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Stuart G

(38,328 posts)
Thu Feb 27, 2020, 11:58 AM Feb 2020

Up to 91% Expensive,How Delivery Aps Eat Up Your Budget, New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/technology/personaltech/ubereats-doordash-postmates-grubhub-review.html

After a long day, you have probably done some back-of-the-napkin math and decided there was no point in going out for dinner when you could get food brought to your door for the same cost, plus a tip. So you fired up a delivery app.

Too bad the numbers aren’t that simple.

When you order through a delivery app, you pay multiple parties, including the driver and the companies that offer the apps, like Uber Eats and Postmates. In some cases, you pay the restaurants extra fees as well.

The markups can be downright egregious. Take Panda Express, the fast-food chain. If you ordered a $39 Family Feast value meal using Uber Eats, your tab would be 49 percent higher than if you bought the same meal at the restaurant.

You would have to really love Panda Express to pay this kind of premium — and that doesn’t even include a tip.

The extra fees creep into your bill for various reasons. Some restaurants hike the prices of food ordered for delivery. And most of the popular apps charge a delivery fee and cram tax and extra service costs into a single line on the bill, making it difficult to notice the inflated costs.

I tested the four biggest competitors.

I focused my tests on DoorDash, Postmates, Grubhub and Uber Eats, the four largest delivery apps in the United States. To compare them, I used all four apps to make identical orders — such as the same kind of pizza — from four restaurants.
......YES,.. if you hit the link, you will see entire article....Please read the last 2 paragraphs in entire article to avoid these costs....you need to scroll down to bottom......
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Up to 91% Expensive,How Delivery Aps Eat Up Your Budget, New York Times: (Original Post) Stuart G Feb 2020 OP
Yikes!! Alliepoo Feb 2020 #1
Of course it costs more $$ to pay someone to deliver a meal to your home MichMan Feb 2020 #2
I am far too cheap to pay someone to deliver an already cooked meal to me. PoindexterOglethorpe Feb 2020 #3
Me too. BigmanPigman Feb 2020 #8
Kick dalton99a Feb 2020 #4
Uber Uber Alles lagomorph777 Feb 2020 #6
I've never been even slightly tempted to use any of these. Not even pizza. eppur_se_muova Feb 2020 #5
Not to mention all of the plastic containers that many can no longer recycle... Chakaconcarne Feb 2020 #7
I use delivery occasionally, I know it is expensive. MicaelS Feb 2020 #9
Since you don't have a car, using delivery makes sense for you. PoindexterOglethorpe Feb 2020 #10

Alliepoo

(2,185 posts)
1. Yikes!!
Thu Feb 27, 2020, 12:30 PM
Feb 2020

Had the Door Dash app on my phone because I used it one time to order some food for the grands at my daughters house. Haven’t used it since then and deleted it from my phone!! Had no idee the mark ups and add on fees were that steep!!!

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,684 posts)
3. I am far too cheap to pay someone to deliver an already cooked meal to me.
Thu Feb 27, 2020, 01:06 PM
Feb 2020

I'll pick it up myself, thank you very much.

And this is even though my son earned a living delivering pizza for a decade.

BigmanPigman

(51,368 posts)
8. Me too.
Thu Feb 27, 2020, 04:46 PM
Feb 2020

I would get indigestion as I sat there eating something that was way overpriced, wasn't worth it and I could have easily done myself a lot cheaper. Just the thought of it would make the food less tasty.

dalton99a

(80,907 posts)
4. Kick
Thu Feb 27, 2020, 02:01 PM
Feb 2020






After you rack up the exorbitant costs of delivery, going to a restaurant to eat or grab takeout probably feels like a bargain.

Here’s another idea: Consider cooking your own meal. You may need to plan a little to buy some groceries ahead of time, but there are many simple weekday meals you can prepare in a fairly short time. My favorite go-to is fresh chicken with a side of vegetables, roasted in my toaster oven. No tips or markups required.

eppur_se_muova

(36,222 posts)
5. I've never been even slightly tempted to use any of these. Not even pizza.
Thu Feb 27, 2020, 03:10 PM
Feb 2020

Of course, I used to live across the street from one of the very first Pizza Outlets. If I was walking home near closing time I'd ask what order someone had forgotten to pick up, usually got it for $1 or free.

Chakaconcarne

(2,367 posts)
7. Not to mention all of the plastic containers that many can no longer recycle...
Thu Feb 27, 2020, 04:30 PM
Feb 2020

I no longer use these services for that reason alone.

MicaelS

(8,747 posts)
9. I use delivery occasionally, I know it is expensive.
Fri Feb 28, 2020, 08:38 AM
Feb 2020

But, I do not have a car. I use the bus, and being in deep south Ft Worth, it only runs once an hour in each direction.

So, it's $2.50 for a reduced fare daily bus pass. Then it takes 20-30 minutes to get to a restaurant. Eat, and wait for the next bus going the other direction. Elapsed time, up to 2 hours.

Needless to say, I have altered my eating habits since I move here. I now buy much more groceries, and eat at home. I only go out to eat once a week.

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