Slashdot Mirror
Step 2, Groceries
prostoalex writes "Fortune magazine runs an article on New York - based FreshDirect, provider of high-quality groceries. Unlike Webvan, which failed with $1B of venture capital, FreshDirect seems to make pretty good money off online grocery sales - revenues of $225M are projected by 2004. The minimum order is set at $40, the company also charges $4 for delivery." If you want to check out their store, try zip code 10022.
and begs the question: How can I get my product/service/ideology advertised on Slashdot for free?
-dameron
Next thing you know we'll be able to order our dates online
All of a sudden they have tons of potential new customers in area code 10022.. At least thats what the web log says.. Hope they aren't filling warehouses based on that info, or they could suffer the webvan fate.
air and light and time and space
Many people don't own cars there, because of hard to find parking. And when you don't own a car, buying groceries in mass quantities is difficult, not to mention time consuming. Try doing YOUR grocery shopping without a car for the next month, let's see how you fare. Unless the store is literally within 4 blocks, you will find that carting 2 typical bags back to your house is a very time consuming chore. The fee this company charges is minor, especially in New York! I would kill for such a service here in Memphis. I currently am without a car. A backpack can only carry so many items. Like I say, try doing it without your car.
newsweek had a similar story in last week's issue about more traditional brick 'n mortar grocery stores going online
the thing with them, though, is that they already have a ton of locations and are in no rush to scale up their web orders: they already are in the black on the retail front and want to slowly and cautiously roll out the web strategy
they also have an edge over the online start-ups through name recognition: it's a lot easier getting somebody who already shops at your store to try something new, rather than risk it on some company they've never heard of.
i couldn't find the link at the Newsweek site, but the issue may still be on shelves at stores around the country until monday or tuesday
I lived in Sydney, Australia, a couple of years ago. I tried a service called 'ShopFast'. It was the first time i'd used such a service, the main reason i was giving it a try was because i was too lazy to go and get groceries myself.
After ordering and waiting a couple of days, It was delivered and what impressed me was that I could pay by EFTPOS by use of a mobile EFTPOS terminal.
It was cheap, fast and I didnt have to go outside. Perfect for the geek that I am.
Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
Actually it's pretty smart. If it was just a popup add or banner, we could block it with an entry in our hosts file.
Ad Placements^H^H^H^HStories are a little harder to block.
Other news sites do this already, you just likely don't notice it. CNN does it all the time. I know CTV Newsnet in Canada does it on the air more than once per day.
occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb
-Istealmymusic, Slashdot New Economy Analysist
"The lesson to be learned is not to take the comments on slashdot too literally." --Vinnie Falco, BearShare
Because I dont live in a HUGE city (NYC/LA), buying localized goods online is tough. I really wish that these kinds of companies would get more geographically diverse service, though I know its tough in such businesses.
:)
This especially rocks for 3 reasons:
1) Shopping cart I can actually view things -- never forget something. If I do? Append it to the order!
2) No more hunting for lost items -- Where Oh Where do they keep the spices? Just enter the spice name in search and click to add. I love this!
3) Quick -- It's hard to multitask in the grocery store, Its much easier to shop while programming or doing non-productive things (like reading slashdot).
Anyone who wouldent pay $4 for this is nuts, IMHO. All I can ask, is that one of these companies opens up a ROCHESTER NY branch
...both Safeway (might be IE-only) and Albertsons deliver groceries. Both charge a $9.95 delivery fee and deliver from local stores.
I must admit, though, that I'd rather see a startup company doing this than the already-established grocery stores. I was a happy Webvan customer, and I still think the model is quite viable. (Plus, I love the FreshDirect site design.) Here's hoping FreshDirect or a similar company takes a stab at this here in the Bay Area!
Simpli - Your source for San Jose dedicated servers and colocation!
Unfortunately for you, the AC is correct. To raise a question is to do exactly that. To beg a question is to commit a logical fallacy of circular reasoning, usually by assuming X, then reasoning your way towards proving X is true. However, the reasoning depends on X being true already, thus the fallacy.
