An Instacart customer was displeased that her order of deli sandwiches—just over two pounds of food priced at about $16 by Costco—came to $54 purchased through the delivery service.
The video documenting the situation comes from Caroline Dettman (@carolineinthesuburbs_), put up on April 11 and getting more than 934,000 views in its lifespan so far on TikTok. She uses TikTok to chronicle, in her words, her “SAHM life with 3,” meaning that she’s a stay-at-home mom with three children.
In the video, she turns to the camera, holding the plastic clamshell container and zooming in on the price tag early into the 30-second clip. She starts, “Does this look like $54 worth of sandwiches to you? Because that’s how much Instacart charged me.”
She then narrates what’s on the sticker: “Even though it quite clearly says $16.15 the item weighs 2.31 pounds. You can see it right there. But my shopper said that it weighed seven pounds, which makes my $16 item $54.”
She then notes, “But my shopper said that it weighed seven pounds, which makes my $16 item $54.”
She concluded, “I don’t know if you’re keeping track at home, but this is my second major Instacart fail in two weeks. Are you guys trying to make me do my own grocery shopping? Because it’s working.”
How did this Instacart order get so expensive?
According to Instacart’s info about pricing on its site, “Retailers set the item prices on the Instacart marketplace. While many retailers offer everyday store prices on Instacart, some retailers may set prices on the Instacart platform that are different than in-store prices.”
While Caroline’s experience might inspire her to actually brave a Costco, some shoppers use Instacart to avoid Costco’s membership fees. A Daily Dot story published last month featured a shopper who declared a Costco membership to be “dumb and a waste of money.”
A CNET article exploring the hack a bit more says it works if you’re OK with the surcharge assessed vs. paying a membership fee and then actually setting off into the human jungle of a crowded Costco store. It warns, “Instacart does add a delivery fee for every same-day order, which starts at $4. All orders must be $10 or more and deliveries under $35 are charged more. Costco also charges for its same-day orders and has a strict $35 order minimum.”
Commenters had reactions ready to Dettman’s steep price tag for sandwiches.
“Well, your digital receipt should show how much it weighed, but you could’ve been scammed by the shopper buying more than one and keeping it,” one offered.
Another suggested, “You never pay sticker price for instacart!”
One presented the alternative of Costco’s same-day delivery service as a way to avoid Instacart fees, but as Dettman pointed out in response, “At least in my area, Costco same-day is done through Instacart! So less fees but same shoppers.”
@carolineinthesuburbs_ I’m getting tired of this, Grandpa. #instacartfails #instacart #groceries #costco #sahm #sahmlife #momtok #millennialmom #momof3 #momlife ♬ original sound – Caroline | SAHM Life with 3
Not everyone used the occasion to be helpful, though. A commenter took the opportunity to chide Dettman: “Are they trying to MAKE you do your own grocery shopping? God forbid you’re “forced” to do a normal task like go to the grocery store with your human legs and body.”
The Daily Dot has reached out Dettman via email and TikTok direct message and to Costco via its Google Form for media requests.
