I\'ve been using Amazon Fresh for a few months now and love it! It\'s nice to be saving sooo much time, gas and hassle for my regular grocery items. I have my list online and I don\'t go over budget with all of those tempting endcap displays. It doesn\'t hurt my feelings that Amazon pays the sales tax either.
I\'m curious who else has discovered the convenience of Fresh?
*Hattip* I\'ve been meaning to put this on a thread for a while but Magpie\'s comment in the wine thread just reminded me.
beachdrivegirl
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I will need to try them. Between my friend, JenV, and now you Bayou I think i am sold. Who know I might just check them out right now.
Magpie
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J\'adore Amazon Fresh...I will add the new customer promo code to this post so that if you want to try it and live in the WS zips, you can get a bag of free produce. The code is NWSP3408 and is good for new customers till 9/22.
My free bag was awesome and probably worth about 15 bucks!! They also have a no sales tax promo right now..wow!! I could go on and on, but I won\'t. I encourage you to try it and post back your opinions. I\'ve been using them for 4 weeks (since I got a snotty email back from Safeway.com about their bad substitutions and lack of availability of items)and have had NO problems and the produce was way better!! Check them out!!
I tried AF last year and loved it! I did all of my holiday (T-giving & Christmas) shopping with AF -- great to avoid the stores at the busy busy time, and I could keep adding to my cart as I remembered something else. I need to remember to use AF -- especially now that school is starting and our crazy family schedule ramps up. I call AF the \"grocery fairy.\"
JenV
Member Profile
I have never made it a secret how much I love AmazonFresh, and I am glad to hear others rave about it. Honestly, if I had to go back to regular shopping I would be sad. I love that you can get a much larger variety than they have in the store- for instance, Morningstar Farms has a lot more varieties than I have ever seen in the regular store. I have been with AmazonFresh now since November.
My only gripe is that they still pack the bins too light, resulting in a lot of bins - last week one of my bins had a box of butter, nothing more. I know they are pulling orders from different areas of the warehouse, but a little consolidation would go a long way.
I have not tried their beer and wine delivery, because I always get the pre-dawn, unattended delivery. Anyone tried it?
That reminds me, I need to get my shopping done.... :)
JenV, If you are available to have an attended delivery, they bring you grocery bags instead of the big bins. I\'ve been wondering how the bag fee thing will affect them since it\'s impossible to bring your own bags to a delivery source.
I\'m hooked on the beer and wine delivery and their prices beat many of the local stores. You do have to be around for the ID check though so no pre-dawn delivery when booze is in your cart. I like to do the 6-7pm slot so I can get home from work, relax, and then cook dinner and put my groceries away.
Magpie
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I have had wine and beer delivered several times and it has worked very well. One of the big differences (I agree with too little in bags) between them and Safeway is that it only takes me about 3 minutes to check my order because of the way they pack it, as opposed to about 15 minutes for Safeway where there was no order at all.
Harumph! Yay for you in those zipcodes that Amazonfresh delivers to. Gnarl, grumble...
I\'m sure I\'d try them if it were available down here in Arbor Heights. And yes, I\'ve submitted my address, several times.
mellaw6565
Member Profile
We recently switched from SPUD to New Roots Organics and have been really pleased with the selection and quality. Plus they only use local growers, so that\'s a plus for us too.
They\'re not the full grocery selection of Amazon, but great for just veggies.
do any of these deliver to apartments?
~
I don\'t drink alcohol, so that\'s a non-issue
~
we have 22 apts, 4 floors walk-up (no elevator), security buzzer at steet level door to bldg; how does that work?
Diane, according to their FAQ:
My apartment/condominium has controlled access, but I want unattended delivery. How can I get this service? We are currently working with apartment managers and condominium homeowners\' associations to make Pre-Dawn and After-Dinner deliveries to homes with controlled access. Please contact us at get-my-apartment-access@amazon.com, and we will work to open unattended service in your apartment or condominium.
I\'ve been toying with using Amazon Fresh for some time, so....this thread brought it to mind again.
