topic Re: An Instacart question in Community Chat

An Instacart question

suzyQ3 — Sun, 26 Jul 2020 22:27:47 GMT

Instacart has a $35 minimum for any delivery. What happens if your order is more than $35 but because of refunds or substitutions during the shopping, it drops below that minimum?

I'm starting to use Amazon Fresh quite a bit, and so my Instacart lists are shrinking.

Re: An Instacart question

K9buddy — Sun, 26 Jul 2020 22:44:53 GMT

My experience has been that as long as your original list meets the $35 minimum, even if there's a substitution or they don't have an item, there's no problem. If a substitution is more or less than the originally requested item they will either refund or add the amount.

Re: An Instacart question

suzyQ3 — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 01:14:13 GMT

@K9buddy wrote:
My experience has been that as long as your original list meets the $35 minimum, even if there's a substitution or they don't have an item, there's no problem. If a substitution is more or less than the originally requested item they will either refund or add the amount.

@K9buddy, thanks so much. I hope that is the case.

Re: An Instacart question

eaesquire — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 01:27:19 GMT

@suzyQ3 I agree with the others. As long as my initial order met the minimum, it didn't make a difference later if there were substitutions or discounts. I think you'll be ok if that happens to you.

Re: An Instacart question

germanshepherdlove — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 02:56:15 GMT

@suzyQ3 there is an interesting article that Kim Komando just released about Instacart and it is not good. Please read. I won't use them.

Re: An Instacart question

shoekitty — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 03:17:15 GMT

@suzyQ3

What could anyone get at the grocery store for 35 bucks.? lol !! Isnt a loaf of bread about that, lol. Seriously, I dont think it is worth spending around 35 because of the fees. The can add up. I usually wait, and get everything together. But i can see if I need one item or something. But in that way, I am more than fortunate, as my grand is my personal assistant, lol. She is out of work, so I am totally taking advantage of the situation. I pay her of course. I am so spoiled now I do not know what I will when she goes back to work.

Re: An Instacart question

Memebell — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 05:19:34 GMT

There is no penalty if the order drops below $35 because of items out of stock.

Re: An Instacart question

Memebell — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 05:21:43 GMT

What is so bad about them? They have wonderful service in my area and they have very polite and courteous shoppers who really try to please you. I have had nothing but good experiences with them.

Re: An Instacart question

germanshepherdlove — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 11:41:29 GMT

To learn what is going on with Instacart google

Instacart and the dark web

It is being reported by many different organizations and not just by Kim Komando, I initially heard about this disturbing news as I subscribe to her newsletter.

Re: An Instacart question

songbird — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 11:44:32 GMT

@K9buddy wrote:
My experience has been that as long as your original list meets the $35 minimum, even if there's a substitution or they don't have an item, there's no problem. If a substitution is more or less than the originally requested item they will either refund or add the amount.

Same situation with me. I started back in May, and I use it every week. In fact...I like it so much, I will continue to use it pandemic or not. I'm a member, so delivery is free

Re: An Instacart question

Snoopp — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 13:13:50 GMT

@Memebell wrote:
What is so bad about them? They have wonderful service in my area and they have very polite and courteous shoppers who really try to please you. I have had nothing but good experiences with them.

The upcharges can be brutal. That’s why I try to avoid using instacart unless I have to.

Re: An Instacart question

Mmsfoxxie — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 13:38:46 GMT

How much are the fees? I'd be concerned about how well my produce would look. But I know that sometimes due to the ability to get around, you have to use them.

Re: An Instacart question

songbird — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:09:04 GMT

@Mmsfoxxie wrote:
How much are the fees? I'd be concerned about how well my produce would look. But I know that sometimes due to the ability to get around, you have to use them.

if you're not a member, there is a delivery fee. That starts at $3.99 but it's more depending how large your order is. The membership is similar to just about all memberships of delivery services. $99.00 per year or monthly at around $9.99. Once you are a member, your delivery fee is free no matter what time you order or how big your order is.

My produce look really good. There are notes toward each item you order. You might say tomatoes firm and really red, etc. The shopper will sometimes photograh what he see. You can order on your computer or download the phone apps. You can talk to your shopper as soon as he or she starts shopping. If something is out of stock, the shopper will let you know. You can choose something else or request a refund for that. I chat with my shopper throughout the order. I tried it on my computer the first time to get used to it. Now I'm on the phone for it all the time. They give a lists of stores (I assume it's from your zip code, but I have Wegmans and that is quite a distance from me) but stores are acout 8-10 of them. They include Costco & Sam's club, etc. you don't have to be a memeber to order. Tip is inluded. You decide what amount. You have to respond after the shopping trip to see how the shopper did. They keep tabs on their shoppers to make sure they do a good job.

Re: An Instacart question

elated — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:10:17 GMT

I read on Buzzfeed that Instacart users personal data is being sold on the dark web for $2 per customer. They get the name, address and credit card information. I would check this out if it were me.

Re: An Instacart question

suzyQ3 — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:28:34 GMT

@elated wrote:
I read on Buzzfeed that Instacart users personal data is being sold on the dark web for $2 per customer. They get the name, address and credit card information. I would check this out if it were me.

