# I've been doing instacart and here's my results



## Veju

Made a few hundred in cash too Anyone else working the season rush? I should get the bonus again tonight for last week.
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## nighthawk398

Wow amazing


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## uberboy1212

This is proof that there are two sides to every gig. I constantly hear people bashing instacart then you see an instance like this. Just because someone says it sucks doesn’t mean it will be the same for you. Only way to know if a gig is good or not is to try for yourself.


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## Veju

I agree, it's really market dependent and shopper saturation plays a key role.


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## Uberdriver2710

What's the compensation model like?


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## Veju

My markets like$8.75 min plus .40c/item plus big order up charges. Sometimes I have days where I do 3-4 orders at once.


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## Uberdriver2710

Veju said:


> My markets like$8.75 min plus .40c/item plus big order up charges. Sometimes I have days where I do 3-4 orders at once.


thanks, I'll have a look in my area.


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## Veju

Another decent week considering I was travelling and only worked 2.5 days. Drove a total of 280 miles from the time I left the house to the time I came back.


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## Cody6666

I just signed up for Instacart last week. Hopefully i get a chance to try it out this week. I'm getting really sick of Doordash and want to try something different. I hope it goes as good as I hear it is.


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## Sorien

I just signed up. There were only 4 hours available by the time I got to the app Sunday morning at the end of two weeks later..


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## Woohaa

You're about a year late to take advantage of Instacart. Good luck with getting hours nowadays from what I hear.


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## Veju

You have to be on at 9am sharp Sunday in order to grab hours.


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## Uberdriver2710

Is the rating system, stupid, too?


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## Cody6666

I have only done around 10 deliveries so far. What i have noticed is only around 50% of people tip. The pay and commission isn't bad though and I'm still averaging around $20 a hour.


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## Veju

The rating system defaults to 5 stars if they don't rate. The weekly bonuses can be negated with one bad rating. The rating system is useless besides that


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## gsr717

Is there any guarantees in the Los Angeles area?


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## GruveRecords

I see OP is in Sarasota. Anyone in Southeast Florida doing Instacart?


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## Veju

Pay cuts every week but I'm still averaging $25/hr before expenses.


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## Memorex

I do Instacart part-time instead of flex and it pays better. There is a learning curve, but it's a breeze once you get the hang of it.


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## JJS

I have been doing this for a month. I live in an area that offers 2 different zones. Both seem busy. I am letting this go as my wife and oldest daughter are going to this instead of trying Uber. It is definitely a learning curve and understanding the matrix takes a bit. My daughter takes her siblings and they deploy into the store and destroy the matrix. I taught them that they split the spoils and are all very happy with it. I was averaging about 300.00 a week in supplement to Luber. It's "good" money for enterprising kids. Being close to 2 different zones makes it tough to do Uber and Lyft at the same time. There is a lot of rides that will traverse the zones. Then you get in trouble for "leaving"your zone. 

As I advise people, DO THE MATH FIRST. If you are not making money stop doing the work and get a job. The constitution necessary to do this work is not something most people have.


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## GruveRecords

Signed up for Instacart recently.. Wasn't able to pick up hours for the first 2 weeks. By the 2nd week I made sure to get on at 9am on Sunday to grab hours. I grabbed 4 days of shifts before everything was gone within 10 minutes. 

Then, I couldn't see where the zone would be until about 5 minutes before I was supposed to clock in.. Zone ended up being 45 minutes away from me. Not worth it, I will never be signing in again. Not impressed.


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## clashradio1977

Do those of you that have driven both Instacart and UberEats find that you put more or fewer miles on with Instacart? These are the only two mobile delivery services in my area, and with recent car problems I'm trying to drive less while still working. But I am concerned about the whole scheduled hours part, one thing I do like about Uber is being able to go online one minute and off the next.


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## HipGnosis

GruveRecords said:


> Signed up for Instacart recently.. Wasn't able to pick up hours for the first 2 weeks. By the 2nd week I made sure to get on at 9am on Sunday to grab hours. I grabbed 4 days of shifts before everything was gone within 10 minutes.
> Then, I couldn't see where the zone would be until about 5 minutes before I was supposed to clock in.. Zone ended up being 45 minutes away from me. Not worth it, I will never be signing in again. Not impressed.


Didn't their training show you how to get hours / shifts? Did you contact their shopper hotline about the distant zone?!?!


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## Veju

clashradio1977 said:


> Do those of you that have driven both Instacart and UberEats find that you put more or fewer miles on with Instacart? These are the only two mobile delivery services in my area, and with recent car problems I'm trying to drive less while still working. But I am concerned about the whole scheduled hours part, one thing I do like about Uber is being able to go online one minute and off the next.


You put significantly fewer miles with instacart . If I drive 100 miles in a day it's been a busy 12 hour shift and I'm going home with at least $250. Instacart is cutting pay biggly every week. It may be time to jump ship soon.


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## JJS

While doing Instacart you need to look the batch over because they will route you very illogically. You drive past stores and go to the store they think is best. I have over ridden it and gone to the same store that was closer.

