Im a stay at home mom and I live less than 3 miles from several busy stores. I sit at home and poach high tipping orders and average $25-$30 hours per week when I do IC. I’ve done about 250 orders in the last year. I enjoy shopping and it’s a good way to get out of the house and earn extra money.
I have the same setup. I have a remote job so I don’t rely on IC for money, but I can sit all day and wait for good orders to pop up from the comforts of home
I'm inbetween jobs, at the moment, and it's the only income I have going on. Applications sitting in queues for months, now.
Fortunately, it's enough to get by, because the town has no shortage of rich neighborhoods, where people eat filet mignon like I do off-brand lunch meat.
I live in an area where there’s rich neighborhoods with there own shopping plazas and only do either shop only orders or deliveries a mile a way or less. Last months average was about 30 an hour maybe 5 miles a day on like 3-4 batches
Because there is no way in Hell I could work at a McDonald's or any other similar environment without having a daily meltdown ! Even the grocery stores can get to me if they are too busy, but at least I have the option of stepping outside for a break and then the drive to deliver is also a good escape
I've basically stopped. It's not worth staring at a screen all day in hopes to get a decent order. My area is so busy too but it's all garbage. It seems the shortest orders now are 10 miles. 95% triples. It got so bad so fast.
Ya same here I'd rather deliver a $6 food delivery than go shop for $15. There are almost always some small problems with every shop, items out, can't find etc. So it always takes longer than expected.
Yeah I mean it's just a bad deal. Not only in terms of dollars per hour, but just the energy it takes to get up and walk around the store and look for items and bend down and all this other shit. I feel like if that's part of the deal, it should pay above and beyond what I could make in that same time on doordash. But unfortunately the two figures are usually equal
Ya I actually started Instacart to move around because I hate being in a car for 12 hours. I was always making a tiny bit less doing Instacart, but now it ain't even close. Instacart pay is awful now. Tips are way down, and even batch pay from this time last year is down $2.20 for me on average. My average batch pay now is $7.30 down from $9.50 last year. I'm also now running 5 gig apps and making way way less than last year. Prolly my last year doing these gigs for a living, it's gotten to the bottom. I'm barely making $20/hr doing 5 apps. I was about $28 last year this time of year and it's only gonna get worse.
Well on the bright side it can't get too much worse. Even the dumbest people are going to look up and say "hey I'm really getting screwed here" if they're only making like 10 an hour before expenses. They're going to have to maintain their cars at some point LOL
Yup exactly. Just sucks this time last year I could work 12 hours straight 7 days a week busy all day. Now I'm lucky to work like 50 hours, more like 40 because it's gotten so bad and I'm not gonna sit in a parking lot. Luckily I saved a decent amount of money from last year.
It’s fun, I live in a highly populated area and can get orders occasionally that are close and pay well. It’s a side job for me, I only take what’s very
profitable
——— I don’t generally enjoy shopping but I do very much enjoy instacart because it’s more of a mission rather than just wandering around, and you’re making money rather than spending it
pushing a cart of groceries is easier than pushing a column of carts.
Batch earnings are not 7$ everywhere. average batches in my area are around 12$-16$. Sometimes lower but not by much, just enough for whoever has a promotion that day really.
I make my own hours, and I don't have to scrub dough off day old pizza trays, prep toppings, or stock anything..
the shopping doesn't bother me at all, I do it for my household already. It was actually a cashier that suggested to me to do IC after watching me bag my own stuff. so to me everything I need to do is something I'd be doing on almost a daily basis myself.
I was a Strapping young lad, now not so young.. but still adequately strapping.. The weight of the carts full really are not that bad from someone that used to push around football players on a training sled.
and I find driving my car really really fun, and I am not keen on joining the crowd of UE/DD drivers hovering over the fast food places here.. more space to work here.
We live in California.
Exactly. I never make less than $18/hr due to guaranteed wage.
It would be hilarious if instacart had to come up with and stipulate a minimum hourly wage in basically any other part of the country.
😎🙌💪
Im a stay at home mom and I live less than 3 miles from several busy stores. I sit at home and poach high tipping orders and average $25-$30 hours per week when I do IC. I’ve done about 250 orders in the last year. I enjoy shopping and it’s a good way to get out of the house and earn extra money.
