45 Replies to "Amazon Fresh says it's now delivering to West Seattle"

• Greg November 19, 2007 (7:02 pm)

  But… Amazon is based in Seattle too. You’re shopping locally by there. :-)

  Just for curiosity, I looked at where our supermarkets are based out of- MetMarket, Amazon, and PCC look like they’re out of Seattle, Thriftway is out of Tukwila, and Safeway is based in faraway Pleasanton, California.

• jb November 19, 2007 (7:49 pm)

  Just placed an order for early am delivery on weds. Just the “last minute” stuff that I know I need for T-day. It will be nice to avoid the grocery store. Selection seemed good. All the stuff I was looking for. I miss homegrocer.com — wonder if this business model can succeed where HG failed? Will let you know how it goes.

• WSB November 19, 2007 (8:06 pm)

  We miss homegrocer.com too, just for those cute peach trucks. We have a collection of fridge magnets from dotbusted companies like homegrocer .. and a coffee mug from freeinternet.com (anyone remember that) … ah, the olden days. As for who’s not just Seattle-owned, but West Seattle-owned — the owners of both Morgan Junction Thriftway (Cap Food Services Company) and Metropolitan Market (Food Markets Northwest) have headquarters on Delridge, according to our rapid round of research.

• WSB November 19, 2007 (8:08 pm)

  p.s. we know there are at least a few Amazon employees among the WSB readership, we appreciate you all too :)

• dapuffin November 19, 2007 (8:29 pm)

  Another person who misses homebgrocer. >sigh

• Christopher Boffoli November 19, 2007 (8:34 pm)

  Freshdirect.com is the current gold standard for grocery delivery. But alas it is only available in New York City. It is one of the things I miss most about living in Manhattan.

• grr November 19, 2007 (8:54 pm)

  ditto..HomeGrocer.com was simply the best.

• jb November 19, 2007 (9:06 pm)

  loved the homegrocer.com delivery folks who put the little thingys on their shoes. But what I mostly loved was at the time, my kid was a baby and grocery shopping was a big chore. Hmmm…now there’s two of them and grocery shopping is still a chore.

• Bonnie November 19, 2007 (9:55 pm)

  Oh, I miss homegrocer.com so much! I think I’ll check it out. Bringing kids to the grocery store is almost as fun as bringing them out to dinner…except the grocery store will give them a free cookie if you can get their attention to give it to them.

• MargL November 19, 2007 (10:10 pm)

  Nutz just one number off in the zip code – 98146 – come on we’re West Seattle, too!

• Jiggers November 19, 2007 (10:26 pm)

  Margi–sorry that’s part of the hood they don’t want to deliver in..

• chas redmond November 19, 2007 (10:46 pm)

  The post office seems to have a scheme – all the “6’s” (sixes) are basically West Seattle – 98106 is east side of the Duwamish greenbelt facing South Park, 98116 is the north end, 98126 is the Junction/Central, 98136 is Morgan/Fauntleroy south end, and 98146 is Shorewood/White Center/parts of Burien. So, West Seattle owns the 981×6 series. 166 is Burien/Normandy Park, 156, 176, 186 and 196 don’t exist.

• Cy November 19, 2007 (11:27 pm)

  I’m a bit bias…I work for [another part of] Amazon, but my wife and I just placed an order late at night to be delivered tomorrow morning on our doorstep. Neat! Breakfast is on it’s way. Kind of wish I subscribed to the paper, I hear the Amazon/fresh delivery people have gotten quite a few kudos for placing the morning paper on the top of the delivery crates, just to be nice.

• Jan November 20, 2007 (12:03 am)

  I briefly looked at the prices that Amazon offers….and they’re very competitive, if not better in some cases. I, however, live across the street from Admiral Safeway, a block from Met Market, and 2 blocks from PCC. I can’t justify ordering from them on a regular basis. However, I’ve used Safeway delivery in the past during illness, or after surgery, and I’ll probably give amazon a try in the future on such occasions….or…when I’m feeling particularly lazy – lol…

• WSB November 20, 2007 (5:21 am)

  MargL – maybe they consulted with Pagliacci regarding where to cut off the delivery zone! No, wait, we wouldn’t be included, then, since we’re 98136. (We deal with WSB sponsor Garlic Jim’s these days, which DOES deliver all over WS.) We will write Vincent back to ask if 98146 is in the Amazon Fresh cards any time soon.

• Michelle November 20, 2007 (6:18 am)

  I placed my first Amazon Fresh order last night and requested pre-dawn delivery….no delivery fee. The groceries were here at 5:30 a.m. in closed containers that are sealed…not likely that an animal could get in. All of the items were packed very neatly. I’m very impressed and will definitely order again.

• John November 20, 2007 (7:19 am)

  Just wondering – those who have received orders from Amazon Fresh already. Did you get everything you ordered. We order through Safeway allot here at work and they are always substituting and leaving things off.

