Merchandise and food free delivery

[Larry]

Last Saturday I was looking at external hard drives from Best Buy.  Noticed they had free local delivery and since I didn't want to drive the 12 miles to the store I ordered it.  Showed up next day without problem.

Needed a roll of masking tape and noticed Home Depot has free local delivery.  Ordered a $6.00 roll and they said two day delivery.

See Walmart Plus has free grocery delivery if over $35.  That's not a problem.  I quizzed the local neighborhood Walmart grocery manager and he assured me If I ordered in the morning I would have it in the afternoon.  I was concerned cold food might get hot but he said not a problem.

Might save a little on fuel costs but if I tip the delivery driver that's a wash.  Seems the big savings is time plus the convenience.  Also if their is a problem I would think I could correct it quickly since everything is local. 

Anybody have comments?

[beenthere]

I suspect this is an outcome thanks to the success of Amazon.

[doc henderson]

we are 5 minutes from Walmart, but the young folks that fill the orders make a few errors.  Wife ordered split pea soup and got tomato.  not worth worrying about.  Just glad the young folks want to work.

[Ianab]

Local supermarket does free delivery for online orders over "$x". But how their website works is you get to pick a time slot for the delivery. If several people have already booked for 3-4 pm, then you have to choose another time slot.  But it lets you pick a time when you will be home, and you know the driver won't be trying to do 27 deliveries in that hour, and end up late. They don't seem super busy with it (small town), but it's available and you do see someone wandering around with the cart / laptop and loading up the van occasionally. They also have "click and collect" where they will pick all your stuff and leave it in a locker in the entrance. Just call in and pick up your stuff. 

What's been annoying on the mail run is online shopping for chilled produce. We don't do "same day", we sort and load up for an early start the next morning. Means your box of prime beef or seafood is now 2 days in the summer sun.  :-\ If they are local we can make an exception and drop it off in the afternoon. but if you are 10 miles down some back road, you generally get a call to come and collect it. Most of the customers know it's a 2 day service and make other arrangements, but there are always the new ones from the city that are used to same day.

But we are no longer surprised by the things you can order online and get delivered.  :D It was live bees this week.  

[stavebuyer]

If I need something like an ink cartridge for the printer, I will order rather than fetch even if the shipping is not free as the time and cost to drive doesn't add up. Groceries I find the whole process annoying. I now have to park out next to the guy with the new corvette and walk by 300 empty reserved spots to get into the store. Kind of like the auto parts store where they ignore the guy standing at the counter in order to answer the phone. Then, I can't get down the aisles because they are blocked by "shopping barges" operated by order pickers who seem to be annoyed at having to share the store with in-person customers.

Inventory has never quite recovered post-Covid and neither has pricing. I often come home with substitutions. Yesterday I came home with 4 packs of baby back ribs that were marked down 50% due to approaching expiration. They weren't on my "list". Pork Loin roast was but the couple on the shelf obviously weren't cut from market hogs. French bread at the bakery was on the shelf but all of it was baked 3 days prior, and I left it for the order pickers to ferry out to one of the reserved parking spaces. I wouldn't have much confidence that the employee's I see filling orders would be discerning shoppers.

One of the "dedicated" independent delivery types would be in an entirely different category but so would the delivery cost and tip.

[Roxie]

From a very disabled elderly gal's perspective (spinal cord injury and going blind, who lives alone and can't drive), the advancements in our ability to deliver is a godsend. 

In addition, being old, cranky and retired, I have nothing but time to make certain I am shopping local businesses and getting reasonable delivery fees. 

I was once entering the local convenience store (which by the way, I have a three year streak of not having to open a door to enter, thanks to the kindness of strangers), when one such kind stranger said with empathy, "those walkers are a pain to use, huh?"  I replied that they were one of the greatest inventions of our time because they kept me from needing a wheelchair.  He gave me a big smile and said, "perspective is everything."

You'll hear nothing from me but praise for the local stores and restaurants that make delivery easy, including the cheerful drivers themselves. 

[Ron Wenrich]

I don't use the delivery services.  For one thing, my place is seemingly hard to find.  Just ask FedEx.  But, there's something about being able to go out and make my own selection whether I need something or just want something.  Then there's the thing with pricing.  Sometimes an item is on sale, which the picker won't pick up.  On Monday and Thursday, the local Giant reduces the price on meats that have a close expiration date by 60%.  I really want to look over meat or produce to decide which bag I get.  I also check sell by dates.  I do a lot of shopping on the outside areas of the store.  If I need something quick, there's a small grocery and a hardware store within 5 minutes.  A little higher in price, but saves a lot of time.

I do a lot of shopping for things on line that the local stores don't have.  I buy shoes that local stores don't have, for example.  And often cheaper.  There are also better buys on line for other items that stores do have.  Mower belts are cheaper, and last longer than the ones from the local dealer.

Last year, Amazon delivery trucks were everywhere.  Now I don't see them.  Either they were too expensive to maintain or they can't find drivers.  Amazon is a hard company to work for. 

[Don P]

Well, Dad drove to our family get together and brought me a cane and cane caddy for a walker  :D. Reminds me of the story of the ornery old couple that wouldn't divorce till the kids all died off.

We're too far out for local delivery but one thing I think will be a game changer is self driving cars to get old folks to town. 

[K-Guy]

I will order stuff delivered but only if I can't get it locally or it is much cheaper but the same brand, I never allow substitutions and don't buy from sights that they will substitute without asking.

Also I am picky about meat and vegetables and having been taught what to look for first from my farm raised parents and then in cook training, I know what to look for. I do that that both of these are being raised/grown for quantity not taste you do the best you can.