Here's a good directory, as it were, of failures of logical thinking, and the names given to them: http://gncurtis.home.texas.net/index.html (uses frames). It points out the exact mistake you persist in defending.
I suspect you don't actually own a copy of the OED, because in my experience people who do are sticklers for correctness. I would sooner believe that the AC (modded down by a moron, more's the pity) owns a copy.
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
no. we're all fucked and doomed. You've described my life pretty well.
What does this have to do with the story, though? Except that now you'll have one less reason to leave the computer.
I suggest going cold turkey on the computer. Ask the wife to help you.
evanchik.net
Ok, so I'm just a "Brand Ambassador" but I have been around the office and such. Their $50 free food promotion really catches people off guard. We really are just giving you $50 to try us free with no delivery charges.
While there are brick and mortor grocery stores that delivery, I gotta say the food I've been picking up from the warehouse beats anything else. I guess there is some truth in the fact that what they get does cut out the middleman making things fresher. The pastries are great. MMMmmmmm pastries, especially the fruit tart.
Plus I like getting the already cooked meals by gourmet chefs at rather dirt cheap prices.
Anyway, just thought some would like to know how the food is coming from there.
Also we're rolling out very slowly, we're not trying to cover the entire city at once. This was Kosmo's mistake as well as Peapods. It looks like we'll be doing well in the future, just wish it was going to be publicly traded. Oh well, I'll settle for the food I've been getting.
-- taking over the world, we are.
I wonder if I can start up an escort service named FreshMeatDirect without being sued...
I live 1.3 miles from Kroger (closest grocery). There are no fruit stands, no butchers, or magical food genies on the "way back", as you so quaintly it. Everything must be bought at that location (as far as my living situation is). The high priced Circle K and Exxon on the route aren't an option, plus all they carry is the bare neccesities, at highway robbery prices. I don't buy just enough items for the meal, as you apparently do. Not only is that time consuming (that would take 45 minutes out of every day - 15 minutes each way, 15 minutes to buy - just for a meal), but fiscally wasteful. Items cost more when you buy them in the smallest portion. Maybe you're a rich guy, but most of us aren't. I eat everything I buy, rarely do I waste any food. Also, I like making my own food, and I like the savings that come from it. And taking the bus? That would involve me taking off from work to catch one of the 2 stops on the route that would make it feasible for me to use. Understand, not EVERYBODY has a neighborhood layout as convenient as yours.
Plus, on the way home from work for me involves crossing the street, it's not like I can just pick up stuff on the way.
Ok, I'm legally blind, so I will never be able to drive, ever and I hate hearing people whine about how life is impossible without a car. Ok now that that's out of the way, from the sounds of things all you've tried is nothin' and you're all out of ideas. Have you considered:
:-D
-A taxi cab?
-Calling your friend for help?
-Mass transit?
-A bicycle with a rear storage bin?
-Buying your groceries as you need them?
For me a trip to the grocery store is almost a daily occurrance. If I can't walk or bike to where I want to go I get a bus, or if I'm in real need a taxi. Of course this means you have to keep a running inventory of your groceries so you know what you need before it runs out.
My solution to this problem was to write a little app that allows me to record what I have and when it entered the system. From there I generate a report that I can print out for myself that includes information on useage frequency, average quantity purchased, average price, item importance and critical low stock notification. Yeah, I spend more time sorting my stuff when I get back from shopping, but I don't often run out of anything and the system was capable of supporting at least four people.
New features I might add are an internet-based interface and WAP device capabilities so If anyone else goes to the store I can get a new report on my phone or before I leave work thru the net! (Also, since I buy a lot of the same products over and over I could monkey around with a barcode reader maybe).
So to sum all this junk up:
Just because you don't have a car doesen't mean you aren't allowed to use your brain to solve a problem
crazy dynamite monkey
We've had online stores in the uk for about a year now, maybe 18months. Initially, I think Tesco started off with a home delivery service, and its still going strong.
Later, other large stores have joined in the fun, incluing Asda (recently bought by WalMart), Sainsburys, and others (that I can't think of right now).
So really, I don't see how this is news for everyone.
Dirk stood in the Stanley
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...