• Michelle November 20, 2007 (8:59 am)

  I placed a pretty large order and received every item exactly as it was shown on the website. They did not brand substitute. Another note…in addition to free delivery I noticed at the bottom of my order that they are paying the sales tax as an introductory offer.

• Christopher Boffoli November 20, 2007 (9:01 am)

  Michelle: Can you describe what kind of sealed “closed containers” they’re using? Cardboard boxes? Are they easily recyclable?

• CH November 20, 2007 (9:18 am)

  Christopher- my order was packed in plastic containers that Amazon picks up from your front door either by the next day or at your next delivery (you choose). The cold items were packed with cold packs and Styrofoam insulation.

  No substitutions in my order either and they even had some items (or flavor of items) that I’ve never seen before. We’ll definitely use this service again.

• Michelle November 20, 2007 (9:22 am)

  It is a plastic bin with a cover. It looks like our glass recycle bin. In addition, there is a plastic red tag attached that’s easy to pull off. They will either pick up the bins from you by 10 p.m. the following day or you can hold on to them until your next order..which I chose to do. Hope this helps.

• me too November 20, 2007 (9:29 am)

  I too ordered last night. I am very pleased with my order; fresh veggies, herbs, juice, crackers, cream cheese. The bins are very handy – they don’t overpack them so they were light and easy to carry in the house. No substitutions – the produce is very fresh. I will definately order from them again.

• BB November 20, 2007 (9:44 am)

  I was HomeGrocer fan as well (used to travel a TON). I gave A-Fresh a try and it was better in my opinion! Packaged neater, no subs, and the prices appear to be quite good (at least compared to Met Market and T-Way). I sort of like trips to the market but I thought Amazon Fresh was impressive.

• Greg November 20, 2007 (9:55 am)

  I’m pretty happy too- woke up around 7:00AM to find 3 neatly stacked bins on my doorstep. I ordered some fresh fruit, and am happy to report that they’re in good shape, and my frozen items were in their own container with the cold pack.

  I’d use it again- maybe even to avoid Thanksgiving crowds at the market!

• MargL November 20, 2007 (9:56 am)

  Oh now I’m jealous! WSB lemme know if Vincent says anything about 98146 – Thanks!! :-)

• A.A. November 20, 2007 (10:12 am)

  98106 always seems to get left out. Sadness. What’s almost funny is that we’re just on the other side of the street – literally – from another zip code that’s always included in things. So if we lived across the street we’d be fine.

  Other than nobody wanting to deliver to us (except Amante, who is FABULOUS!!!) I do love our little neighborhood.

• Megan November 20, 2007 (12:47 pm)

  Hey all you 98106-
  Pioneer organics http://www.pioneerorganics.com
  will deliver to you. I love them and have been using them for 3+ years. Best fruit and veggies ever.

• Jo November 20, 2007 (1:08 pm)

  I also went into the site, and noticed that they only time available for delivery is pre-dawn.
  I live in a security apartment building, so leaving it outside the door before 6:00am won’t exactly work. I emailed them asked when other delivery times will be available.
  I’m using Safeway.com now, and am totally disatisfied, missed items, no substitutions that are asked for, etc.
  Hope AmazonFresh works out for us apartment dwellers.

• Alki readers November 20, 2007 (1:24 pm)

  We give another vote to Pioneer Organics. We’ve been using them a couple of years and they’re great–and it’s great local organic produce. You’re assigned one delivery day in the week and have to place your order a couple days ahead. If you don’t mind that (it’s never been a problem for us) then try them out!

• marco November 20, 2007 (1:37 pm)

  We tried Pioneer for a while, but went back to New Roots http://www.newrootsorganics.com/
  They had much better products – both deliver to WS.

  As for Amazon Fresh, I love it – Amazon-employee or not ;)

• Sue November 20, 2007 (2:20 pm)

  Jo, I don’t know if it’s dependent on zip code, but when I was poking around in there, my zip (98136) had both pre-dawn and daytime delivery for most days. For pre-dawn there is no signature required, but daytime you pick a time window and then you must be home to sign. I think it was $25 order for predawn without delivery charge, but $50 if in the daytime.

• Sue November 20, 2007 (2:25 pm)

  I also give a thumbs-up to Pioneer Organic. I used them up in Lynnwood (they walked up 2 flights to drop it at the door) and then in WS (98106). The only reason I don’t use them now is that I’m living elsewhere and can walk to the farmers market.
  For those concerned about animal-proof packaging, however, Pioneer Organics uses waxed cardboard boxes that can easily be gotten into by critters. (At least a year ago when we last used them, that’s what they used.) They are reusable boxes and they pick them up at your next delivery. They also sold (for about $4) an insulated cover for warmer weather – we would leave it out prior to delivery and they would put it over our box when they dropped it off.