Thanks, @elated, but I am not at all worried about that. I mean, any place could conceivably be selling my personal data. As long as they don't have my credit card info, which I would know, or my SS, I don't care. Plus, reading something on Buzzfeed hardly means that it is a fact.

Re: An Instacart question

suzyQ3 — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:31:20 GMT

@shoekitty wrote:
@suzyQ3

What could anyone get at the grocery store for 35 bucks.? lol !! Isnt a loaf of bread about that, lol. Seriously, I dont think it is worth spending around 35 because of the fees. The can add up. I usually wait, and get everything together. But i can see if I need one item or something. But in that way, I am more than fortunate, as my grand is my personal assistant, lol. She is out of work, so I am totally taking advantage of the situation. I pay her of course. I am so spoiled now I do not know what I will when she goes back to work.

Quite a bit, @shoekitty, if it's produce and some other items. Remember that I said in my OP that I've also being using Amazon Fresh for many of my staples because they are less expensive than on Instacart, so that does lower my Instacart orders.

Re: An Instacart question

Spurt — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 18:37:19 GMT

@shoekitty wrote:
@suzyQ3

What could anyone get at the grocery store for 35 bucks.? lol !! Isnt a loaf of bread about that, lol. Seriously, I dont think it is worth spending around 35 because of the fees. The can add up. I usually wait, and get everything together. But i can see if I need one item or something. But in that way, I am more than fortunate, as my grand is my personal assistant, lol. She is out of work, so I am totally taking advantage of the situation. I pay her of course. I am so spoiled now I do not know what I will when she goes back to work.

@shoekitty @Snoopp

If you buy a yearly membership it works out to $10 a month ($3 a week) which is worth to me (same as gas and my time if I drove to the store and shopped myself)....and yes you pay $2 service fee but no delivery fee if you are a Member. Its worth it too me especially when it comes to bringing in the heavy stuff (25 lbs of cat litter, large bottle of laundry soap, canned items etc).

You can buy quite a bit for $35----one time I bought 11 items and these were things I needed right away....including some OTC allergy medicine...

Re: An Instacart question

Spurt — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 19:17:18 GMT

////////////////////////////@germanshepherdlove wrote:
To learn what is going on with Instacart google

Instacart and the dark web

It is being reported by many different organizations and not just by Kim Komando, I initially heard about this disturbing news as I subscribe to her newsletter.

@germanshepherdlove @elated

They said it was Illicit merchants and

San Francisco-based Instacart said its platform was not breached, though hackers may have targeted individual users with “phishing or credential stuffing techniques.”

“It’s hard to know what to say, not knowing if it’s a result of Instacart’s negligence,” one user, Hannah Chester, told BuzzFeed (so she didnt even know how the hack happened).....

Many businesses are the site of hackers and phishers and scammers. Big and mighty Amazon has a breach in its security system....hackers are gaining access through the UK sign in page and then entering into the U.S. side of the site. And if they steal your credit card number after your initial response Amazon doesnt even require a security code when you make a purchase..... Amazon's advice, dont store your credit card number....

Id be concerned if I shopped amazon...

Employees of Amazon were fired in January for giving out customer email and phone numbers to third parties.....

https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/10/amazon-employees-email-address/

Also an Amazon Cloud storage bucket has been hacked as well--

Data of Netflix, TD Bank and Ford was allegedly found exposed to hackers on an Amazon Storage bucket which was owned and maintained by data integration and management company ‘Attunity’. The incident was found when a team of researchers from UpGuard was casually looking for vulnerable points to be accessed on Amazon S3 Storage Buckets on May 13th of this year.

An Amazon S3 database left unsecured due to a cloud configuration error, has exposed almost half a million (size: 425GB) financial records to the Internet. The exposed data included highly sensitive financial information....

March 25, 2020---

Led by cybersecurity analysts Noam Rotem and Ran Locar, vpnMentor’s research team recently found a serious breach in an open Amazon S3 bucket owned by secure cloud storage provider Data Deposit Box.

More than 270,000 files were exposed in the data breach, with leaked files dating back from 2016 to the present day. The research team was able to view sensitive user account information, as well as some of the stored contents.

And watch out if you have a Chase credit card....those accounts are CONSTANTLY being phised

Re: An Instacart question

shoekitty — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 22:55:47 GMT

@suzyQ3

I didnt know abut membership if it was a good deal. I use instacart at least 2 times a week. I use costco and raleys, and I love it. I have had such stellar shoppers. Sometimes the same one i love the work it gives many as well. I think I may use it for Costco even when things settle down. I hae had a totally positive experience maybe i need membership

Re: An Instacart question

Snoopp — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 23:24:00 GMT

@Spurt I don't mind the membership fee but every single thing I bought had an upcharge on it, some were significant. I didn't realize this when I started using it.

I found an alternative for now where I pay the store price for my food and do a pickup. I'm glad instacart is available for those who need it, I just wish they would stop tacking on extra fees on the food.