In the UK most of the major supermarkets have internet shopping. For 5 quid you get it delivered to your door in a refrigerated van.
Despite how cool this whole idea sounds, we still trudge down to the actual store, pick the stuff by hand and get a cab back (which costs about 4 quid).
Why ? Well we tried it several times from different supermarkets and each time something was wrong - things missing, food with a same-day sell-by date and the van turning up hours late...a right bugger if you were staying in to wait for it. The missing items were either just missing or marked "out of stock". We refuse to believe that the supermarket has run out of bread and bananas.
So we'd have to go to the shops anyway to pick up the missing stuff anyway.
Also, they will select replacement items if something is out of stock if you wish. However the selection is usually made by the store surrealist and not too helpful. Sorry, we're out of cheese, so we have selected some curry powder and a mop as a replacement.
The United States is _designed_ so you need a car to go shopping, which few exceptions (Manhattan being one of them). Where I have lived, I have always been able to get my groceries on foot, and we're not talking 7-11s here, we're talking real grocery stores.
I have not only done my shopping without a car for a full month, but for, say, ten years. Sure, it's a ten-minute walk to the store. So what? It takes me longer to get to and from the garage anyway.
The real killer is grocery stores in the subway stations, where you can pick your stuff up on your way from work without a minute of detour. I haven't used them, though, as I prefer to walk to a store, even if it's a mile or so away.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned tesco.com yet. It's the world's largest online grocery delivery service, with revenues of over $560m last year, and it's running an operating profit. They've just started expanding out of the UK and have launched in the US in a partnership with Safeway. The unique thing about them is that rather than have a huge distribution centre somewhere, they make use of their existing bricks and mortar infrastructure. When you place an order, it gets sent through to your nearest store where a member of staff goes and picks it off the shelf for you, and it's delivered the next day (within a 2 hour timeslot you request, too). I've been using them for a while now, and have few complaints (other than a few IE-isms on the web site).
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
Tesco UK have an ordering site optimised for PDAs and other small screen devices.
It's so easy to walk into the kitchen and see what I need, then order with an 802.11b enabled PDA.
Walmart is killing all the grocers. It is inevitable, that all but the specialized niche players will fall to the retailing king.
Walmart's super stores will put them all outta business, even the delivery guys because as soon as WMT enters that business (which they may be already doing in some markets --- anybody know?), it'll be another slaying with Walmart out as king.
Real men don't need signitures!!!
Oh my GOD! We have a huge influx of people in the 10022 zip code. We need to double our infractruscture there.
Six months later: You're fired! The sales never panned out.
Who says they got this ad for free?
Looks like even they are "Anonymous" like you
In the UK this has been happening for the best part of the last two years.
Unsurprisingly it is big stablished companies who have been providing this service. It took them a while to realize why this is good, but when they finally got around it they got it right.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
It's not funny anymore!!!!!!!!
$*@!!*!# slashdot lameness filter won't let me do that in all caps
Extreme rural Mexico. Grocery time involved a 30 mile car trip (2 legs, in an "l" shaped path) to the city. Walking (or horse riding) a direct route via rough country with no traveled paths(probably 13 miles) was not an option. The coyotes, scorpions and rattlesnakes kinda have a way of putting a crimp into that.
Is that not the case in the US? Don't the main supermarkets do this as standard?
Cheers,
Ian
All you have to do is judge the quality of the food you receive from the online place. If it sucks, don't buy there. For many, it's convenient. Several people I know use a similar service here and are very happy with it.
-Kevin
Troy
We, here in Istanbul/Turkey have an online grocery for 4 years!
Its Koc holdings "migros" grocery (joint venture with swiss migros) and works well, they even deliver stuff 2-3 hours later, WITHOUT any fee.
http://online.migros.com.tr/index_sanal.html (in turkish)
Also they use those cool GSM credit card machines so you don't have to give your CC over the net.
I don't understand the big deal. I mean, if it was a VRML or VR shop you bought stuff by actually walking around on browser (yes a UK company exist), it would be big news, but whats the deal with this one?