• Mickymse November 20, 2007 (3:18 pm)

  More kudos from me on Pioneer Organics! And they keep expanding their lists of non-produce items, so I can get mini-donuts from Mighty-O and baked goods from local bakeries and meats and cheeses from local farms!

• Keith November 20, 2007 (3:37 pm)

  Does Amazon take back the styrofoam, too? There’s been some talk about that particular material being banned or regulated in Seattle.

• me too November 20, 2007 (3:54 pm)

  Yes they do take the styrofoam back. It lined one of my crates this morning, from what I recall the only part that was detachable was the styrofoam lid. It seems like the reast of the styrofoam was attached to the inside of the plastic crate.

• JenV November 20, 2007 (5:41 pm)

  Well, I just placed my first order with Amazonfresh for my WHOLE Turkey Day spread. It was nice because I am a frequent Amazon shopper, and they already had all of my information. Plus, they are paying sales tax for introductory orders! I will post and let you all know how/when/in what condition it is delivered in the morning. I almost feel like getting up early- like waiting for Santa….just to not have to deal with the pre-Thanksgiving crowds is enough to give thanks for… :D

• nonotopo November 20, 2007 (5:46 pm)

  Try to steer clear of Pioneer. The owner is a jerk.

• Jan November 20, 2007 (7:38 pm)

  Sue…Pioneer Organics now uses sturdier plastic containers made of recycled material. Almost impossible for an animal to get into. I don’t know the owner, but I do know that I like their product, they have Beecher’s Cheese (OMG, YUM), the delivery guy is super nice and friendly…so I use them.

• JenV November 21, 2007 (6:37 am)

  ok, just received my first order. showed up on time, like the packaging- although they could have saved space by putting more than one bag in each bin and putting more items in each bag. I did not have that large an order (15 items total including a 12 lb turkey) and they gave me 4 bins! Now I have to find somewhere to store bulky bins until my next order- if I order again. I was definitely not impressed with the produce- I ordered 3 8 oz. bags of whole organic cranberries and not one berry was usable- all black/moldy and squishy. Yuck! I am sometimes overly picky about my produce, but this was just icky. All the berries went in the trash, I am out $8.37 and now I have to go to Thriftway on my lunch break….on the day before Thanksgiving….maybe I will just skip the cranberry sauce. ;)

• Christopher Boffoli November 21, 2007 (7:57 am)

  I remember that when Fresh Direct rolled out their delivery service in NYC a few years ago, people were confused as to why delivery was available on one side of a street and not the other. It seems the company was using a software package that crunched a range of different metrics: traffic patterns, density of residential customers…they even tracked how many commercial parking spots were available along the sidewalk and how hard it would be for them to get their trucks to the curb to make a delivery. They knew exactly where they could and could not be profitable and mapped out the trouble spots that would add delays and bump them from their customer-selected delivery windows. They’re probably crunching different metrics, but I expect Amazon is using a similar approach with their roll-out.

• MargL November 21, 2007 (10:12 am)

  JenV you should call customer service about your dissatisfaction with the produce. Jan posted in the newer thread that she had a problem with getting her order and customer service was very accommodating. They might just refund you the $ to keep the glowing reviews coming :-)

• Jan November 21, 2007 (2:45 pm)

  JenV..,..most definitely call customer service. They’re very gracious, indeed, and want to know when they screw up. I finally got my order before 2pm this afternoon, and they threw in some free products for my trouble…asked me what I wanted, even. Beecher’s cheese (yum), and a lovely turkey. I had planned to pick one up today for a weekend dinner that I’m having, and now I don’t have to :) – so always a good idea to call..

• JenV November 21, 2007 (5:59 pm)

  Hi all- I did email customer service right away and I cannot believe how great they have been. First, they refunded the amount to my card before I even made it into the office, then I received no less than 4 calls and numerous emails making sure that everything was taken care of. Amazon really takes their customer service seriously! So I am still giving a glowing review despite icky cranberries. I just have never encountered such diligent customer service before. Every business would do well to take a page from Amazon’s book..oh wait- was that a pun? ;) Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on the WSB board! :D

• Anthony Passonno November 23, 2007 (9:38 am)

  Hey Jen,

  I am one of the Warehouse Associates at Amazon Fresh, and though I personally did not pick your order, I sincerely apologize that we failed you in this regard.

  I was about to direct you to customer service, but I see you already called them, and they refunded your money.

  I hope this mistake won’t dissuade you from ordering from Amazon Fresh in the future.

• Jo November 24, 2007 (7:51 am)

  Dear Anthony Passonno:
  We need daytime deliveries in 98116 on the Alki plateau.
  Pleeeezze. I order from Safeway now, and would change to AmazonFresh in a nano-second.
  Thanks.

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