AmazonFresh: Deal or Highway Robbery? - An Experience Story

If you’ve been on Amazon for a while, You’ve probably seen advertisements right on Amazon’s site talking about ‘AmazonFresh’ and probably ignored it while you continued shopping for your other goodies. well I’m here to give you my experience and is it worth it or not.

FIRST

What is AmazonFresh?

AmazonFresh is a food delivery service that Amazon offers for users who want to do their food shopping online. ever since Amazon has acquired Whole Foods their selection of Food has grown much bigger. (it doesn’t have everything but most common foods you would buy at the Supermarket)

Now I know what you’re thinking… “I can order groceries and not leave my chair?!?”

THANK YOU GOD (Carl voice)

Well no, it’s not meant to be your end all supermarket shopping place IMO. so far the selection seems to somewhat medium sized in terms of choice, you have all your basic selections, plus IMO some rare things you may have trouble finding at your local supermarket. I would say about 60% of the things on AmazonFresh are much cheaper than what you find at your local supermarket… but the other 40% is much more expensive. depending the item.

SECOND

How much does it cost for AmazonFresh?

Well if you are like me, and have prime, Prime is $119 a Year. (used to be $99) then AmazonFresh is optional add on for an extra $15 a month. if you decide to keep it that means $119 + $180 = $299 a year. now that is expensive as shit just to do shopping online (FROM ONE SITE)

here is some of the selection


I tend to spend about $70 on a bi-weekly basis on food. (inb4 HOW? I get stuff that gets me through the week. some things last longer than other)

you get to choose the time frame for delivery

  • 5AM-8AM
  • 8AM-12PM
  • 2PM-6PM
  • 6PM-8PM

now I thought that some Whole Foods truck would come by in front of my building to deliver it… but NOPE the post office truck came by. any fruits, vegetables, and frozen goods come in a green bag, that underneath contains dry ice to keep your food cold for extended periods of time. canned goods or things that don’t need to be cooled come in a regular bag like anything else. I also forgot to mention, if your purchase is above $50 delivery is free. if you purchase is over $100 you get $30 off your purchase plus free delivery. from my experience orders were horrendously quick… I was shocked how quick it was… I scheduled my food for 10AM-12PM … it came at 10:22AM that is an astonishing amount of time just to get a delivery…

CONCLUSION

Is it worth it? IMO it depends on a few factors… how much you spend on food on a bi-weekly basis. and honestly do you think it’s worth adding another $15 A MONTH on top of paying the annual prime membership which is $119… for most people I think they will find it too expensive… but for people who don’t have the time, and or are lazy… AND have money to blow it may be worth it. though I believe for regular people they will consider it to be highway robbery considering a BJ’s Membership or Costco membership is much cheaper annually than Amazon.

How does the price compare to you going to the store, it is cheaper or are you paying $15 per month to not go to the store?

the food prices are somewhat cheaper for the things I personally get. the catch that makes it somewhat worth it, is if you spend $100 you get a $30 discount… I don’t know if that is temporary or not… but if it’s long term it would negate the price of just adding the $15 IMO.

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So you’re just paying $15 for the ability to shop there?

yes. though the same could be said for Costco and BJ’s. which people willingly pay for as well.

Must you have prime as well?

No. Prime isn’t required. however if you don’t have prime, then the price per month is $24.

No wonder Jeff Bezos is the richest man on earth.

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The sad thing about all of this is the execution. There is a lot of fragmentation with how Amazon does all of this stuff.

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How does it compare to other online grocers or farm shops?

Amazon here in the UK use a super market chain to do this and because of that you get supermarket quality, which is sub par compared to local shops and online farm shops.

I can’t speak for other online food retailers. This was the first one I used.

In terms of quality I felt it was reasonable. Nothing came expired and everything came undamaged.

I used Fresh Direct until a good grocery store opened right by my train stop. It was fine. Probably could have saved some money shopping around, but would have spent a lot of my time.

IMO, these services really only make sense in dense urban areas. If you have a house and a car, you should leverage those investments by driving your ass to the store.

If you’re like @Kat and I, your grocery options are more expensive than in the suburbs because of higher rent/taxes/wages/whatever. Plus you have to carry them several blocks and (potentially) up multiple flights of stairs to your apartment. In our case, the delivery services make a lot more sense.

I’m assuming you’re American. Looking at those prices you posted it looks really expensive on a per unit basis compared to Toronto pricing. I’m amazed to be saying that! The only way it would be worth it if there were a greater variety per product available. i.e. something not available or intermitantly available locally.

It’s American. and as for being expensive. Organic food is overpriced.

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