When shopping 2 orders check the addresses and make sure you are not driving all over the place adding more miles than necessary. The routing is a joke and your orders will be delivered late. 

Instacart still has some juice but it is getting weak. For extra money it is not a bad gig. Not FT.


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## uberboy1212

I picked up the card at the office but never managed to get on schedule and my account was closed. It was a pain in the ass trying to find blocks though I guess I didnt really give it my full effort.


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## Veju

This is what I'm averaging now .Haven't worked much but put in around 15 hours a week.


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## Jcposeidon

JJS said:


> I have been doing this for a month. I live in an area that offers 2 different zones. Both seem busy. I am letting this go as my wife and oldest daughter are going to this instead of trying Uber. It is definitely a learning curve and understanding the matrix takes a bit. My daughter takes her siblings and they deploy into the store and destroy the matrix. I taught them that they split the spoils and are all very happy with it. I was averaging about 300.00 a week in supplement to Luber. It's "good" money for enterprising kids. Being close to 2 different zones makes it tough to do Uber and Lyft at the same time. There is a lot of rides that will traverse the zones. Then you get in trouble for "leaving"your zone.
> 
> As I advise people, DO THE MATH FIRST. If you are not making money stop doing the work and get a job. The constitution necessary to do this work is not something most people have.


Better be careful instacart will deactivate anyone who is seen shopping with someone else.

IC weighs heavy on the market on how well you can do. My market and zone is super low at $2-$3 per shop but we stay busy with back to back orders so over time it pays off but only doing it a few hrs you can't make anything. App crashes a lot also even on non peak days i.e. yesterday which made me miss out on a tip since the app sent me an order an hour late.


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## Loloboss

I tried Instacart once it was a peak day .. i had about 10 items to shop !! 2 large cases of water and about 4 12 pack soda .. and 2 bottles of Merlot and garlic and 24 roll of toilet paper..found the items .. with no problem!!but I had to bring all that stuff up to the 52nd floor I did it in two trips with my dolly ..made it on time... after I was done my payout was just around $8 ... I’m like what???? And st the end off the week I got a $2 bonus from Instacart for 5* service... and no tip !!


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## Veju

Yea I don't do Costco orders


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## Cody6666

Does anyone else feel like they are missing tips from costumers? This past week I've had multiple customers tell me they tipped me through the app and yet nothing shows up that they have tipped me. They are either lying to me or Instacart is stealing some of my tips.


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## Prius13

I have signed up but is this only in near North and Chicago ? Anything in DuPage ?


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## Victoria214

Prius13 said:


> I have signed up but is this only in near North and Chicago ? Anything in DuPage ?


I was thinking of signing up for this, but (haven't completely finished with sending my DL & other 2 items they want). I am also in IL and I was just doing general searches and it was sending me to areas 45 minutes away when I input my City & County info. After reading the issues here I am not even going to try Instacart!! The constant text messages they keep sending are annoying and ridiculous. Over 5 text messages a day saying to do this or do that.

I know this is an older thread, I found the info extremely helpful so Thank you!!! ?


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## KMANDERSON

uberboy1212 said:


> This is proof that there are two sides to every gig. I constantly hear people bashing instacart then you see an instance like this. Just because someone says it sucks doesn't mean it will be the same for you. Only way to know if a gig is good or not is to try for yourself.


I think we can all agree Uber eats is horrible


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## johnx

JJS said:


> My daughter takes her siblings and they deploy into the store and destroy the matrix. I taught them that they split the spoils and are all very happy with it. It's "good" money for enterprising kids.


Really good your whole family contributes. That's the way the family unit is supposed to work.


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## Michael Hall

I have a question about instant cart? Is it like Uber but your picking up groceries? Is it everything paid online and we have a credit card to purchase there items or is it cash gig where you put the money forward for the items and the customer rembusies you when you drop off the groceries?


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## Z129

Michael Hall said:


> I have a question about instant cart? Is it like Uber but your picking up groceries? Is it everything paid online and we have a credit card to purchase there items or is it cash gig where you put the money forward for the items and the customer rembusies you when you drop off the groceries?


You pay for the groceries with an Instacart-issued credit card.

You go the store and find the items requested, purchase those items with the above-mentioned credit card, and then you go deliver the groceries.


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## vtcomics

I've noticed a slight uptick in earnings now that they have resolved the tip thing. My little tiny city only has maybe an order per day, but I do see more people putting on 1st time orders, so more people are signing up. Last week we made almost $100 just for shopping 4 hours.


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## VictoriaMarie

johnx said:


> Really good your whole family contributes. That's the way the family unit is supposed to work.


FYI ... FOR THOSE WHO DONT KNOW THE INSTACART RULES WHICH WE ALL SIGN AT TIME OF HIRE ... IT IS CLEARLY AGAINST INSTACARTS POLICY OF EMPLOYMENT TO SHOP BATCHES WITH ANYONE WHO IS NOT EMPLOYED WITH INSTACART !!! ANNOUNCING IT ON A PUBLIC FORUM IS BEYOND FOOLISH UNLESS ITS YOUR WISH TO BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED .


