Sick to my stomach - grocery spending this month

amother

Lily

Mon, Oct 03 2022, 12:40 pm

amother OP wrote:

This is helpful, I was told instacart prices are always more plus the tips. So Costco prices will exactly match the one in the stores? I really don't have time in my week to go to multiple stores. I try doing target for cheaper stuff or Amazon Fresh.

Disclaimer - I use Instacart for almost all of my shopping but I don't need to save money.

Instacart is always more expensive than shopping in the store in person. I have their annual membership so there is no "delivery fee" but there is a service fee which can be quite high as it is calculated as a percentage of your order so sometimes my service fee is $12 or even $15 if I have a large order.

Also you really need to tip your shopper at least 15% - I tip them 20%. These people are independent contractors and are NOT paid by the store and are paid very minimally by Instacart - not even minimum wage not to mention cost of their car and gas. They go to the store - pick the items - stand on line - load the groceries in their cart and then drive to your home and drop the bags off. I would never never never use a service and cheat the workers by not tipping them appropriately.

Most stores - including Costco - charge more than the store prices. You can check the policy on each store's page but almost all charge a premium surcharge on every item. This amount is set by the store and not Instacart because technically Instacart is just the platform for the stores - think of it as an internet mall and the stores set their own prices.

Some stores do charge in-store prices. In my city this would be Ralphs which is a Kroger store and Walmart. The rest of the markets that I would normally shop at do charge more for each item - and significantly more. My neighbor is a Costco member and sometimes he will ask if I can use something and I will ask for some fruit and maybe coffee and when I compare prices on just a few items the cost through Instacart can be $15 or more versus what the cost is in the store.