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I tried Google Shopping Express (a similar idea) for a while and found that what really matters is how delivery works. I'm typically at work all day and I (like

by evmar 13y ago

I tried Google Shopping Express (a similar idea) for a while and found that what really matters is how delivery works. I'm typically at work all day and I (like most San Franciscans?) don't have a doorman to receive deliveries. These Amazon pages don't say much, but they show pictures of delivery trucks in front of Victorians like mine and a grocery bag on a welcome mat. If they left a bag full of food in my entryway like that it'd probably last 20 minutes before being stolen.

williamcotton 13y ago
I've got a storage space with Extra Space Storage and if you leave a key with them they'll put your deliveries in your locker for you. It is really convenient! I've got just a small 5x5 room that costs me like $90/month... Along with deliveries I keep my winter gear, backpacking gear, and all sorts of other stuff that I don't really need sitting around me house. Disclaimer: I don't work for these guys, have any investments, or anything to gain, I just like the service.
- evmar 13y ago
  That's an interesting solution. It seems to me if you have to go to a storage space to pick up you groceries you could just as well go to a grocery store to pick up your groceries, couldn't you?
  - mcpherrinm 13y ago
    At least half the convenience of Instacart for me is ordering my groceries from a computer: It allows me to plan meals, look up recipes, and check nutritional information. And using search is easier than wandering around a grocery store.
mcpherrinm 13y ago
You have the option of "Attended Delivery" with Fresh, where they make sure to hand it over to you, or doorstep, where they leave it outside. In my current neighbourhood (South Bay) I have no trouble with unattended delivery and prefer not worrying about being home in time for my Google Shopping Express deliveries, but it would be totally different living in San Francisco.
- evmar 13y ago
  Thanks! That makes sense. I didn't see this in their docs, ut your comment inspired me to look harder. It seems their "learn more" link doesn't say much, but if you pick "Help" from the footer it has a more detailed FAQ that says what your comment does.
r00fus 13y ago
I assume you don't have some side yard that the delivery man can locate the goods out of sight? I have had groceries stolen from my front porch before (usually that never happens), but never if I take the time to instruct the delivery person to leave it in the side yard (front part is closed but not locked). If you still feel the need to keep it locked, perhaps a simple (i.e., 4 digit) combo lock?
aryastark 13y ago
I don't like unattended or scheduled delivery. This is what Vons does, in LA. However, we also have Yummy.com which provides delivery instantly. I've bought from them a few times, and they show up literally faster than a pizza does. We're talking 20-30 mins, in LA traffic. I don't even know how they do it. I can barely get my car out of the garage and to the market in that amount of time, let alone going up and down each aisle and going through checkout. It's impressive service. I would do it all the time if the prices were lower and selection was better.
dylandrop 13y ago
I agree. Also, what about perishables? You can't have those sitting around all day so you'd still need to go to the grocery store for that
saosebastiao 13y ago
This is the main reason I roll my eyes whenever people say self-driving cars are the future of product delivery. After hundreds of years of history in mass delivery systems, we still haven't figured out how to interact with customers at a human level...no way in hell a robot is going to be better at it any time soon.
- rogerbinns 13y ago
  Think harder! The vehicle only has to arrive when you are actually there to pick up whatever it has. Robot drivers don't get tired, need bathroom breaks or get impatient. You can share your location if on your way home so it can meet you exactly as you arrive. The vehicle can then have lockboxes. You enter a code and it opens up letting you access your stuff. (Or you use your phone or whatever.)
  - rthomas6 13y ago
    How could that compete with a UPS driver that drops the boxes off and goes to the next place? People don't all arrive home at different times, so a vehicle cannot choose to show up at any place at any time. While the vehicle is waiting for someone else to arrive, they could have already delivered to many more places. Even without paying a driver and a larger number of vehicles, the efficiency of delivery seems lower and the cost higher.
    - rogerbinns 13y ago
      A UPS driver is time constrained hence a vehicle sized because of their costs and routing to make best use of their time. Neither constraint exists for driverless vehicles. I suspect the solutions that do get deployed will be something like a larger vehicle in the delivery area acting as a distribution point, and smaller ones making the deliveries from there.
  - saosebastiao 13y ago
    Ahh but now you violate the cost assumptions of sequntially optimized delivery routes, exploding your fuel costs...a phenomenally bad idea. Tell me, are your delivery vehicles 10x more fuel efficient than a UPS van? Because that is the minimum range of efficiency that you'll have to acheive to make your plan viable, let alone cost effective. I'm not exaggerating either... you just added an entirely new dimension (delivery windows) to an already NP-hard Traveling Salesman problem. I wouldn't be surprised to hit a 100x increase in fuel costs for a pure scheduled delivery.

