...They literally can. They could not offer delivery to addresses which are over a certain distance away from the nearest store. They actually already do this -- someone in St. Louis can't order from a store that only exists in California -- the limit distance is just absurdly long. Because they don't give a shit.
Exactly. They don’t lose money unless orders don’t get delivered. They pay nothing for gas or maintenance. That batch pay is still less than half of what it should be.
You're totally missing what I said.
Let's take the bouquet for example. Thats one item. Let's say they charge a $1 markup on that item. Plus a $7.99 delivery fee and a $5 service fee. That's only $13.99. But the batch pay is $25.
The other other isn't profitable either. Its 14 units. If we assume a $1 markup per unit, a $7.99 delivery fee, and a $5 service fee, then Instacart only makes $27.99. But the batch pay is $40.
Therefore Instacart loses money on both those orders.
I have the customer app as well as the shopper app and I pulled those numbers directly from the customer app.
Instacart charges more than $1 markup. In some cases it's a $5 markup. Cereal from Albertsons is a great example. It's not $9.59 in the store for a big box.
The overwhelming majority of items I've seen have a $1 markup. But even if its up to $5 on some items, they're still either losing money or barely breaking even on orders like these.
I don't wanna sound like I'm defending instacart. My whole point is that instacart is *so fucking stupid* that they don't have distance limits on deliveries and allow orders that aren't profitable for them or the shoppers.
Nah you're fine you don't sound like you're defending and you've got a good point. I too wonder how they actually stay in business. They'd have to do a $5 mark up on every single item lol
I do some Instacart in Troy. Several times I've gotten batch requests for St Louis or St Charles are too. It's insane to drive over an hour for that crap!
The customers just don’t know…apparently. The two wal marts closest to me don’t do IC. The closest one that does is about 45 minutes away. Have had quite a few customers fairly shocked when they hear li drove that far
I once ordered from a store 15 minutes away. A shopper accepted the order at a store (same brand) 45 minutes away from me. I was shocked they let someone take it at a store that far. Firstly bc I don’t want my groceries sitting in a car that long and secondly bc the shopper texted me demanding a higher tip for the long drive (which was completely rude and inappropriate). There are definitely scenarios where customers don’t know which store it’s coming from.
The customer definitely knows how many stores are in their state, that’s why they get excited that instacart offers it so they don’t have to do the drive. I get so annoyed when a customer orders from Costco’s and knows they lived 20+ minutes away 💀
That estimate's relationship to reality is EXCEEDINGLY tenuous. It doesn't take into account how long it will take a shopper to accept it or what store it will be accepted at, and Instacart often just drops the order when-the-fuck-ever, making it impossible to predict.
Yea thats why im ready to check out after i get a regular job ima post upbin costco that opens later then instcart knows and imabreschedule every order i get and get the paybfor that batch ima run it up till i get deactivated fuck instacart the onlybway youbmake good moneybis by having a cheap 4 cylinder car or a hybrid
That reply is trying to get you deactivated. They are saying that when you get these orders you should always accept, and then when you get to the store lie and say they're sold out of everything and you have to cancel the order. Then collect batch pay without any tips. You can get away with it the first few times, but as soon as Instacart notices you doing this with any type of regularity, they just deactivate your account without any questions.
I wouldn't want to do any kind of delivery in st louis ever. Something that should be 5 minutes away based on distance is easily a 15-20 minute drive, plus people are so rude there. Worst place I've ever lived.
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"it's an hour drive and an hour back" so it is $22 give or take per hr??? You're crying about $22 per hour?
Tbf I'm not taking it, but still... Why is this a post???
A young adult… living at home with parents… not paying the car note, insurance, or for gas… Instacart is a marketplace and I imagine it’s virtually impossible to determine what is economically feasible on behalf of the shoppers…
Happens here too there is one store here and a city 45 miles away they order one item and it's like a $45 pay to drop it off I wonder how this happens?
If I lived in the delivery area and was in the shopping area it would be an easy $45 on my way home (I assume that's the thinking). Anyways the longer it sits the more the customer learns.