I\'ve placed an order with Safeway.com every 3-4 weeks for 4-5 years now and it\'s gotten so expensive with delivery charge 12.95 PLUS a fuel charge. Also I hate their substitution/out of stock excuses.
Since I live in a secured apartment building, with elevator, I need to have attended delivery (actually, I prefer that anyway.)
I just called Amazons customer service and they said in apartments with attended delivery, the groceries are in bags and are brought to your apartment door (or inside). That works perfectly for me as I wouldn\'t have any place to store those big bins, anyway.
So, folks, as soon as I finish this post I\'m placing my first order with Amazon for delivery tomorrow.
Thanks for starting this thread.
I\'ll post back on results.
thanks all for sharing
extra thank you to:
Magpie for new customer code
Bayou for apt info
and Jo; look forward to hearing about your experience with apt delivery
We\'ve been using AmazonFresh since they began in our zip code (Dec 2007). We worried a little about the freshness of their fruits and veggies in the beginning, but now order with abandon. We\'ve never had any trouble with freshness and never an egg broken! Prices have been comparible with our friendly supermarket. Being able to order the night before and finding delvery at the door in the morning is also a plus. I\'m pretty fussy about the meat we select, but Amazon has delivered some very nice NY Steaks. Thumbs up from this quarter!
I think I\'m sold. I\'m gonna try this out when I next need groceries.
Can you save your shopping lists so you can reorder it next time?
Yes, you can save your lists. I\'ve also been using AF since they started and absolutely love it. Have not been disappointed with a single item.
Just another amen! We love AF. My favorite part is that I can search for only local products. Eating from our \"farmshed\" is important to us and we\'ve found out about a lot of local companies through AF.
Okay, folks, here\'s a report on my first order from AFresh.
Ordered last night for 10am Sunday delivery.
Order deliver at 10:05am.
He brought my bagged order inside my apt.
I got EVERYTHING I ordered, no substitutions. (Driver said if they substitute, no charge to you for that item).
The free product bag contained: 1 lrg red pepper, orange, granny apple, fuji apple, 5 on-the-vine tomatoes, 4 snack packs of baby carrots. All the produce was very good quality.
No sales tax for an introductory period.
No delivery fee.
The most exciting thing to me was that fact they had my drink-of-choice: 2 ltr Talking Rain natural (no flavor) . All 16 that I ordered.
I told driver that I\'d be posting back on WSB and to tell his supervisors that we are discussing them.
I LOOOOOOOOOVE AmFresh so far.
Go for it Diane and elgrego.
Ooooh, ohhhh, I forgot.
AFresh also has Bubbies Kosher Dills. The best!
thanks for the great detailed report
~
you also answered another question I had re time frame for attended deliveries; I was wondering if you had to wait within 2 hr window, or can specify a time; that\'s excellent
~
question for all who have used grocery delivery services; do they get paid a living wage or is it customary to tip, as in pizza or restaurant delivery?
I asked the driver re: tips. No tips. I did ask, \"but you can take the occasional cookie?\" He just smiled.
I don\'t know about wages, though. Didn\'t ask that.
Diane: I misled about delivery time. There is a 1 hour delivery window that you sign up for. I ordered for 10-11am, order arrived at 10:05.
Safeway\'s windows are 2-hour.
My partner worked for Amazon Fresh for the first year of operations on their software team. The delivery drivers are paid a good hourly rate with good benefits. Amazon seems committed to paying their workers well.
Another interesting thing is that they can do more work with small local companies because of the way they are set up as a warehouse instead of a store. For example, if there is a small local bakery which sells cupcakes, they can supply a small number to Amazon and then it is off the website when they sell out for the day. A company or farm can be very small and still sell through Amazon because they do not have to fill a certain amount of shelf space. They really seem to have a commitment to work with small local companies and farmers which you don\'t see in the larger grocery companies.
I\'ve been using Amazon Fresh since last November, and I absolutely love the service! I order 99% of my groceries online, and I love being able to check my pantry as I shop, instead of making a list to take to the store...a list that I always forgot to actually take to the store. Ha!
