OT: Walmart +

rickdugan
Verified and Certifiable Super-Reviewer
Ok, after doing the free trial, I gladly ponied up the $98 annual fee for Walmart +. It has dramatically reduced the amount of time I spend shopping each week. I get free same-day delivery for any order over $35, which is very easy to do with a full house. I easily order from them 6-8 times per month.

I hate going into a Walmart Supercenter, so much so that I was buying most of my stuff from Publix and Walgreens just so I could avoid the time burn (trudging from one end of the store to the other, long checkout lines, etc.). The convenience was definitely costing me, but to me it was worth it.

Now I don't have to make the tradeoff. Even with the annual fee and per delivery driver tips, I'm at least doing no worse from a cost standpoint and probably much better given how much of my shopping I've shifted back to Walmart. I don't buy meat or produce from Walmart (except for Perdue chicken), but with kids and pets that are constantly burning through groceries and other supplies, there are a lot of middle aisle items that we need here too.

It may not be worth it for many of you, but for me it's been amazing. My groceries and other supplies show up at my front door and all I need to do is bring them in and put them away.

30 comments

Latest

TallmanFL
2 years ago
I've been doing Walmart and Target curbside pickup (both for groceries and goods) since they started offering it. The only downside is that the folks picking up the groceries don't give a shit about whether they get produce that's about to go bad or not; I've gotten some pretty crappy produce (and a gallon of milk that was "best by" 2 days after the order) in recent months, so I'm only using it for nonperishable food items now. No worries, there's a farmer's market near my house every weekend.

I probably save a good chunk of change doing this, simply because I'm not walking through the store and picking up impulse items.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
I use Instacart. It's okay for the most part. But sometimes you get shoppers who refuse to bring groceries to the door. Refuse to buy anything heavier so they can avoid carrying it. They pick out shitty fruits and vegetables. Thats all maybe 20% of the time. On those cases I complain and get a partial refund on the service. A full refund as long as you send them a pic of the bad quality produce.
rickdugan
2 years ago
===> "But sometimes you get shoppers who refuse to bring groceries to the door. Refuse to buy anything heavier so they can avoid carrying it."

I've never had either of these problems with Walmart+. This includes cases of water and 30 lb bins of cat litter, all brought right to the door.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
With instacart I get them refusing to carry cases of water and drinks like 20% of the time.

Does Walmart use its own employees? That could be why uts better. Instacart is an app that hires anyone it seems.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
But you get a variety of stores and you do save and it's 9.99 a month
shadowcat
2 years ago
What? And miss all of those beautiful Walmart shoppers?
rickdugan
2 years ago
===> "I've gotten some pretty crappy produce (and a gallon of milk that was "best by" 2 days after the order) in recent months"

I don't trust anyone to pick my produce and I once had the same problem with milk in a Walmart delivery, so I stopped ordering milk through them. But now I only have to deal with a very manageable trip to Publix each week for milk, meat, produce and maybe some deli meat and bakery bread instead of a much larger trip (sometimes to multiple stores) for all of our household needs.

But again, with kids and cats, we burn through supplies. Literally every few days we are running out of multiple things. Laundry supplies, pet supplies, household cleaners, health & beauty items, dry goods for the pantry, paper products, any other middle aisle snacks, condiments, drinks, etc. - it never ends. I don't know if it would be as awesome if I was buying for just myself.
rickmacrodong
2 years ago
Rick its a little off topic but how are you staying in good shape and performing so well in otc while getting food and milk products from Walmart? I can use it for soap and cleaners etc but any food related products are from costco, wegmans, whole foods etc. the milk i get is $10 a gallon. Organic grass fed beef only, organic juices only etc.
rickdugan
2 years ago
BTE, go back up and read more slowly.
georgmicrodong
2 years ago
Been using it since around last October or November. It's bloody convenient as hell. I don't always get "same day" delivery (especially for out of stock items that have to come from another store or a warehouse), but as long as the order is over $35 total, it is free, even if they split the delivery.

And yeah, no cold stuff, diary, meat or produce in the delivery stuff. Just not worth letting someone else pick it. I do sometimes get meat from them, the reduced stuff that goes in my freezer immediately for a crockpot meal later on, or sometimes burgers that I'm going to cook that day, but I def examine them very carefully before picking them. Most of my meat I get from a couple of local farmers who have their own store, and the produce I get from Kroger.
shadowcat
2 years ago
My Kroger also has a delivery service. I have not looked at the charges because I prefer to do my own shopping once every 7-10 days. I have plenty of free time. Not only do I want to pick out my own meat and produce but I also frequently have to make alternate choices due to items being out of stock.
whodey
2 years ago
I use a similar service from Kroger called Kroger Boost. It is a little cheaper since I chose the option that includes next day delivery($59/yr) instead of same day delivery ($99/yr).

About the only time I go into the grocery anymore is just for certain produce and items from the butcher counter. I'll even get basic produce (bananas, apples, etc) and any packaged meats delivered and I have never had an issue with any of them.

I went with Kroger instead of the Walmart option mainly because I prefer the meat and produce from Kroger. The fuel point discount program is also a nice perk with Kroger. I thought about Walmart + because of the larger selection of general merchandise but I figured most of the general merchandise I would order from Walmart I usually just order it from Amazon instead.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
It depends if it's worth it. With gas prices and how bad traffic is. It's worth it here. But I only use it for large orders to make it worth it.

I love grocery shopping. Grocery stores are some of the best places to meet women. I

Take a daily walk to a store near me just for that
rickdugan
2 years ago
===> "Been using it since around last October or November. It's bloody convenient as hell."

