One of the things I loved about living in New York City is that anything and everything could be delivered. Very few people have cars in Manhattan, and it’s a bit cumbersome to carry bags of groceries on the subway. I very rarely took advantage of the delivery option. For one, I felt uncomfortable being an able-bodied young person and having someone bring my produce to me. For another, I was a poor college student and felt the time and effort it took for me to pick up my own lo mein was worth much less than that tip I’d be saving.
I did have a full size futon cushion delivered to my apartment one time – there was absolutely no way I could carry that thing home myself. And another time, my roommates had a washer and dryer delivered to our fifth floor walk up apartment. I stayed in my room, as I did not want the delivery men to think I had one iota to do with that ordeal.
More than a decade later, I’m in high-tech Seattle in the age of internet shopping. One can get most anything delivered through any number of online stores. Yet, grocery delivery seemed to elude us. Back 5 or 6 years ago I think it was, we had Home Grocer. I loved that company, with its giant peaches on the sides of its trucks. I had them deliver once or twice but the service never really took hold and they went out of business. I still have the magnetic image of their delivery van on my refrigerator.
About a year after Home Grocer went away, Safeway began online shopping with home delivery. For some reason, I never tried it out. They’re still offering the service, but now I think I know why I never did it. There is a delivery charge no matter what the size of the order is, and the minimum order for delivery is $50.
And now I bring you today. Several weeks ago, I got a notice from Amazon.com telling me that they have started home grocery delivery and that my neighborhood was one of the first to be offered this service. Naturally, I would have to avail myself. It was not until this last week that I placed my first order. I have general and specific reasons this appeals to me. Generally, I have an affinity for Amazon.com since they are a local Seattle company (despite their global tentacles). This service also complements my Flexcar experiment.
One of my concerns with not owning a car is not being able to make big grocery trips. I was raised to buy all the groceries for a full week in one trip, rather than taking daily trips to the store. This type of shopping helps to keep you on budget and prevents frivolous spending and spontaneous purchases of “bad” foods. This way of thinking is quite ingrained in me. However, since I’ve moved blocks from my workplace, I have begun making more quick trips to the grocery store. I can stop by on my walk home, or else now I can walk two blocks to the supermarket that opened earlier this year. This way of grocery shopping has been detrimental to my kitchen. I no longer plan meals ahead or shop with any real foresight beyond keeping stock of a short list of staples. As a result, I’ve been eating a lot of crap.
Adding to the mindset that I should walk as much as possible, and take public transportation/flexcar when walking is out of the question, a couple weeks ago my car become non-functional. For various reasons, I’ve not got it repaired yet. So, realizing I should get back into the habit of buying groceries for at least a week at a time, not having a car to carry all those bags home, and not wanting to spend $15-20 to take a Flexcar to the supermarket, I decided this week it was time to try out AmazonFresh. Unlike Safeway, you don’t have to place a minimum $50 order. There is no delivery charge for regular daytime deliveries over $50. The prices seem the same as regular grocery store prices, and in some cases better.
I got my first delivery this morning. I got everything on my list. The only “problem” was that I ordered a 5-lb bag of sugar and they substituted a 10-lb bag for the same price. I think I’ll let it slide.
The AmazonFresh logo has what appears to be a radish instead of a luscious peach, but I’m pretty sure I’ll order from them again. Even if it does make me feel a bit like an invalid.