The 1% that I still need to pick up? Certain odds and ends such as frozen chicken breast (with only two in our house, it\'s hard to keep fresh meat around without it spoiling).
Another perk is being able to buy heavy items, such as laundry detergent and dish soap - what a luxury to have them show up on my doorstep!
However, I have been wondering about how the bag tax will affect the program. As someone that\'s been bringing my own bags to grocery stores for a long time now, I have a hard time with how much waste is produced with each order. I don\'t really mind the multitude of crates on my doorstep if it speeds up the distribution process at the warehouse...but I\'m having a hard time figuring out the picking process. Even though I need a few bags for dog walks and kitty litter, I\'m bummed by the amount plastic bags I\'m left with. I always fold neatly the paper bags and reusable freezer bags and return with the crates, but I doubt they\'d reuse the plastic bags if I returned them.
Does anyone know if they are going to start charging 20 cents for bags we don\'t want to use when the beta period is over, or if they plan to stop using plastic bags at some point?
guidosmom
Member Profile
We used to use Pioneer Organics, until they were taken over by Spud. We gave Spud 4 chances, but after the recommendations on this page we decided to try Amazon fresh. I have to admit to I didn\'t want I want to like them. I wanted to like a local company, but I LOVE Amazon fresh and have used them at least 6 times in the past month and a half. I do try to buy from the local farmers at the farmer\'s market now, but the remaining items I am all for Amazon Fresh now.
mellaw6565
Member Profile
Out of curiosity - does Amazon take coupons like regular stores?
I sent them an email questioning how the bag fee will affect Fresh customers. I\'ll report back when I have an answer.
Loo, I completely agree with you on this, \"I love being able to check my pantry as I shop, instead of making a list to take to the store.\" It\'s just so convenient to be able to shop from the kitchen countertop.
Guidosmom, although Amazon may be a much larger company, they are still a local one that employs several thousand Seattlites. Food for thought. :)
FYI, Here\'s the response I got from Fresh CS:
\"Thank you for asking about the bag fee for King County.
This bag fee is imposed only on businesses located in the city of Seattle. At present time, we don\'t anticipate we\'ll be charging our customers any bag fees.\"
beachdrivegirl
Member Profile
Interesting.
beachdrivegirl
Member Profile
So I just placed my order on Amazon Fresh. There were still slots available at the pre-dawn delivery for tomorrow. I used the promotion code and spent less than i had figured i would.
Thanks for sending the email to Amazon regarding the bag tax fee - interesting information! I still wish they would use less packaging...I really wouldn\'t care if all of my groceries were lumped together in the crates they come in....Hopefully this is one kink they are still working out, since this is still technically a \"beta\" program!
I just remembered another favorite - the ability to order a banana just at the ripeness I want - I like them ripe, and they always deliver ripe bananas! :-)
angelescrest
Member Profile
Lovely selection of organic produce.
Myriad dog bones. (Don\'t laugh!)
Specialty foods from Ener-g Foods for the special kid in the family.
Impressive! Love waking up to the bounty on the porch.
I\'m on board! Just made my order for delivery on Friday morning. Thanks for the great tip. I\'ll post if there are any problems.
JenV
Member Profile
I just opened my door to my groceries. The cool thing this time- my step mom is cat-sitting for me this weekend, and I was able to pick her up lots of gluten/wheat free goodies that you can\'t find in the stores here. BDG & yikes, I can\'t wait to see what you think! Just remember, if there are any problems at all, customer service is very responsive.
I\'m wondering if AF or another delivery service will take orders over the phone. I am asking for an elderly person who doesn\'t own a computer. But shopping is very difficult for her. She would really benefit from a grocery delivery service. Is there any such service?
noname,
Customer service for AF is (888) 533-5659 if you\'d like to inquire.
beachdrivegirl
Member Profile
I got up 10 minutes early today to unpack my groceries!! Everything was great. The only thing I would make a note to do in the future in regards to frozen items is to not only order one item b/c i felt a bit silly that their was one hole box dedicated to frozen food with the dry ice. OVerall though the produce was great, the service was so quick, and prices very competitive with nieghborhood grocery stores. I will be shopping at Amazong Fresh on a regular bases now!
