Costco is one retail store that offers discounted rates for its members. They also partner with Instacart, which helps bring goods to their customers’ doorsteps.
However, with the help of Instacart, you don’t have to be a member of Costco to get those discounted rates.
Follow me as I explain in detail how you can benefit from this.
How does Costco Instacart work?
Instacart is a grocery delivery and pick-up platform headquartered in the United States. They have an online and mobile app service where users can make orders from different retailers and have Instacart shoppers do the shopping for them.
On the other hand, Costco is a multinational corporation that operates a membership only retail store. They have a philosophy of keeping costs down, and then passing their savings down to their members.
Basically, they sell products at discounted prices. However, to be a beneficiary, you must be a member, and that membership comes with membership fees.
Having explained what the two companies do above, it’s quite easy to understand how they both coexist. Costco is a participating retailer on the Instacart platform. They partner with each other to make shopping easier. Costco provides the goods, while Instacart helps bring these goods to your doorstep, or wherever you want them.
This means that you can order your favorite groceries from any Costco near you. Instacart comes in by having employees that will shop for you personally. Their delivery or pick-up option is available to you. You can go pick it up at a designated location, or you could just decide to have it brought to you.
Instacart offers contactless delivery, where the hopper can just leave the groceries at your doorstep without meeting you. You also have the ability to track your order. You know where your groceries are at every point on the way, even up to your doorstep.
From the Instacart website, below are the various fees for different services.
For delivery
- For same-day orders over $35, the fees begin at $3.99. There are varying fees for orders under $35, one-hour deliveries, and club store deliveries. However, if you sign up for Instacart Express, you get zero delivery fees on same-day orders of over $35.
- The cost of your service fee may be significantly influenced by your location and the items in your cart. Orders containing alcohol have a separate service fee.
- Tipping is encouraged. This way, you can show appreciation to the shoppers for amazing service. Also, all of your tips go to the shopper, or person that makes the delivery.
For pickup
- For non-Express members, there might be a pick-up fee. This pick-up fee is just like the delivery fee. It usually costs $1.99. However, signing up for the Instacart Express membership gives you a free pass. You don’t have to pay the pick-up fee for being an Express member.
- For pick-up orders, there are no service fees. This applies whether you are an Express member or not.
How do I get Costco orders on Instacart?
Getting orders from Costco via Instacart is quite a simple process. From the comfort of your smartphone, you can do all this and get your orders on time. Bear in mind, though, that if you want to have same-day deliveries, you must have a Costco membership. Otherwise, you might have to settle for delivery at a later date.
To place an order for Costco products, you just have to follow these steps.
- The first thing to do is to sign up for the Instacart app or website. If you are already a Costco member, you can simply link your loyalty card to your Instacart account. This will give you some benefits, like free deliveries and pickups.
- The following step is to choose the Costco store from which you want to place your order. This will most likely be the one that is closest to you.
- Go through the different categories and make a choice of the item that you want delivered to you. You can make use of the arrow bar to make this easier.
- Once you have found all that you wish to buy, click on the green check-out button. This will begin the checkout process.
- You will need to confirm the delivery time and also input your payment details. You will be asked to verify these details.
- You can go ahead and click on “order.”
- With regards to prescriptions, there are a different set of steps to follow. However, you can still get all your prescriptions delivered along with your other items.
- First, you must ensure that your prescriptions have been filled by the Costco pharmacy.
- Following this, you will begin receiving text alerts that let you know when your prescriptions are ready for pickup. These text alerts have links that can take you directly to the Costco site.
- On the Costco site, you can easily add these prescriptions to your cart and have them delivered alongside every other item. Once you have your prescriptions added to your cart, getting them delivered to you becomes a piece of cake.
How do I get a free Costco membership?
Everyone enjoys things for free. Costco is a retail store that offers its goods at very discounted rates. However, to be able to enjoy such discounts, it requires that you be a member. And this membership is something that you can’t get for free. Nevertheless, there are ways that you can hack around this and enjoy those discounts. I will list some.
- Get a Costco Shop Card: Only members can actually purchase a Costco shop card. So, to obtain it, you will need to grab a friend or family member who is already a Costco member and take them to a nearby Costco customer service where they can purchase the Costco shop card. These gift cards can be loaded from $25 up to $2,000.
- Placing an instacart order: Placing an instacart order is a way to get discounted goods without having a membership. However, you would have to pay the Instacart delivery and service fee.
- Tag along: Another way to get these discounted prices is by tagging along with a Costco member. Costco allows its members to carry along up to two non-members. However, only members can make purchases. So you can tag along with that friend or family member and enjoy these discounted rates.
Is Costco more expensive through Instacart?
Yes, it will be. This is because you have to pay for service and delivery fees. However, this is more for non-Costco members than people with an actual Costco membership. For Costco members, the service and delivery fees are already incorporated into the prices of the goods that they order. For non-members, they have to pay a $5.99 per-order delivery fee and a service fee of $5 per order in most places.
How much is an Instacart membership?
A subscription to Instacart+, or Instacart Express, as it is commonly called, costs $9.99 a month, or $99 if you choose a yearly plan. This plan ensures that you get free delivery on orders that are above $35.
How much do you save with a Costco membership on Instacart?
From the official website of Instacart, you can save 7% more if you have your Costco membership linked to your Instacart account.
Is it worth it to do Instacart?
Yes, it is. One thing that Instacart offers is home delivery and pickup. This can save you time if your schedule is very tight and you don’t have the opportunity to do your shopping by yourself. Instacart shoppers can help take away that burden.
Do Instacart shoppers have to wait in line at Costco?
No, they don’t. Because this is a partnership between the two companies, great preference is given to Instacart shoppers. They don’t even have to have a Costco membership to be able to shop.
Some Costco outlets give them their own designated checkout section; other times, they could just be given more preference to other shoppers. In some other Costco outlets, they could have their own dedicated staging area.
Is Costco cheaper than Walmart?
The answer to this question isn’t straight forward. What will greatly influence the answer is how much you shop. Costco requires that you pay a membership fee for discounted rates. This means that, on average, you will be getting things cheaper than Walmart.
However, the fee you paid, which ranges from $60 to $120 per year, has to be factored in. If the total price difference between Walmart and Costco doesn’t add up to $60 or $120, then shopping at Walmart will be cheaper. But on the other hand, if you are a regular shopper and the difference in cost far outweighs that $60 or $120, then Costco is a cheaper option for you.
Who is cheaper, Sam’s or Costco?
Sams is also a retail wholesale store just like Costco. They also offer membership benefits just like Costco. These benefits include discounted rates.
However, their membership fees are quite cheaper than those of Costco. Their membership fees are $45 and $100, respectively. packages, as opposed to the $60 and $120 from Costco. Overall, shopping at Sam’s will be cheaper.
Why are Costco items more expensive online?
The simple answer to this is because of the extra logistics involved in getting it down to you. You will have to pay extra for delivery and service. In addition, you might have to tip whoever delivers it to you.