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Oh my, you're RIGHT! I've been doing it wrong all this time!

Excuse me while I print out this Gucci jacket. It'll be sure keep me warm this coming winter.

By the way, I've got cookies for everyone! Grocery Gateway decided to give me some free samples through my browser.

like This one?

One of the big outfits for online groceries in Canada is Grocery Gateway. At my last job I worked with them for a couple of weeks (mostly looking at some of their IT systems - they run a tight ship and have good IT people if that matters) and got a good understanding of their business from the inside.

Essentially, they started out as, and still are, a shipping company. They don't just ship groceries, but pretty much anything that you would normally think to pack into a truck and ferry off somewhere. They partnered up with some grocery supply companies and basically inserted themselves as a delivery company and website. They don't really charge much for delivery, but they don't have to to stay profitable. Bulk buy directly from the wholesalers and distributers, mark up items so they're competitive with the grocery stores and charge a nominal fee for delivery and bang, you've made money.

As for the quality of the foods, they partner up with Sobey's for much of it, and the produce is about the same quality as what you'd get off the shelf in a good Sobey's. (For non Canadians, or people who don't live near a Sobey's - Sobey's is a grocery store that can definitely boast well above average quality produce.) I'm not a shill for these guys, and I don't work with them any more, but I can say that the quality isn't bad at all.

One of the other things I've done is try out Green Earth Organics and Fresh Piks. (No link because their site is down. Fun fact: When it couldn't find the server, M$'s built in auto search suggested www.Fleshpics.com as an alternative. Not the best suggestion when looking for an organic fruit and veggie delivery company. Probably a fun site though.) Both provided better produce than anything I ever bought in a grocery store, it was delivered and since I didn't want to waste anything I ate more fruits and veggies, and cooked more than I ever did at any other point in my life. If I weren't living in Spain now (where restaurants prominently feature recognizable animal parts where they cut the meat from and many don't serve salads at all) I'd still be getting a weekly delivery from these guys.

Someone has to pick stuff out and ship it to the store, why the hell not have someone pick it out and ship it directly to me. They know that if they drop the ball on quality I'll take my business elsewhere so they do better than the grocery store does. Anyway... I think that this is something that was a long time coming...

handle things like buying groceries

Ahem. Grocery Gateway.

Grocery Gateway

They've been operating for more than two years. They have a minimum of $80 I believe and an $8 delivery charge. I've been using them since they started, works great.

Cutting edge?? Grocery Gateway has been doing this in Toronto for years now, and I'm sure similar services exist in other cities.

For the last two years I lived in Toronto and enjoyed grocery deliveries by Grocery Gateway. They serve the whole Greater Toronto Area, have a similar minimum order requirement (C$60), and charge a delivery fee of up to $8 depending when you schedule your delivery.

The selection was incredibly good, the food was always fresh, and I was quite pleased with their customer service.

It goes to show you that you can, indeed, be successful selling groceries online, if you play your cards right...

For the last two years I lived in Toronto and enjoyed grocery deliveries by Grocery Gateway. They serve the whole Greater Toronto Area, have a similar minimum order requirement (C$60), and charge a delivery fee of up to $8 depending when you schedule your delivery.

The selection was incredibly good, the food was always fresh, and I was quite pleased with their customer service.

It goes to show you that you can, indeed, be successful selling groceries online, if you play your cards right...

... Grocery Gateway has been around for a couple of years. I've had good luck with them though it is a bit pricey. Still, when the weather is bad I've found the service quite convenient.

Here in Toronto, we never had Webvan, but we've got a great copycat called Grocery Gateway. These guys are unreal - and let me tell you, it has *nothing* to do with delivering groceries.

For example, their delivery windows are only 1 hour wide - so no mint chocolate chip ice cream sitting on your porch. The drivers (what are they paying these guys!?) are customer service freaks - if they think they're going to be even 1 minute late, they call you and let you know. If you go nuts and tell them they suck (not that I ever did), they calmly ask you to please call the customer service number.

Then the real service shines. The customer service reps are the exact opposite of everything you've every experienced. They are nice, polite and best of all, they give you free groceries. In the case above, my whole order was free, because it arrived 2 minutes after the delivery window I selected.

It makes me wonder what the Webvan experience was like. Not enough repeat customers? What did they charge anyway?

Feed the beast.