Late August I sat down with a Shenzhen seller running a Saudi store and we went through the numbers. He had RMB 870,000 in August COD parcels marked delivered. Only RMB 520,000 had actually landed in his account.
The money was not lost. It was sitting with the couriers.
COD acceptance in Saudi runs about 65% to 72%, and it drops in peak. Standard settlement is weekly, T+7. By late September that slides to 14 days, and in October it can stretch to 21. Delivered does not mean paid.
The worst case I've seen: one carrier sat on the entire September rejection list until mid-October. No cash, no goods.
My rule is to put the settlement cycle in the contract as a hard term. Don't just write "weekly settlement." Write the fixed payout day, the reconciliation cutoff, and the penalty for late payment. For example: statement every Wednesday, confirmation Thursday, funds Sunday, late payment at 0.03% per day.
Then split your carriers. Big channels pay reliably but cost more — I'd say 1.5 to 2 points above the small ones. Small channels are cheap and the payout depends entirely on the person on the other end. In peak I go 70/30, with the bulk on the reliable side.
Clear rejected parcels every week. Returning stock to a Riyadh warehouse and relisting takes 7 to 10 days on average, and until you do, that capital is frozen. You also need a credit note to reverse the VAT, or you're paying 5% to 15% on money you never received.
8ship reconciles weekly in Saudi with a fixed payout day and does not extend it in peak. For a small seller running tight on cash, that matters.
So tell me: on your Saudi store, is September still T+7, or has it already gone to 14?