Why I'm Building My Own Shopify App to Fix COD Orders

I'm all over the place right now. One day I'm learning Python. The next day I'm doing graphic design work. Then I'm meeting new people and cooking up business strategies. And don't get me started on my abandoned projects.

All of this plus my full-time job is making me go crazy. I still can't figure out what my main goal is when I'm juggling so many things. But today, let me tell you about one project that's actually teaching me something valuable.

The Project That Won't Die

Seven years ago, I started an Instagram page about EDM music. It's been on and off ever since. Back in 2023, I got serious about it. I launched a YouTube channel called Bassface and came up with a business model around content and merchandise.

I was pumped. I had my Shopify store, products lined up, and a plan. But then my startup shut down, money got tight, and I had to take a full-time job. The project died again.

Fast forward to last month. I decided to give it another shot.

The COD Problem That's Killing My Business

I revived my Shopify store, added products, and started running Meta ads. The engagement was amazing. Orders started coming in. I was thrilled.

But here's where things got messy.

Most of my orders were Cash on Delivery (COD). And COD orders come with a huge risk. Here's what was happening:

Customer places order
I call to confirm
Customer says yes
I pack and ship
Customer rejects at delivery

This was happening with 4 out of 10 orders. That's a 40% return rate.

I couldn't afford that risk. So I tried switching to prepaid orders only. Order count dropped. Then I lowered the COD charge from 149 to 99. Orders increased, but the risk was still too high.

The Search for a Solution

I needed something called Partial COD. Here's how it works: customer pays a booking amount upfront, then pays the rest on delivery. If they reject the order, no refund on the booking amount.

I started looking for Shopify apps that could do this.

App #1: The Variation Trick

The first app I found used grouped product variations. Customers would see two options at the product page: "Payment Mode: Prepaid" or "Partial COD." It looked just like choosing sizes or colors.

But here's the thing - you don't need an app for this. Shopify already lets you create product variations out of the box.

The problem? It doesn't show customers how much to pay upfront. The business owner has to remember the pricing manually. Too much room for error.

App #2: The Bundle Approach

The second app was more interesting. It created product bundles at checkout when you switched payment options. You'd pay the COD charge upfront, and the product notes would show the remaining amount.

I liked how it worked with JavaScript injection and offered discounts to encourage prepaid orders.

But then I saw the customer confirmation email. It only showed the amount they just paid, not how much they'd owe on delivery. That's a deal-breaker.

Plus, the partial COD feature was only available on paid plans. The free version didn't include it.

Time to Build My Own

That's when I decided to build my own Shopify app.

Problem: I had no idea how to build Shopify apps.

My plan: Give it a week. If I couldn't build it, then I'll build a custom NextJS eCommerce site with proper partial COD implementation.

What I'm Learning

Building your own solution isn't always the answer. But sometimes existing tools don't solve your specific problem the right way.

I'm documenting this whole process because I think other business owners face similar issues. The tools are almost there, but not quite.

Spoiler alert: I actually built it. The app is already in production and working. I'm excited to share what I learned from the whole process - the good, the bad, and the "what was I thinking" moments. That's coming in my next blog.

The Bigger Picture

This whole experience is teaching me something important. Instead of jumping between random projects, maybe I should focus on solving one real problem properly.

COD orders are killing small businesses in India. If I can solve this for my own store, maybe I can solve it for others too.

That's a goal I can actually get behind.

Building something? Hit a wall with existing tools? Let me know in the comments. Maybe we're solving similar problems.