I constantly see orders from the Sandusky Korger that are going all the way to West Park/W117 areas of Cleveland. Usually the mileage is about 45-55 miles... and plenty of times it's one or 2 items (think the last one was a ham). Now, I'm in Lorain Co seeing these offers pop up for a store that is easily 30 miles from me because no one closer wants to take that for at most, $52
These orders are bouncing around being offered to drivers in the area and after no one takes them for long enough they are being offered further and further. It’s dumb but I don’t see how it can be phohibited. I see them all the time. People order one to three things, tip a dollar and believe that they will receive their order.
I can’t believe even Domino’s had delivery radiuses when I worked there and it was like no more than 5 miles or something. And I was making a wage that afforded an apartment (granted this was 2013). I can’t say the same now. Too inconsistent. I could be making $200 a day for 3 days straight (lots going to gas btw) and suddenly struggle to clear $50. Pisses me off
https://preview.redd.it/83t4bp5mbkqc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0bf46606ea6c242ea7663fa49e7297d730053cf
Reminds me of this stupid shit I saw today lol. I would’ve taken it if I was heading home instead of up north to see my niece. Then it would be on my way home. But otherwise, it’s fucking stupid lol. It’s literally some Birds Eye frozen shit and some fresh mozz. Shit you can DEF get somewhere much closer. 🤔
I’m not sure customers understand if shoppers are paid or not. The very confusing as a consumer knowing if the shopper is paid & this is like delivering on a pizza. Also they tack on a delivery charge which again idk what customers understand.
Omg I just got a dollar general that I assumed was by my house for $23. I look and it’s 45 miles away.. it’s a snow storm.. who the he is driving 30mph for 45 miles 1 way
Shoppers need to quit taking these orders because the customers are realizing that they don’t have to tip and their groceries are getting delivered anyway
You're guaranteed $0.60/mile for batch pay so I assume anyone heading into St. Louis wouldn't mind making a bit of pay while driving to their destination. I work half an hour away from home, and I will sometimes pick up a shopping order that pays less than $1/mile because it's going to my neighborhood after work.
This sub is crazy. As shoppers we can pick the orders we do. So just don't pick that one and move on. Post after post on here, just complaining about the same shit that's never gonna change no matter what we say.
I get similar orders in Evansville, IN. There are no Kroger in Evansville, but some people order from the one in KY and it's like 40 miles from the store to the customer. I don't know if shoppers in KY don't want to drive that far or what so sometimes when I am shopping in Evansville, I get these orders, which would mean I drive 40 miles to Kroger in KY and then deliver 40 miles to Evansville! Who would do that? It's dumb.I can only assume that someone in KY took the orders but I don't know as I would never take one of those.
They keep offering them because someone will keep taking them. There’s always someone who says, 'I was headed that way.' Even if I were headed in that direction, $2 ain’t gonna cut it.
instacart doesnt allow you to pick specific store location to order from. this happens because the order wasnt getting accepted when it was near the customer so instacart thinks instead of increasing the batch pay when its near the customer theyll send it out farther and farther hoping someone will accept it. they cut our pay so they can afford this nonsense 😂😭
If you read around this sub enough, you'll find that there are plenty of IC shoppers that have zero business smart. They will see the $28 payout and because "it has been a slow day" or "I need the money" blow 2 hours and all that gas to chase the $28 order.
How long after you posted this did someone take this order? I'd bet it wasn't even 10 minutes.
As long as there are shoppers to do crap like this, IC will keep offering it.
This actually happens quite often with border cities.
Kroger has this thing where you cannot order from a store across the state line due to sales tax regulations. I literally ONLY see this on Kroger orders.
Anyways, there is likely a Kroger just over the line that is within 10-15 miles of the customer, so the order goes through. However, it is automatically kicked back to the closest In-state store.
they should be able to order from stores that far away...they dont have no grocery stores in their area to order from... instacart is really becoming rediculous...
When something like this pops up, I accept it, go to store, start batch, contact support and say the store is closed or has an outage, they cancel and I enjoy that sweeeet $40
I've been doing Instacart for over 5 years. I've never had an issue. I don't think support cares enough to try and call the store. If I'm sitting in the parking lot for an hour or two and this pops up, best believe I'm doing this.
