ৳60 instead of ৳110 for a parcel up to 500 g on Pathao's card (Pathao, checked 22 October 2026). Agree with whoever keeps the stock how they hear about each Dhaka order, how fast they pack it, and how you settle up.

Running it in PrimeCommerce. PrimeHat sellers use PrimeCommerce, PrimeHat's seller dashboard. Your home godown and your Dhaka place become two stock locations, with stock per size at each; the free plan includes a second location. Moving stock between them with a transfer (send, then receive, with short arrivals recorded) and giving the Dhaka person a packer login that never shows your costs come with the paid plans. See pricing.

PrimeHat Dhaka Hub: coming. PrimeHat plans a Dhaka Hub where sellers from outside Dhaka can keep stock for Dhaka orders. It is not open yet, and its fees and opening date are not decided. Join the waitlist to hear when it opens.

5. Cut refusals before you ship

• Confirm every cash-on-delivery order. By reply, call or code, before it leaves. In PrimeCommerce you can require confirmation before any order is dispatched.
• Check the number. If your courier's merchant panel or your own records show a phone number's parcels delivered less than about 70 % of the time, call before you ship or ask for an advance.
• Ask for an advance on bigger orders. A small advance by bKash or Nagad, enough to cover the delivery charge; in many sellers' experience it filters out fake orders. Record it on the order with its transaction id.
• Get the address right. District, thana, area, a landmark (school, mosque, market) and a second phone number, so the rider finds the buyer without a second trip.

6. Checklist for sellers outside Dhaka

• [ ] Pick 3–5 products where your district has a real cost or quality advantage.
• [ ] Apply to sell on PrimeHat with your National ID (NID).
• [ ] Choose how you ship: your own courier account, or ship with PrimeHat if you have no courier account.
• [ ] Look up your courier's charges and return charge on its own page.
• [ ] Set up a Dhaka location for your top 2–3 products, and add it as a second location in PrimeCommerce.
• [ ] Confirm every COD order before it leaves; ask for an advance on bigger orders.
• [ ] Measure your return rate per courier and per district every month.

Related: Selling from outside Dhaka · How to reduce returns · Start selling online in 2026 · Sell on PrimeHat · Payouts

Last updated 22 October 2026.