September 26, 2021

Mango Online Buy: 5 Checks Before You Order

By Vedant Powle • 6 minute read

When you buy mango online, check five things: the variety, where it was grown, how it was ripened, the grade you are paying for, and who to contact. Our Alphonso starts from Rs 1,849 per dozen, and the 2027 season opens on 1 February 2027.

For what is available now, see GI-tagged Ratnagiri Hapus.

Mango online buy: a five-point checklist

Buying fruit you cannot touch asks you to trust the page. A good seller makes that easy by answering the same five questions, and you can use them on any website, ours included.

Ratnagiri Alphonso mangoes, Hapus aam, to check before you buy online

What to check before you buy mango online
Check	What a clear answer looks like	Our answer
Variety	A named variety, not just "mango"	Alphonso (Hapus), Kesar, Pairi, Dasheri and others, each on its own page
Origin	A place, not a vague "farm fresh"	55 villages of the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt, Konkan coast, for Alphonso
Ripening	A stated method	Natural hay-bed ripening, no carbide
Grade and weight	What you get per dozen	A dozen weighs roughly 1.8 to 3.3 kg depending on grade
Support	A real contact and a damage window	support@alphonsomango.in, 8369048029; report damage within 24 hours of delivery

None of these answers proves quality by itself. Together they tell you whether the seller has thought about the problem. A page that cannot say where the fruit grew or how it was ripened is asking you to guess.

Which mango to buy

Ratnagiri Hapus by the dozen and GI-tagged Devgad Alphonso: both from Rs 1,849 per dozen. Ratnagiri is a district; Devgad is a taluka in Sindhudurg district. Same variety, and we do not rank one above the other.
Kesar mango boxes: half-dozen Rs 999, dozen Rs 1,699, a Gujarat mango well suited to aamras.
Pairi Mango: from Rs 2,799 per dozen.
Alphonso Mango Pulp Tin: 850 g and 3.1 kg, from Rs 590, available all year.

Devgad Alphonso mangoes, Hapus aam, from the Konkan coast

Check the product page for the current price, because it varies by grade and size. If you are still choosing between varieties, our guide to types of mangoes and the Alphonso shopping guide help.

Where our Alphonso comes from

We source across 55 villages of the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt on the Konkan coast. Alphonso from this belt is GI-tagged in India under GI No. 139, and we hold GI Authorised User certificate AU/5974/GI/139/260 (GI No. 139). The fruit is hand-harvested with a zela pole fitted with a catching net, and harvest is at Brahma Muhurta, before dawn.

Alphonso mangoes from Konkan villages, sold at AlphonsoMango.in

Alphonso is named after Afonso de Albuquerque, and the fruit generally weighs 150 to 300 g with non-fibrous pulp. The Alphonso GI tag ties the name to a place. It is a useful signal when you buy, but it does not replace the other four checks, because a tag does not tell you how the fruit was ripened or handled afterwards. Read more in our note on the Alphonso GI tag.

How the fruit is ripened, and what to expect

We do not use carbide. Our Alphonso mangoes are ripened naturally on hay beds. Calcium carbide is prohibited for ripening fruit in India under Regulation 2.3.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011. We are an FSSAI-licensed seller. Harvest to ripening of Alphonso takes about 15 days, so you should expect some fruit to be firm when the box arrives.

That is a feature of unforced ripening, not a defect. Spread the fruit in a single layer at room temperature and give it a few days. Our guide to ripening mangoes at home has the method.

How to pick a good mango when it arrives

You cannot judge a mango before you buy it online, so the skill that matters is judging it once it arrives. These are rough clues, not proof of anything:

Hapus aam, how to pick a good Alphonso mango

Smell. A sweet, fruity smell at the stalk end suggests ripeness. Little or no smell usually means the fruit needs more days.
Feel. Ripe Alphonso gives slightly at the shoulder. Fruit that is hard and heavy is not ready; fruit that is mushy has gone past.
Colour. Alphonso can be green, gold and blush on one fruit. Colour alone does not show how a mango was ripened.
Surface. Small marks on the skin are common. Deep dark patches or a sour smell are reasons to stop and write to us within 24 hours.

The bucket-of-water test is a rough clue, not proof. No home test establishes how a mango was ripened or where it grew; ask the seller. Alphonso can also develop spongy tissue, an internal disorder that ICAR-IIHR research traced to the seed shifting into germination mode at about 60% fruit maturity. It cannot be seen from outside.

How to read a mango price

A price per dozen means little until you know the grade. Two sellers can both list a dozen and sell very different fruit: one box may hold smaller mangoes and weigh nearer 1.8 kg, another larger mangoes nearer 3.3 kg. So compare the weight range and the grade, not only the number on the button.

Also look at what the price includes. Shipping is shown separately at checkout on our site, and some pages show a lower fruit price and add charges later. Add them up before you compare. Finally, do not buy only on the lowest price. Mango is perishable and sensitive to handling, and a cheap box that arrives damaged or unripe costs more than a fair one that arrives well.

Season, delivery and what it costs

Alphonso is harvested about February to June, with the best supply from March to May. The 2027 season opens on 1 February 2027. Fresh Alphonso is not sold outside the season; Alphonso pulp tins are available all year.

We dispatch by Blue Dart, and about 65% of Indian PIN codes get next-day delivery. Orders received before 1 PM are dispatched the same day. Check your PIN code at checkout. We do not promise a day for any named city. Shipping charges are shown at checkout; our shipping charges guide explains them. For the step-by-step order, see how to order Alphonso mangoes online.