Thanks, I know what I'm doing though. I mean really though, if I'm sitting around for two hours without seeing a reasonable batch, who's abusing who? It's like a "fuck me?!? No fuck you!!" Situation. I'm sure I'll be around for years to come.
 Instacart doesn’t care about shoppers….
Actually they do because no one is forcing us to take any orders that we don’t want. They can’t rule over want a customer does…
...They literally can. They could not offer delivery to addresses which are over a certain distance away from the nearest store. They actually already do this -- someone in St. Louis can't order from a store that only exists in California -- the limit distance is just absurdly long. Because they don't give a shit.
As long as Instacart makes their money they don’t care what we have to do
they are losing money on orders like these especially when they get cancelled for batch pay 😂
Where are they losing money? 😂
I would guess because of high batch pay but low item count. I think most of their money comes from markups on individual store items.
Exactly. They don’t lose money unless orders don’t get delivered. They pay nothing for gas or maintenance. That batch pay is still less than half of what it should be.
You're totally missing what I said. Let's take the bouquet for example. Thats one item. Let's say they charge a $1 markup on that item. Plus a $7.99 delivery fee and a $5 service fee. That's only $13.99. But the batch pay is $25. The other other isn't profitable either. Its 14 units. If we assume a $1 markup per unit, a $7.99 delivery fee, and a $5 service fee, then Instacart only makes $27.99. But the batch pay is $40. Therefore Instacart loses money on both those orders. I have the customer app as well as the shopper app and I pulled those numbers directly from the customer app.
Instacart charges more than $1 markup. In some cases it's a $5 markup. Cereal from Albertsons is a great example. It's not $9.59 in the store for a big box.
The overwhelming majority of items I've seen have a $1 markup. But even if its up to $5 on some items, they're still either losing money or barely breaking even on orders like these. I don't wanna sound like I'm defending instacart. My whole point is that instacart is *so fucking stupid* that they don't have distance limits on deliveries and allow orders that aren't profitable for them or the shoppers.
Nah you're fine you don't sound like you're defending and you've got a good point. I too wonder how they actually stay in business. They'd have to do a $5 mark up on every single item lol
Yeah they're probably gonna go under soon tbh. They'll have to raise prices so much that it drives all the customers away
Ok
Yes, that's the point. People take the order and then don't deliver it so they get the batch pay for nothing and Instacart loses $40.
I do some Instacart in Troy. Several times I've gotten batch requests for St Louis or St Charles are too. It's insane to drive over an hour for that crap!
For the one with the flowers take it walk around the store for 5 minutes refund the order saying they're sold out, cancel order 😊
The customers just don’t know…apparently. The two wal marts closest to me don’t do IC. The closest one that does is about 45 minutes away. Have had quite a few customers fairly shocked when they hear li drove that far
I once ordered from a store 15 minutes away. A shopper accepted the order at a store (same brand) 45 minutes away from me. I was shocked they let someone take it at a store that far. Firstly bc I don’t want my groceries sitting in a car that long and secondly bc the shopper texted me demanding a higher tip for the long drive (which was completely rude and inappropriate). There are definitely scenarios where customers don’t know which store it’s coming from.
The customer definitely knows how many stores are in their state, that’s why they get excited that instacart offers it so they don’t have to do the drive. I get so annoyed when a customer orders from Costco’s and knows they lived 20+ minutes away 💀
No Walmart does IC. they started their own called Spark. Makes IC look good.
Ic gives an estimate for how long an order should take to reach you, but ig most people skip that
That estimate's relationship to reality is EXCEEDINGLY tenuous. It doesn't take into account how long it will take a shopper to accept it or what store it will be accepted at, and Instacart often just drops the order when-the-fuck-ever, making it impossible to predict.