by evmar 13y ago

williamcotton 13y ago

I've got a storage space with Extra Space Storage and if you leave a key with them they'll put your deliveries in your locker for you. It is really convenient! I've got just a small 5x5 room that costs me like $90/month... Along with deliveries I keep my winter gear, backpacking gear, and all sorts of other stuff that I don't really need sitting around me house. Disclaimer: I don't work for these guys, have any investments, or anything to gain, I just like the service.

evmar 13y ago
That's an interesting solution. It seems to me if you have to go to a storage space to pick up you groceries you could just as well go to a grocery store to pick up your groceries, couldn't you?
- mcpherrinm 13y ago
  At least half the convenience of Instacart for me is ordering my groceries from a computer: It allows me to plan meals, look up recipes, and check nutritional information. And using search is easier than wandering around a grocery store.

mcpherrinm 13y ago

You have the option of "Attended Delivery" with Fresh, where they make sure to hand it over to you, or doorstep, where they leave it outside. In my current neighbourhood (South Bay) I have no trouble with unattended delivery and prefer not worrying about being home in time for my Google Shopping Express deliveries, but it would be totally different living in San Francisco.

evmar 13y ago
Thanks! That makes sense. I didn't see this in their docs, ut your comment inspired me to look harder. It seems their "learn more" link doesn't say much, but if you pick "Help" from the footer it has a more detailed FAQ that says what your comment does.

r00fus 13y ago

I assume you don't have some side yard that the delivery man can locate the goods out of sight? I have had groceries stolen from my front porch before (usually that never happens), but never if I take the time to instruct the delivery person to leave it in the side yard (front part is closed but not locked). If you still feel the need to keep it locked, perhaps a simple (i.e., 4 digit) combo lock?

aryastark 13y ago

I don't like unattended or scheduled delivery. This is what Vons does, in LA. However, we also have Yummy.com which provides delivery instantly. I've bought from them a few times, and they show up literally faster than a pizza does. We're talking 20-30 mins, in LA traffic. I don't even know how they do it. I can barely get my car out of the garage and to the market in that amount of time, let alone going up and down each aisle and going through checkout. It's impressive service. I would do it all the time if the prices were lower and selection was better.

dylandrop 13y ago

I agree. Also, what about perishables? You can't have those sitting around all day so you'd still need to go to the grocery store for that

saosebastiao 13y ago

This is the main reason I roll my eyes whenever people say self-driving cars are the future of product delivery. After hundreds of years of history in mass delivery systems, we still haven't figured out how to interact with customers at a human level...no way in hell a robot is going to be better at it any time soon.

rogerbinns 13y ago
Think harder! The vehicle only has to arrive when you are actually there to pick up whatever it has. Robot drivers don't get tired, need bathroom breaks or get impatient. You can share your location if on your way home so it can meet you exactly as you arrive. The vehicle can then have lockboxes. You enter a code and it opens up letting you access your stuff. (Or you use your phone or whatever.)
- rthomas6 13y ago
  How could that compete with a UPS driver that drops the boxes off and goes to the next place? People don't all arrive home at different times, so a vehicle cannot choose to show up at any place at any time. While the vehicle is waiting for someone else to arrive, they could have already delivered to many more places. Even without paying a driver and a larger number of vehicles, the efficiency of delivery seems lower and the cost higher.
  - rogerbinns 13y ago
    A UPS driver is time constrained hence a vehicle sized because of their costs and routing to make best use of their time. Neither constraint exists for driverless vehicles. I suspect the solutions that do get deployed will be something like a larger vehicle in the delivery area acting as a distribution point, and smaller ones making the deliveries from there.
- saosebastiao 13y ago
  Ahh but now you violate the cost assumptions of sequntially optimized delivery routes, exploding your fuel costs...a phenomenally bad idea. Tell me, are your delivery vehicles 10x more fuel efficient than a UPS van? Because that is the minimum range of efficiency that you'll have to acheive to make your plan viable, let alone cost effective. I'm not exaggerating either... you just added an entirely new dimension (delivery windows) to an already NP-hard Traveling Salesman problem. I wouldn't be surprised to hit a 100x increase in fuel costs for a pure scheduled delivery.