For those of you who farm, I understand why you have to grow/ raise them that way but still miss the grain fed beef and pork from Canada. It is one thing I truly miss from my old homeland.

[Spike60]

Expiration dates, and selecting my own fresh foods are a couple reasons I prefer to do my own shopping. I'd never want someone else choosing a cut of meat for me. Plus, I want to see the sale items. I often change my mind on something that would be on the order picker's list when I see a better alternative while I'm in the store. 

And of course, none of this delivery service is free in the long run. It's all factored into the rising cost of goods and is of course shared by those of us who still do our own shopping. The order picker, the delivery driver and the gas in the vehicle are all costs that you are paying for even though they are not listed on the invoice. And then you are supposed to tip the driver? OK. 

[Tom King]

We don't even get pizza delivery out here.

[fluidpowerpro]

When I have used it, I find that I save money by having groceries delivered or used curb side pickup. The reason is that I avoid any impulse buying and only get what's on my list. Stores are laid out by experts for the specific purpose of selling you as much as possible once your in the door. Don't go in the door and you avoid all of that.

[rusticretreater]

My wife and I have increasing moved to self reliance in our food sources.  We have gone full bore on gardening and purchase sides of beef from our local farmers.  The beef and veggies are much more flavorful, more plentiful, healthier and less expensive in the long run.  We also give some to our children and neighbors which is good for the soul.  I make a big deal of taking my wife to the farmers market too.

Even though I live down a gravel road, USPS, UPS, FedEx all make deliveries.  Since the shipping is often "Free" and I also have Amazon Prime, I usually opt to have it shipped. The only problem is that if I need something now, its a drive to get to a store if the local Ace Hardware doesn't have it, its 30 miles to the other stores. 

[Hilltop366]

That's odd fluidpowerpro, I get ridiculed for only buying what is on the list.

The same person that ridicules me will go to the store for one or two items and come back with ten but not the items they went to the store for. Then somehow it is my fault.  :

We live 3 mile from town, my wife works in town and we have a teenage daughter that goes to school in town and works at the mall there so I end up going several times a day it seems and there is a smaller store a ¼ mile from home too so we only order what we can't get locally or can save a lot on.

[SwampDonkey]

I remember recent surveys done on these places that offer this and your online purchase prices are higher than in store, plus you miss the sales and mark downs. In summer I go once a week to the grocery store, in winter time once every two weeks. I never was one of these people to run to town for something every day. ;) I was watching folks coming and going from a Scoop and Save today. Most all of them would come out with no more than a fistful of something in a tiny bag. I found that they are high compared to a grocery store item, so haven't been to one in years. I just happen to have been parked near there as mother had a eye clinic appointment.

[Tom King]

While we don't get food deliveries, we do get all the other services.  Having to stay close to care for my Mother, I've only put 438 miles on my truck this year, and didn't keep track last year.

I don't know what I would have gotten done without Amazon though.  I just checked, and we had 638 orders delivered last year, and 437 so far this year.  That's just Amazon.

[rusticretreater]

I have joined the rewards programs at the auto parts, hardware and farm supply stores and get emails and mailers with discounts, some of which are substantial.  They don't harass me at all, just emails which are easily deleted or saved to use the discount codes for web purchases.  No texts or phone calls.

I also have one of those browser plugins which checks for discounts available from their database.  It doesn't do much for me now, but I used to get good discounts on pizza when I lived in town.

[Spike60]

Hardly feel that if I see something that I like displayed on an end cap and it's on sale, that I'm the victim of an evil conspiracy. It's called merchandising, and I'm glad that specials are brought to my attention like that. The items on sale are often not items on my list. That type of "impulse buying" saves money in the long run. Don't go in the door, and you miss all that.

[chet]

We don't even get pizza delivery out here.

I hear ya   :  Our only option is Fedex, UPS, or da USPS. And it seems that we can only rely on Fedex.  :(

[SwampDonkey]

I definitely use Amazon, but I am wise to prices and have just as often gotten the item cheaper elsewhere online. I see the latest economic report on Amazon and falling revenue and product returns are becoming impossible. Their share price has fallen 50% in the last 12 months and growth is slowing down globally. I recently bought some firebrick there, they shipped 6 boxes by 3 different carriers. I don't know how that makes sense. :D

[Roxie]

My grocery shopping is similar to risticretreater in that I don't buy dairy, meat, vegetables or fruit from the grocery stores. 

My Amish neighbor Leroy, a 15 year old, brings all my dairy, fruit and vegetables. His family are produce farmers and they have four Jersey's and one Holstein they hand milk. His mother makes butter and yogurt that they sell to me. Since I quit driving, Leroy will also pick up and deliver my groceries (bulk oats, pasta, etc) from the Amish grocery. 

[aigheadish]

I like delivery a lot. Never gotten groceries delivered but it seems like it may be nice for specific stuff, I would be picky for perishables, so that'd be a no go. Almost everything else I buy is bought online, unless it's very specific or I need it today. There's also some stuff I have to see before I buy to make sure it'll work, that can be tough on Amazon sometimes. 

[doc henderson]

we tried one of the food meal services.  The food was good, the veggies were ok.  many of the meals took over an hour to prepare.  we saved the recipes.  we do better with old standbys.  It was expensive.

[SawyerTed]

I have a handful of local merchants I try to patronize as much as I can.  We don't have a food delivery - take out or groceries here.  Emily does the grocery shopping most of the time. 

But I still manage to get much of my hobby and home improvement stuff delivered.  Sometimes I place an online pickup order at one of the two big box home improvement stores. 

If I could get live bait delivered, it would save a stop on the way to the lake.   :D

[Don P]

I can see that on baby chick delivery day  :D