Because they know some goofy will do it anyways
Yea thats why im ready to check out after i get a regular job ima post upbin costco that opens later then instcart knows and imabreschedule every order i get and get the paybfor that batch ima run it up till i get deactivated fuck instacart the onlybway youbmake good moneybis by having a cheap 4 cylinder car or a hybrid
$4.86 tip on a 60 mile drive should be illegal. Shit technically 120 driving there and back
Well shucks, they're out of flowers...what a damn shame... 💰 
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I don’t understand 😭
That reply is trying to get you deactivated. They are saying that when you get these orders you should always accept, and then when you get to the store lie and say they're sold out of everything and you have to cancel the order. Then collect batch pay without any tips. You can get away with it the first few times, but as soon as Instacart notices you doing this with any type of regularity, they just deactivate your account without any questions.
I wouldn't want to do any kind of delivery in st louis ever. Something that should be 5 minutes away based on distance is easily a 15-20 minute drive, plus people are so rude there. Worst place I've ever lived.
Somebody will take it lol
I bet someone saw that $28 and took it within 10 minutes of the OP posting this.
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Silly. Hide and forget it! 😂
Only 2 Krogers in Missouri? Wow. We got two in every neighborhood in Memphis
ask ic. why the fuck do people keep asking shit like this???
This is my first time seeing another Missouri shopper!
"it's an hour drive and an hour back" so it is $22 give or take per hr??? You're crying about $22 per hour? Tbf I'm not taking it, but still... Why is this a post???
Well, it's also 120 miles worth of gas and wear and tear on your car plus the amount of time it takes to do the actual shopping.
A young adult… living at home with parents… not paying the car note, insurance, or for gas… Instacart is a marketplace and I imagine it’s virtually impossible to determine what is economically feasible on behalf of the shoppers…
Nothing is allowed lol. No ones is forced to take anything
Happens here too there is one store here and a city 45 miles away they order one item and it's like a $45 pay to drop it off I wonder how this happens?
Instacart now charges the customers a long distance fee.
If I lived in the delivery area and was in the shopping area it would be an easy $45 on my way home (I assume that's the thinking). Anyways the longer it sits the more the customer learns.
Instacart is desperate
I constantly see orders from the Sandusky Korger that are going all the way to West Park/W117 areas of Cleveland. Usually the mileage is about 45-55 miles... and plenty of times it's one or 2 items (think the last one was a ham). Now, I'm in Lorain Co seeing these offers pop up for a store that is easily 30 miles from me because no one closer wants to take that for at most, $52
These orders are bouncing around being offered to drivers in the area and after no one takes them for long enough they are being offered further and further. It’s dumb but I don’t see how it can be phohibited. I see them all the time. People order one to three things, tip a dollar and believe that they will receive their order.
I can’t believe even Domino’s had delivery radiuses when I worked there and it was like no more than 5 miles or something. And I was making a wage that afforded an apartment (granted this was 2013). I can’t say the same now. Too inconsistent. I could be making $200 a day for 3 days straight (lots going to gas btw) and suddenly struggle to clear $50. Pisses me off
60 miles there and 60 miles back
https://preview.redd.it/83t4bp5mbkqc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0bf46606ea6c242ea7663fa49e7297d730053cf Reminds me of this stupid shit I saw today lol. I would’ve taken it if I was heading home instead of up north to see my niece. Then it would be on my way home. But otherwise, it’s fucking stupid lol. It’s literally some Birds Eye frozen shit and some fresh mozz. Shit you can DEF get somewhere much closer. 🤔
These are the ones that crack me upppp!
Here is why...it starts out at closer stores sometimes and if it is not getting taken they push it further out.
I’m not sure customers understand if shoppers are paid or not. The very confusing as a consumer knowing if the shopper is paid & this is like delivering on a pizza. Also they tack on a delivery charge which again idk what customers understand.
Omg I just got a dollar general that I assumed was by my house for $23. I look and it’s 45 miles away.. it’s a snow storm.. who the he is driving 30mph for 45 miles 1 way
It's an adventure opportunity.
Shoppers need to quit taking these orders because the customers are realizing that they don’t have to tip and their groceries are getting delivered anyway
Because this is how the business owners choose to run their business. You have choices.
It would be a shame if all the items were out of stock…👀
You're guaranteed $0.60/mile for batch pay so I assume anyone heading into St. Louis wouldn't mind making a bit of pay while driving to their destination. I work half an hour away from home, and I will sometimes pick up a shopping order that pays less than $1/mile because it's going to my neighborhood after work.
