Hellobee Boards

Love it and use it constantly. The shoppers in my area are great and rarely make any mistakes. Substitutions are typically fine and don't bother me. I love that they've recently made it super easy to order from multiple stores in one order, which is great because I like to get most of my things at Aldi, but they don't have everything.

@Ajsmommy: I love using instacart for groceries ... It's a real lifesaver! Once a month, I do our large grocery shopping and my DH goes to the commissary to pick up certain items (* international foods, paper goods, cheaper meat cuts, etc) at least twice a month; however, for our grocery needs on busy days (usually when I work both jobs and have the kids afterwards), we use the instacart service from our Publix. We use it 2-3x a month. The prices are a fraction higher using instacart (tipping is not included so that is extra as well). There is also a monthly fee for the service ($9.99 - $11.99 monthly, depending on your area), however, it is worth it if you count both the gas and time saved in your day that you can otherwise be productive (working, cleaning, gardening, exercising, whatever ...) and engage in quality family time. Besides Netflix and Amazon Prime, it is one of the very few splurges I make. I really enjoy that my shopper can contact me and ask about approved substitutions or refunds on products I requested but are not in stock. I also enjoy that I can make a list and place my order the night before I need it, as well as, I have the ability to potentially add items up until my shopper begins sorting and purchasing from my list. It is also extremely helpful that I am able to view "items shopped" and am given an approximate time for delivery. All-in-all, instacart is a lifesaver!

I have thought about it - it would help me a lot - but I just can't bring myself to justify the increased cost. The price markup is HUGE at the places I shop, plus the tipping... I would be spending so much more for groceries. Just can't do it.

We used Instacart a handful of times and it was helpful. We would like to have kept using it, but we couldn't justify the large amount of plastic bags the groceries came in every time. I wrote several notes asking the shoppers to use reusable bags or as few plastic bags as possible, and even contacted customer service about it. Unfortunately they don't offer a reusable bag or environmentally friendly option, so that was a deal breaker for us.

I've really liked using Instacart, but I do feel like the shopper's ability to pick out produce is hit or miss. I've been using it for a weekly or monthly shop for bigger amounts of stuff and non-perishables. And then I still go to the store for produce and more frequent fresh items. I do like it though because my trips are much shorter and easier. Plus it forces me to plan ahead a little more.

It seems to depend a lot on the luck you have with your shopper. The one time I used it I really liked it for that day -- it was a bit more than in-store, especially with tip, but we simply didn't have time that week, and I got a good shopper (fast, good substitutions). I have a coworker who hates it, though, as she's gotten so many things backwards and had people who were really slow.

I prefer to use the grocery stores' own apps and do pickup, as I think the prices are better, and pickup is doable for me (WOH). Still allows me to grocery shop from my couch at 10PM.

p.s. a couple of other things - when I used Instacart, anytime there was a substitution that I did not like, or a damaged item, I just reported it when I rated the order. Took all of two seconds and my money was always fully refunded for that item, no need to return it. So I didn't feel like it was a negative per se, I might not have gotten the item I wanted, but I also didn't have to pay for it. You can easily specify in the app that you only want to accept certain substitutions.

But still, I feel with Prime Now that I am much more likely to get exactly what I want. And I pay the in store prices, no markups, which at least for the things I like are cheaper than the marked up Instacart prices from other retailers. I've only bought stuff from Whole Foods via Prime Now, haven't tried stuff sold directly by Amazon. Also, they are better at packaging perishables like ice cream so it will still be very cold when you put it away, even on really hot days. They do not use plastic bags. I think Prime Now is only available in certain zips though, Fresh may be more broadly available but you have to pay a subscription fee.

I use Amazon Prime Now since it is included in my prime fee and we usually shop at Whole Foods anyway. I used to use Instacart, I was happy with the customer service and the shoppers usually did a nice job. I have read some questionable things about their wages/fees/tipping and how they were allocated to the actual shoppers and delivery people but they claim to have resolved that (I believe they were using customer tips to pay wages... which is unlawful and unethical).

@psw27: Yes! I forgot about that. If you added in an extra tip, it was deducted from the employee's pay, or something similar. It does sound like they have stopped doing that, but who knows what else is going on in terms of fair pay. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/technology/instacart-doordash-tipping-deliveries.html

I haven’t used any of the delivery services because I’m trying really hard to eliminate as much plastic packing as I can so I shop using reusable bags/containers whenever possible. I often go to Whole Foods and am appalled by the amount of extra packaging the Prime shoppers use (really, there’s no need to put two apples in a plastic bag. They aren’t going to disappear if you weigh them loose). Not to mention how they’ve taken over the store and it’s a hassle to navigate around them when I’m trying to shop, which is partly why I’ve switched to shopping at a local co-op chain whenever I can get there...but I digress...

Haven’t read all previous responses but Instacart has been a lifesaver for us. I don’t shop on weekends because it’s so crazy at all the stores here, so I was doing it after I got my daughter off the bus Friday’s which wasn’t pleasant either. Now I order the groceries and DH picks them up at the store by his office (so we save on delivery, and it’s better for our schedules). We’re spending less on groceries because we make fewer impulsive purchases and see the total in the cart. I rarely have to make a substitution—but maybe that’s because we shop at Wegmans and they’re just great. It has made our lives so much easier so even if we were spending $10 more it wouldn’t matter.

@merriment thank you, we do that but I still wish they would use reusable bags or cardboard boxes. I also always wonder if the driver just trashed them? I know that there are sanitary concerns etc with reusable bags. Prime is literally the worse with the insulated bags, I tried to return those to WF and they won’t take them. I still use both services because it is a lifesaver but when I shop on my own I always bring my own bags.