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Blue Apron seems to inspire surprisingly passionate discussions here. Detractors tend to be very negative and even a bit hostile, and I suspect that maybe puts

by nilkn 9y ago

Blue Apron seems to inspire surprisingly passionate discussions here. Detractors tend to be very negative and even a bit hostile, and I suspect that maybe puts fans of the service on the defensive or makes them feel like they have to praise it more than it really deserves. So far this thread is very civil though. I've tried it and enjoyed it. I found it to be a high-quality service. Negative points were (1) trash; (2) I didn't like most of the vegetarian meals, and I'm trending towards a more vegetarian diet; (3) I prefer to cook simple meals at home that generate leftovers (so that I don't have to cook every night), but BA meals tend to be complex, messy to prepare, and do not create any leftovers. These three points were easily sufficient to stop me from using it long-term. (1) is a topic of a lot of argument. Some insist BA creates mass amounts of waste compared to normal grocery shopping. Others contend the difference is much smaller or even nonexistent when looking at "average" grocery shoppers. I'm in the middle. I think the waste is exaggerated, but still greater than what the average shopper would produce.

sokoloff 9y ago
We used it for about 6 months (or maybe a little more) a few years ago. I got it for my wife who enjoys cooking and enjoyed the "semi-forced" variety. Several of the meals (or close variants) are now in our regular rotation at home. I'd say we were glad on balance that we tried it. Cons: Incredibly expensive for what you get. (Obviously; they're paying a large amount for shipping and a large amount for marketing.) Ingredients were generally acceptable quality, the chicken was quite good but the beef was pretty uniformly terrible. (I often thought back to Rodney Dangerfield's quote in Caddyshack: "this steak still has marks from where the jockey was hitting it!") After a few months, the variety/novelty factor wears off and then it just becomes an incredibly expensive way to get a small amount of groceries delivered. I don't want to seem like I'm grinding an axe, but it also annoyed me greatly that there's no web UX accessible way to cancel your account online. (You have to call and talk to a human.) Solution: google for the hidden cancellation page or just remember every few weeks to google "blue apron" or "plated" and click on a paid ad to bring you to the site and cancel the deliveries for the next six weeks. :) That makes their churn numbers look lower, but their SEM expenses higher...
- freehunter 9y ago
  Weird, I canceled Blue Apron twice from their website. Maybe they removed that because it was too easy to cancel.
Y7ZCQtNo39 9y ago
Regarding point (3). I don't want to pay double (for double portions) just to have leftovers. I was doing the 3x dishes (2 portions per dish) for $60. However, if you double the cost to $120 -- it makes way more sense to go the grocery store since prices drop with increased quantity. Their pricing model is messed up. If you want double portions for all three meals, it shouldn't cost twice as much -- it should be, like, 30% more of something comparable to grocery store pricing.

by nilkn 9y ago

sokoloff 9y ago

We used it for about 6 months (or maybe a little more) a few years ago. I got it for my wife who enjoys cooking and enjoyed the "semi-forced" variety. Several of the meals (or close variants) are now in our regular rotation at home. I'd say we were glad on balance that we tried it. Cons: Incredibly expensive for what you get. (Obviously; they're paying a large amount for shipping and a large amount for marketing.) Ingredients were generally acceptable quality, the chicken was quite good but the beef was pretty uniformly terrible. (I often thought back to Rodney Dangerfield's quote in Caddyshack: "this steak still has marks from where the jockey was hitting it!") After a few months, the variety/novelty factor wears off and then it just becomes an incredibly expensive way to get a small amount of groceries delivered. I don't want to seem like I'm grinding an axe, but it also annoyed me greatly that there's no web UX accessible way to cancel your account online. (You have to call and talk to a human.) Solution: google for the hidden cancellation page or just remember every few weeks to google "blue apron" or "plated" and click on a paid ad to bring you to the site and cancel the deliveries for the next six weeks. :) That makes their churn numbers look lower, but their SEM expenses higher...

freehunter 9y ago
Weird, I canceled Blue Apron twice from their website. Maybe they removed that because it was too easy to cancel.

Y7ZCQtNo39 9y ago

Regarding point (3). I don't want to pay double (for double portions) just to have leftovers. I was doing the 3x dishes (2 portions per dish) for $60. However, if you double the cost to $120 -- it makes way more sense to go the grocery store since prices drop with increased quantity. Their pricing model is messed up. If you want double portions for all three meals, it shouldn't cost twice as much -- it should be, like, 30% more of something comparable to grocery store pricing.