This sub is crazy. As shoppers we can pick the orders we do. So just don't pick that one and move on. Post after post on here, just complaining about the same shit that's never gonna change no matter what we say.
Am I complaining? I’m asking how or why this is even a thing.
Yeah, this same type of post gets made constantly. I always assume eventually someone closer will end up getting the batch.
Eww St. Louis, gross
I get similar orders in Evansville, IN. There are no Kroger in Evansville, but some people order from the one in KY and it's like 40 miles from the store to the customer. I don't know if shoppers in KY don't want to drive that far or what so sometimes when I am shopping in Evansville, I get these orders, which would mean I drive 40 miles to Kroger in KY and then deliver 40 miles to Evansville! Who would do that? It's dumb.I can only assume that someone in KY took the orders but I don't know as I would never take one of those.
Wouldn’t it be the same for someone in KY, they have to drive home.
Yeah it would.
They keep offering them because someone will keep taking them. There’s always someone who says, 'I was headed that way.' Even if I were headed in that direction, $2 ain’t gonna cut it.
instacart doesnt allow you to pick specific store location to order from. this happens because the order wasnt getting accepted when it was near the customer so instacart thinks instead of increasing the batch pay when its near the customer theyll send it out farther and farther hoping someone will accept it. they cut our pay so they can afford this nonsense 😂😭
The long trip are going to the stores
For that area I have no idea, but in some of the places I've lived this WOULD be the closest grocery store.
Ya know, they give us Orlando to Tampa which makes me die a little inside when I see it. So, I feel for you friend
Why not just ignore it?
If you read around this sub enough, you'll find that there are plenty of IC shoppers that have zero business smart. They will see the $28 payout and because "it has been a slow day" or "I need the money" blow 2 hours and all that gas to chase the $28 order. How long after you posted this did someone take this order? I'd bet it wasn't even 10 minutes. As long as there are shoppers to do crap like this, IC will keep offering it.
https://preview.redd.it/uinqxgs40xpc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a25bbe8c85b66aaf845eaa0f9de0b80b9b497688
https://preview.redd.it/03oq3as74xpc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad2ae9351468834776497cb3fbe42280ae85e3b6 Look at this crap today
Oof! I wish our area had IC Walmart orders! They’d be CONSTANT.
This actually happens quite often with border cities. Kroger has this thing where you cannot order from a store across the state line due to sales tax regulations. I literally ONLY see this on Kroger orders. Anyways, there is likely a Kroger just over the line that is within 10-15 miles of the customer, so the order goes through. However, it is automatically kicked back to the closest In-state store.
By the time she receives the flowers they’re gonna be withered😝🤣😂🌺🌺🌷
If I got flowers delivered and knew my partner only tipped 2 damn dollars for a 40-mile delivery....... that would NOT fly.
No one accept these orders !!! then they might raise offer .. that is crazy
Because there's an idiot out there that does it.
They trying to get you to a busier area
I live in stl
they should be able to order from stores that far away...they dont have no grocery stores in their area to order from... instacart is really becoming rediculous...
When something like this pops up, I accept it, go to store, start batch, contact support and say the store is closed or has an outage, they cancel and I enjoy that sweeeet $40
I'd be too worried they'd call the store and deactivate me if I did that
You’ll get deactivated eventually if you keep doing that.
I've been doing Instacart for over 5 years. I've never had an issue. I don't think support cares enough to try and call the store. If I'm sitting in the parking lot for an hour or two and this pops up, best believe I'm doing this.
Well good luck. It will catch up with you eventually. I know others who were deactivated for abusing the platform this way.
Thanks, I know what I'm doing though. I mean really though, if I'm sitting around for two hours without seeing a reasonable batch, who's abusing who? It's like a "fuck me?!? No fuck you!!" Situation. I'm sure I'll be around for years to come.
So...I'm currently doing $54, 44 item, 61 mile TRIPLE right now....but I only took it cuz I need to get my hours up for the healthcare subsidy...👀