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## johnx

VictoriaMarie said:


> FOR THOSE WHO DONT KNOW THE INSTACART RULES WHICH WE ALL SIGN AT TIME OF HIRE ... IT IS CLEARLY AGAINST INSTACARTS POLICY OF EMPLOYMENT TO SHOP BATCHES WITH ANYONE WHO IS NOT EMPLOYED WITH INSTACART !!!


First of all, no one is "employed" and no one is "hired." There is no "policy of employment" because there IS no employment.

They are independent contractors making do the way they want to. As long as they deliver the goods on time, no one cares. Certainly not Instacart. They just don't want you to video yourself dipping your balls in the salsa.


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## Z129

johnx said:


> First of all, no one is "employed" and no one is "hired." There is no "policy of employment" because there IS no employment.
> 
> They are independent contractors making do the way they want to. As long as they deliver the goods on time, no one cares. Certainly not Instacart. They just don't want you to video yourself dipping your balls in the salsa.


Actually she is correct. I've talked to Instacart about this to get clarification on this point and when they say employee they mean corporate employee and not just another Instacart shopper. They don't allow "co-shoppers" due to privacy concerns. Do they care or enforce this rule? I have no idea. But it is a rule.


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## johnx

Z129 said:


> Actually she is correct. I've talked to Instacart about this to get clarification on this point and when they say employee they mean corporate employee and not just another Instacart shopper. They don't allow "co-shoppers" due to privacy concerns. Do they care or enforce this rule? I have no idea. But it is a rule.


the gig economy has no rules. What they do have is some papering the file required by their insurance company. Otherwise, they couldn't give one rat's ass what you do as long as the food is delivered timely and in an unadulterated state.


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## oicu812

Gig economy has no rules? :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::laugh: If that was true, you can go dip your nuts in all the salsa you want.


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## vtcomics

VictoriaMarie said:


> FYI ... FOR THOSE WHO DONT KNOW THE INSTACART RULES WHICH WE ALL SIGN AT TIME OF HIRE ... IT IS CLEARLY AGAINST INSTACARTS POLICY OF EMPLOYMENT TO SHOP BATCHES WITH ANYONE WHO IS NOT EMPLOYED WITH INSTACART !!! ANNOUNCING IT ON A PUBLIC FORUM IS BEYOND FOOLISH UNLESS ITS YOUR WISH TO BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED .


And I was wondering how our zone had shoppers doing 66 seconds per item! We're they sprinting through the store??? Bingo!


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## Z129

vtcomics said:


> And I was wondering how our zone had shoppers doing 66 seconds per item! We're they sprinting through the store??? Bingo!


I'm currently at 127 seconds per item. I've been faster and I've been slower. I don't know how these super fast shoppers do it.


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## oicu812

Z129 said:


> I'm currently at 127 seconds per item. I've been faster and I've been slower. I don't know how these super fast shoppers do it.


They sprint!


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## blondebaedc

oicu812 said:


> They sprint!


Can someone explain for those of us in the back how Instacart works as a shopper? You get an order, go to the grocery store and then what ...? How do you pay? Are you given a time limit for completing the order in store? I assume you sign up for blocks. Are you guaranteed orders within those blocks?

I've used it as a customer and the results have been so/so - I find its fairly expensive (on my end) once all the fees and the tip have been added, so I tend to migrate more towards PrimeNow or the order online & pickup option at my local grocery store (Harris Teeter). But my coworker loves Instacart and uses it ALL the time with few complaints. I think she pays the annual delivery fee though ($99?).


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## rubisgsa

you can dip the balls just dont video it


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## VanGuy

blondebaedc said:


> Can someone explain for those of us in the back how Instacart works as a shopper? You get an order, go to the grocery store and then what ...? How do you pay? Are you given a time limit for completing the order in store? I assume you sign up for blocks. Are you guaranteed orders within those blocks?


Yes, you get an order with what you will be paid including tip and you can choose wether to accept or not. I know that most of the offers I want to accept will be at one store so I staged in that store with my grocery cart ready to go.

You pay with a company Visa or Mastercard depending on what the store will accept so it's not out of pocket for you.

You sign up for blocks but I never had any guarantees. I was offered a couple $2 or $3 promotions if I did at least one order in some high demand blocks. It's only one per block though, not one per order in a block. There was another promotion for $65 if you did 15 orders in a week but working 3 blocks at 5 hours per block I found I couldn't hit that mark. Not enough demand.

In my market it wasn't worth it. The demand wasn't here yet. I will try again in a few months to see if demand has picked up. I was willing to make less money if it meant less KMs on my van and more exercise for me but ultimately it kept kicking me off blocks because my acceptance rate was too low. Sorry, not driving over an hour to a different store to start the order for $8. That's insane. Also not driving 40 minutes to a different store to start an order for $20. Less insane, still not good money.


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