PS the free produce bag was awesome mine had apple, pear, grapefruit, tomotoes , and a red pepper. all looking great!
As someone who always shops with my own bags when I go to the grocery store (or the department store or the drugstore....), I was concerned about the packaging thing. So I was pleased to see on the Amazon invoice that they encourage you to put bags back into the boxes so they can reuse \'em. Yippee! That\'s a new development since I first ordered from them last summer. Good for them.
They do have some weird quirks. I wanted ginger and the only ginger they had was 8 oz organic for $5, but that\'s a small complaint next to all the wonderful items (cheap organic cukes, great Swiss chocolate on sale, Macrina bread, bulk cereal) they offer.
I finally got around to doing an item by item comparison of our \"stock\" list and have to say that our household isn\'t a good candidate for AF :( With the Club Card, sales, and the option of store brands (there are some items that I\'m really okay with generic), Safeway home delivery, supplemented by the farmers market and occasional trips to Met Market, is much more economical for us. I haven\'t had a lot of problems with missing items (I got a refund once for something left out) and they have always arrived at the beginning of our delivery window. They don\'t leave deliveries unattended, but will bring bags inside. They send emails regularly with offers for free delivery and/or free items too. Following Bayou\'s lead, I did ask the question re: the future of bags, but have not heard anything back to date (another reason why it would be great if they were a local company I guess).
Ok I just placed an order for delivery tomorrrow am. how cool to grocery shop on my couch, without getting in the car and going to the store. thanks everyone for the info.
Well my delivery window was 9-10 and they were here at 9 with everything i ordered. And when leaving the driver saw my daughter and gave us a little lego amazon fresh truck to put together, how cool and a free notepad for the grocery list:) love it. They get a huge rave from me, I couldnt believe the choices for delivery times. I hope they are around for a long time I could get used to this.
beachdrivegirl
Member Profile
my favorite part was that i love to try new reciepes that i find on line...so it was great to have the opportunity to have two windows open to get any ingredients i knew i ididnt have on hand...
guidosmom
Member Profile
We loved the free produce bag too! At first we thought they had mixed up our order with someone else\'s.
Can you believe how many NEW customers Amazon Fresh got since Bayou\'s original posting 4 days ago.
When my groceries were delivered, I mentioned to the driver about our forum discussion and told him to tell his supervisors that \"I heard about it on West Seattle Blog.\"
I\'m a new customer to Amazon Fresh also! Just shopped and am very excited to get my delivery this evening! Thanks Bayou and all the others who raved about them!
rs261
Member Profile
If I didnt have a grocery store literally right next to me, I\'d shop there. I used to do peapod and another grocery delivery service in Chicago (dont remember the other name though). I enjoyed it immensely
rs261 - We did peapod also in Chicago!
It made a lot of sense due to the lack of a car living right downtown. We loved it.
Because we now have cars here, my guy was skeptical, but Amazon Fresh actually makes sense in our current situation. Excited to get our first delivery!
Magpie
Member Profile
I sent them an email a few days ago about the excitement in West Seattle and they told me that they are doing well in WS and are looking to expand to new locations. I think we can all say that our word of mouth has made an impact on our fellow Wseattleites and on Amazon Fresh, too. This is so grass roots!!
I got my delivery tonight and was a little bummed that I didn\'t get the cute bins (not on daytime deliveries), but it didn\'t matter.
I got everything I ordered, and it was wonderful! We couldn\'t be happier with Amazon Fresh!
The best part? Our delivery guy was a conservative (I know this because we talked about a book I am currently reading and had on the front porch)! Love it!!
FWIW. . . here is my (non-) answer from Safeway:
“Thank you for your e-mail regarding Safeway\'s position on Seattle\'s new bag surcharge. Safeway has not taken a position as yet with regard to that new ordinance as it pertains to home delivery.
As soon as it does take a position, the company will advise its customers of the impact it will have on home shopping. I have forwarded your concerns to management for their consideration. Thank you for bringing the matter to our attention.â€
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