Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

AmazonFresh Has Launched in Bay Area

blogs.sfweekly.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 72 posts

Re: AmazonFresh Has Launched in Bay Area

#21

Post by evmar »

williamcotton wrote: post #10
evmar wrote: post #8

I tried Google Shopping Express (a similar idea) for a while and found that what really matters is how delivery works. I'm typically at work all day and I (like most San Franciscans?) don't have a doorman to receive deliveries. These Amazon pages don't say much, but they show pictures of delivery trucks in front of Victorians like mine and a grocery bag on a welcome mat. If they left a bag full of food in my entryway…

I've got a storage space with Extra Space Storage and if you leave a key with them they'll put your deliveries in your locker for you. It is really convenient! I've got just a small 5x5 room that costs me like $90/month... Along with deliveries I keep my winter gear, backpacking gear, and all sorts of other stuff that I don't really need sitting around me house. Disclaimer: I don't work for these guys, have any inves…

That's an interesting solution. It seems to me if you have to go to a storage space to pick up you groceries you could just as well go to a grocery store to pick up your groceries, couldn't you?

Re: AmazonFresh Has Launched in Bay Area

#22

Post by aryastark »

evmar wrote: post #8

I tried Google Shopping Express (a similar idea) for a while and found that what really matters is how delivery works. I'm typically at work all day and I (like most San Franciscans?) don't have a doorman to receive deliveries. These Amazon pages don't say much, but they show pictures of delivery trucks in front of Victorians like mine and a grocery bag on a welcome mat. If they left a bag full of food in my entryway…

I don't like unattended or scheduled delivery. This is what Vons does, in LA. However, we also have Yummy.com which provides delivery instantly. I've bought from them a few times, and they show up literally faster than a pizza does. We're talking 20-30 mins, in LA traffic. I don't even know how they do it. I can barely get my car out of the garage and to the market in that amount of time, let alone going up and down each aisle and going through checkout.

It's impressive service. I would do it all the time if the prices were lower and selection was better.

Re: AmazonFresh Has Launched in Bay Area

#23

Post by r00fus »

Here in the south bay I don't have InstaCart, but my local Safeway does deliver.

The experience isn't the best (someone has to be there and sign) but a) I have a nanny and b) I don't pay $299 or 14% more for the items.. in fact, I would pay less as I don't carry a loyalty card, but deliveries give you the loyalty price (presumably, they collect the same kind of info anyway).

Re: AmazonFresh Has Launched in Bay Area

#24

Post by silencio »

magic5227 wrote: post #7

The annual price seems prohibitively expensive, especially compared to services like Instacart. They don't seem to be offering a very good argument for why the service is worth the cost IMO.

I could almost kind of justify it if the selection were better (especially since they also deliver from local businesses and offer Amazon.com items), but everything I tried to buy today was either completely unavailable (cat litter and chicken sausage), or only available next day (super fancy chicken sausage from some local meat market that I could just go and get myself today in 10 minutes), and I couldn't purchase an order under $35 even if I wanted to pay more on top of the still inflated prices. Amazon also offered up breastmilk storage bags when I tried searching for gallon milk. Iiiinnnnteresting.

I really wanted an alternative to Instacart and Google Shopping Express especially for the random Amazon items I'd want to throw in and a little more competition (really missing Trader Joes delivery), but I'm pretty disappointed so far. I was in Seattle this past weekend and I was super pumped to try it just to buy a water kettle for my hotel room and going all "I wish this were in SF!" but I can't actually find anything that I want to buy at home that would come faster/better than regular Prime shipping or competing services.

I ended up ordering from Instacart with almost everything I wanted instead because I was so frustrated (and I would walk to the local market but I'm sick). Easily would have been willing to migrate my grocery shopping to any service but they're all kind of shitty so :(

Re: AmazonFresh Has Launched in Bay Area

#26

Post by Aaronontheweb »

wehadfun wrote: post #25

What we need is another kind of mail box. A "AmazonBox", but takes deliveries from other companies as well. Big, refrigerated, with a public/private key.

Amazon does have Amazon Lockers - the 7/11 down the street from me has them.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=...

Re: AmazonFresh Has Launched in Bay Area

#28

Post by sanskritabelt »

bluedino wrote: post #4
pws5068 wrote: post #3

Interesting that they're opening with a different price model than Seattle's. $299/year and according to GeekWire their groceries are approximately 14% higher than in-store. http://www.geekwire.com/2013/jeff-bezos-amazon-fresh-closer-...

I would pay a 14% premium to not have to go to the grocery store after work.

I kind of like grocery shopping, especially if it's in a decent store that has enough registers open and where the vegetables aren't molding on the shelves and the cans aren't all dented.

Re: AmazonFresh Has Launched in Bay Area

#29

Post by octernion »

silencio wrote: post #24
magic5227 wrote: post #7

The annual price seems prohibitively expensive, especially compared to services like Instacart. They don't seem to be offering a very good argument for why the service is worth the cost IMO.

I could almost kind of justify it if the selection were better (especially since they also deliver from local businesses and offer Amazon.com items), but everything I tried to buy today was either completely unavailable (cat litter and chicken sausage), or only available next day (super fancy chicken sausage from some local meat market that I could just go and get myself today in 10 minutes), and I couldn't purchase…

Just out of curiousity, what are you looking for in a delivery service that Google Shopping Express/Instacart does not offer?
Post reply on HN