A few weeks ago, I wrote about my first-ever experience ordering from the grocery delivery service Instacart. Cut to today and things, as they say, have escalated. Since that initial order, I’ve used the service three more times. That’s mostly thanks to my decision to try out the platform’s paid membership plan called Instacart Express, which entitles users to waived delivery fees (on orders over $35) and reduced service fees. As a result of this trial, I’m both loving the service and slightly hating myself.
Back to where this recent run started, when placing my second order from Aldi, Instacart pointed out that I could save nearly $10 by trying their Instacart Express membership free for 14 days. So, I decided to give it a shot, placing my order sans some of the fees non-members have to pay. And guess what? It felt pretty amazing.
After this, I decided to try ordering from Sam’s Club while my Express trial membership was still active. With Sam’s Club’s normal delivery fees starting at $8.99, the only way it would make sense to get delivery from them would be to have Express. As an added bonus, since we are Sam’s Club members, we enjoyed lower prices on several items compared to the app’s default prices. Once again, this worked like a charm — especially since the order included alcohol, which typically carries a much higher service fee.
With my Express trial set to expire tomorrow, I’ve literally just placed yet another Aldi order just to replenish a few things (namely vegetables, which I have a strangely been craving since this whole thing began). In short… I think I may be addicted. While I don’t enjoy spending more for delivery or making someone carry stuff to my door, damn if it isn’t nice and convenient.
One important thing to note is that, when I went to check on when my trial ended, it seemed as though I would have automatically been charged for a full year of membership ($99) if I failed to cancel in time. I’m not sure if this was a result of an option I missed when first accepting the trial but I had assumed it would default to the $9.99 monthly price. Thus, in my case, not paying attention to your expiration date could cost you more than you think.
To be fair, though, Insatacart did email me a few days before the expiration noting that I would be charged the $99. It also seems as though you can visit the “Instacart Express” tab on your account to view the exact expiration date and change your plan. FYI, this is also where you can end your membership.
Alas, once my latest order does arrive, I do plan on canceling my membership before the charge hits tomorrow. Then, whenever I need groceries again, I think it’s about time I go and get them myself (taking all newly-necessary precautions, of course). Still, for those who can afford it or simply aren’t ready to return to stores themselves, I can definitely see the appeal of Instacart Express. So would I recommend taking advantage of their free trial? Only at your own risk.