Why You Should Be Wary Of Costco's Same-Day Delivery, According To Shoppers

When it comes to grocery shopping, same-day delivery is truly a life-saver sometimes. Not only does it simplify the shopping process, but it saves you time as well. And it happens to be the perfect way to forgo that upcoming Costco trip you've been dreading. Powered by Instacart, Costco's same-day delivery is a perk that's only offered to people with a Costco membership. Along with making your Costco shopping trip better, it gives you the opportunity to peruse Costco's impressive inventory, access exclusive online deals, and have your groceries delivered in about two hours. And depending on where you live, you can even order Kirkland's most popular liquors. Sounds promising, right? However, this perk comes with a major caveat that shoppers aren't aware of until they use it a few times. 

Shoppers have noticed that they are being charged for items they never requested or aren't receiving all the items they asked for. And to make it worse, these charges can only be viewed on the order confirmation on Costco's website. A few customers noted in a recent Reddit post that these charges aren't accurately shown on emailed receipts. This weird collection of charges has led some customers to believe that Instacart shoppers are purchasing personal items for themselves within an order. In fact, Costco members think shoppers are purposely picking low-priced items and adding them to higher-priced bills, so consumers don't notice the additional charges. However, former and current Instacart employees revealed it is common for people's orders to get mixed up since they're responsible for fulfilling multiple orders at once. However, this isn't the only thing you'll come across while using this service.

If you've never used Instacart before, you may not know this paid subscription service is notorious for charging consumers additional fees for things like delivery. Luckily, same-delivery is free for Costco members as long as their order exceeds $35. However, you should expect to pay more for those groceries. The prices are significantly higher than the low prices you're accustomed to at Costco because the company has to compensate Instacart for its services. This means you won't save money at Costco through same-day delivery.

Costco does, in fact, vocalize this in its terms and conditions and on its customer service page. However, most people don't fully read the terms and conditions. And that's totally okay. But, within these terms, Costco shares that customers should expect to be charged a few dollars more than the original total. This is why you usually see a price that doesn't perfectly match up with your receipt. This is done to account for the possibility of replacement items, additional products, or weight adjustments that could potentially increase your original total.

In fact, Costco goes into even more detail about the inaccurate pricing shoppers have noticed. The company knows you may occasionally experience some mishaps like omissions, typographical errors, and inaccuracies that relate to product availability and description, pricing, and promotional offers. So, they make sure to emphasize that Instacart reserves the right to make changes, correct errors, update information, or refuse and cancel orders. This means if you experience any issues while using same-day delivery you should directly reach out to Instacart. This is the company that can tell you if a charge is correct or not.