You aren't kidding. It's probably saving me 2-3 hours per week. I used to spend most of my Saturday mornings reloading the house for the coming week. Now I spend a leisurely 45 minutes out at my local market buying the meat, produce and dairy items that I won't generally buy at Walmart. Also the $35 minimum is so low that I can also use them for mid-week fill-in orders instead of stopping at the market in-person. Just fucking awesome.
Mate27
2 years ago
I pay $5 for Paramount +, and it saves me a ton of $$ not spending on other forms of entertainment all from my sofa. The Offer, Beavis and Butthead Do the Universe. Productivity is going up so much lately that lest people forget that inflation isn’t affecting the more established people who’ve got their shelter, food, and entertainment needs met easier and more efficiently. With the extra time and $$ saved I can take the occasional club outing and splurge a little more than previously.

I think we all get become more efficient than we were just 5 years ago in many facets of our lives. I tell people visiting to not get a rental car, because of Uber and Lyft becoming better option.
rickmacrodong
2 years ago
Where are you guys getting the high quality milk and meats from. Do you prefer raw from one of the Amish farms. It’s supposed to be the best quality, often from jersey or guernsey cows. But pricing can be $11 or $12 per gallon. My diet is mostly all milk with sugar and cocoa which saves a ton of time on cooking or preparing meat. When I was bodybuilding I was also using the whey protein powders which I might start up soon
Mate27
2 years ago
^^^ ooops, rong account!!
TheeOSU
2 years ago
Shit! Wrong account! 😖...
Papi_Chulo
2 years ago
I can see the appeal of this especially for a household (multiple people living at home and thus needing more things) – in today’s society often times the most important commodity is time (and for many folks time/convenience is at more of a premium than $$$) – many folks work long-hours and also have stressful commutes thus the free-time they have they rather not have to spend-it on chores like grocery-shopping – this is just an evolution of our society where w/ time people outsource their chores more-and-more (cutting the yard; changing their car-oil; washing their clothes; and to a certain extent cooking at home; etc).

I live-alone and don’t cook much at home, thus I don’t have to spend as much time at the store thus a service like Walmart+ is not that huge a benefit for me; but even then there are times I need stuff and I don’t feel like going to the store even if I have the time – this service can also be beneficial for those that don’t have a car; seems a certain # of young-people today don’t wanna own a car unless they have to.
Subraman
2 years ago
How you guys like it compared to Amazon Fresh? Or you haven't tried that?
rickdugan
2 years ago
Amazon Fresh is limited to a handful of large metro areas. Walmart+ OTOH is available basically anyplace that has a Supercenter close by. I am an Amazon Prime member and would love to give the service a try, but it is not available here. Frankly IMHO Walmart is kicking Amazon's ass, along with a lot of local stores, with same day delivery from Walmart+. I am buying a lot less from both Amazon and Publix now.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
Amazon fresh doesn't have a lot of variety and is expensive.
Subraman
2 years ago
I had no idea Amazon Fresh was so limited in areas! I've been using it for a few years, for all the reasons you like Walmart+ : free delivery, usually same day, and a decent choice of groceries. I'll have to take a peek to see whether Walmart+ is worth getting also -- which it would be if there was even more choice of groceries.
twentyfive
2 years ago
If you’re using any of these delivery services for produce or meat, reconsider, they don’t pick as well as they’d have you believe, they’re good for groceries and staples, but I prefer to pick my own meats and greens.
georgmicrodong
2 years ago
Yeah, we don't have Amazon Fresh here in Louisville, either. We do have a Whole Foods. My majority purchase there these days is the deli meat. It's more expensive than other places, but it actually tastes like food, and not loaded down with salt.
Subraman
2 years ago
25: I generally agree, but not totally. It is definitely always preferable to pick my own meat and produce. But from experience, things like lettuce, blueberries, chopmeat, chicken breast, carrots, etc... Amazon fresh has been just fine, not sure I could have done any better. I don't let them pick my steak, and there are some weird things that Amazon Fresh fucks up on, e.g., bananas, and potatoes, that I don't order from them.
twentyfive
2 years ago
@subraman
That's generally been my experience, of course some of the order pickers are more capable than others, but overall I like my own expertise and as Rick said earlier in this thread, his milk was closer to the use by date than he would have liked, it wouldn't surprise me if they push certain items just because they want to push them out quicker, and with Amazon (Whole Foods), they have tabulators on the pickers so they might be making their picks based on their performance reviews.
rickdugan
2 years ago
My goal each week is to only have to go out shopping once. My weekday daytime hours are just way too precious to me. I make sure to stock up on the dairy, meats and produce during that trip and I also do a big Walmart delivery order.

Then during the week I'm just filling in health and beauty, dry food goods, pet stuff, cleaners, school supplies, etc., etc. I try to get it all on the weekends, but with a household full of young females and pets, we're always running out of something that we didn't think about on the weekend. This is really when Walmart + is a life saver for me.

It helps that I cook and prep my ass off on the weekends. This way I don't have to worry about a fresh food stop during the week. Right now I've got pulled pork (slow cooked for 14 hours in seasoned chicken broth and then mixed up with BBQ sauce) and oven baked mac n cheese in the fridge ready to reheat, a couple of different meats safely marinating in the fridge that will last for 2-3 days for quick grill meals midweek and my homemade red sauce with Italian sausages in the drop freezer for later in the week. Bada bing.
Icee Loco (asshole)
2 years ago
I prefer going to the store every other day or so and just get what I need for that day or two. That way I get what I'm in the mood for and with minimal waste. I use instacart for large orders and things like water soap etc.
rickmacrodong
2 years ago
Rick incredible post and description. Are you doing a mostly all meat/carnivore/keto diet these days
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