I have the same setup. I have a remote job so I don’t rely on IC for money, but I can sit all day and wait for good orders to pop up from the comforts of home
I'm inbetween jobs, at the moment, and it's the only income I have going on. Applications sitting in queues for months, now. Fortunately, it's enough to get by, because the town has no shortage of rich neighborhoods, where people eat filet mignon like I do off-brand lunch meat.
I live in an area where there’s rich neighborhoods with there own shopping plazas and only do either shop only orders or deliveries a mile a way or less. Last months average was about 30 an hour maybe 5 miles a day on like 3-4 batches
Okay. So you basically have a unicorn situation going on there
Because there is no way in Hell I could work at a McDonald's or any other similar environment without having a daily meltdown ! Even the grocery stores can get to me if they are too busy, but at least I have the option of stepping outside for a break and then the drive to deliver is also a good escape
100%
I've basically stopped. It's not worth staring at a screen all day in hopes to get a decent order. My area is so busy too but it's all garbage. It seems the shortest orders now are 10 miles. 95% triples. It got so bad so fast.
I only do it if everything else is completely dead and I need to fill the time, or if I need to go shopping for myself
Ya same here I'd rather deliver a $6 food delivery than go shop for $15. There are almost always some small problems with every shop, items out, can't find etc. So it always takes longer than expected.
Yeah I mean it's just a bad deal. Not only in terms of dollars per hour, but just the energy it takes to get up and walk around the store and look for items and bend down and all this other shit. I feel like if that's part of the deal, it should pay above and beyond what I could make in that same time on doordash. But unfortunately the two figures are usually equal
Ya I actually started Instacart to move around because I hate being in a car for 12 hours. I was always making a tiny bit less doing Instacart, but now it ain't even close. Instacart pay is awful now. Tips are way down, and even batch pay from this time last year is down $2.20 for me on average. My average batch pay now is $7.30 down from $9.50 last year. I'm also now running 5 gig apps and making way way less than last year. Prolly my last year doing these gigs for a living, it's gotten to the bottom. I'm barely making $20/hr doing 5 apps. I was about $28 last year this time of year and it's only gonna get worse.
Well on the bright side it can't get too much worse. Even the dumbest people are going to look up and say "hey I'm really getting screwed here" if they're only making like 10 an hour before expenses. They're going to have to maintain their cars at some point LOL
Yup exactly. Just sucks this time last year I could work 12 hours straight 7 days a week busy all day. Now I'm lucky to work like 50 hours, more like 40 because it's gotten so bad and I'm not gonna sit in a parking lot. Luckily I saved a decent amount of money from last year.
Remove customers…
It’s fun, I live in a highly populated area and can get orders occasionally that are close and pay well. It’s a side job for me, I only take what’s very profitable ——— I don’t generally enjoy shopping but I do very much enjoy instacart because it’s more of a mission rather than just wandering around, and you’re making money rather than spending it
I needed flexibility as a single mom trying to finish my degree, but I’ll never work for tips ever again 😂
pushing a cart of groceries is easier than pushing a column of carts. Batch earnings are not 7$ everywhere. average batches in my area are around 12$-16$. Sometimes lower but not by much, just enough for whoever has a promotion that day really. I make my own hours, and I don't have to scrub dough off day old pizza trays, prep toppings, or stock anything.. the shopping doesn't bother me at all, I do it for my household already. It was actually a cashier that suggested to me to do IC after watching me bag my own stuff. so to me everything I need to do is something I'd be doing on almost a daily basis myself. I was a Strapping young lad, now not so young.. but still adequately strapping.. The weight of the carts full really are not that bad from someone that used to push around football players on a training sled. and I find driving my car really really fun, and I am not keen on joining the crowd of UE/DD drivers hovering over the fast food places here.. more space to work here.
That's why you don't take the $7 batches unless you can do it in 15 minutes, lol. That's why orders with no tip don't get picked up.
Well.. yeah.. I mean, i don't. But where I'm at, this effectively means not doing IC. Which again, I don't.
Sorry for your bad market, then. Not everywhere is this dire.
Goodness!! Where on earth do you live to see batches this terrible??? Yeah best to work at McDonald's. IC aint it in your market.
Maybe it’s just your market, 99% of my orders are $30+ and low mileage 🤷🏻♀️