Some products are inherently higher risk for Cash on Delivery returns. Fragile items that might arrive damaged. High-value electronics where the financial exposure on an RTO is significant. Customised or personalised products that can’t be restocked if returned. For these, blocking COD at the product or category level is the right approach.
Why Product-Level COD Rules?
Your store might be perfectly happy offering COD on most products — it drives conversion and serves customers in cash-heavy markets. But a blanket “COD allowed” policy that applies equally to a ₹200 accessory and a ₹15,000 laptop makes no sense from a risk perspective.
Smart COD Control lets you apply COD rules at the product and category level, so you can offer COD strategically rather than as an all-or-nothing proposition.
Setting Category-Level Rules
Go to WooCommerce → Smart COD → Product Rules → Categories. Select any product category and choose whether COD is:
- Allowed (default)
- Blocked — COD not available if the cart contains any product in this category
- Restricted — COD requires OTP verification or additional trust criteria when products from this category are in the cart
Setting Product-Level Rules
For individual products, the rule appears on the product edit screen under a new Smart COD tab. Override the category rule for specific products where needed — for example, allow COD on most electronics but block it for one particularly high-value item.
Mixed Cart Handling
When a cart contains products from multiple categories with different COD rules, Smart COD Control applies the most restrictive rule. If any product in the cart has COD blocked, COD is blocked for the entire order.
Practical Examples
- Electronics — block COD for items over ₹5,000, allow with OTP for items under ₹5,000
- Custom/personalised products — block COD entirely (can’t restock a personalised item)
- Fragile items — allow COD only after OTP verification
- Perishable goods — block COD (RTO means wasted product)
- Software/digital downloads — block COD (delivery is immediate, no physical return possible)
For help configuring product-level rules, visit the ThePluginForge support page.