"Just in time" is ok for non essentials, but for necessities like food it is a tad more prudent to have more than a meal or two's worth on hand. Try having a few weeks minimum in case of an emergency or disaster, etc, along with some water. It might not have ever happened to you, not yet, but it's happened to unmpteen zillion people in the planet's history that unforseen things occur and you might not be able to "stop by" and grab that daily suply. At least have some basics that could last. This is sincere advice, it's my primary avocation, this subject. Survival/preparedness issues. It applies to poor and rich, nerds to luddites, it doesn't matter, never forget you are a carbon based life form with "needs" as opposed to "wants".
We have here short term fresh foods, medium term storage "normal" grocery foods, and very long term stored food, in addition to our vegetable garden. and I've always had that-more or less-since my late teens,including times of no vehicle and either walking or taking ten speed every where. It's doable. Modern delivery and being able to use the internet for food is a good thing, and you can get excellent quality food delivered to your door, from major urban to out in the boonies, anyplace a fedex or ups or a UPS person can make it.
The deal is you can do both, it doesn't have to be either/or. You can do daily light shopping for fresh, but for sure don't neglect basics and have at least some weeks or a months worth-a realistic month-on hand at all times.
And companies today that were around before the boom, and are still around today, have nightmares trying to get small reinvestments and loans cuz they're the dreaded "IT COMPANIES".
Way to go on making it work FreshDirect.
---
When I grow up, I want to be a kid again.
thousands of home-bound people starve to death as we slashdot the FreshDirect server into oblivion.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Here in Chitown, we are served by the magic of Peapod. Having groceries delivered directly to my apartment has literally changed my life in the city. Not having a car meant that I had to schlep my groceries by hand from the nearest store (about 3/4 mile--it's a lot when you've got arms full of bags) or use mass transit. It also meant that I could never buy more than about 5 days worth of food--simply because that's all I could carry.
To all the naysayers out there that say "Eh, you lazy fuck, I can't believe you have your groceries delivered" I have this to say: screw you. I cook almost every night and having to carry food by hand across the city or rely on a friend with a car is simply out of the question. A bi-monthly peapod delivery makes sure that I don't have to worry about running out of food.
Before I signed up, I held on to my receipts from the grocery stores around town to compare. The prices are no more expensive than any other store, and sometimes cheaper. As long as I order $100 or more, delivery is $5 (plus a tip to guy that hauls my food up 2 flights of stairs). All non-perishable goods are stored in their warehouses (which is how the keep overhead low, methinks) but all fresh foods are picked up from local markets and suppliers to area restaurants.
Peapod rocks. Having your groceries delivered to your house/apartment ROCKS. Shopping for groceries in my PJ's from my home ROCKS.
My other computer is your Windows box
Jesus, think about the restructuring that will surely befall the Underpants Gnomes now! Now that step 2 has been revealed, we see a twisted chain of events that includes, incredulously, food and kid's hanes - together. I forsee massive underpants gnome layoffs in the near future as the public gets wise to their filthy brand of food degredation.
Some poeple in my state use one if the Kroger chains. They've been filling web orders for years. Not as much variety as webvan. But they already had the infrastructure.
Sorry, I tried coldturkey on my computer, and it just wasn't the same as freshmeat. ;)
http://www.coldturkey.com/
This site has not been properly configured!
Please contact the webmaster
See? What did I tell you?!!
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
The ISP I work for bought up Webvan's monitors in a bulk purchase - almost all of the screens in the developer and tech support departments have a metal Webvan asset tag on the front. I'm hoping this new company gets some big LCD screens.
--
Evan
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
Revenues of $225M doesn't say anything about profit. That's great they're bringing in money, but let's see some profit before we start jumping on their bandwagon.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
I live in lower Manhattan. The grocery stores down here are horrendous! We were one of the first neighborhoods they delivered to. The first order had a $50 credit. My bill for the first order came out to $1 (i went over). On the second order I had a credit for $25 and still free delivery.
Since then, I have used them about 10 times, and so far it has been good. The prices are the same that you would see in a large grocery store in the suburbs. The only problem I have seen is that they don't carry a lot of grocery items i like. They specialize in fresh foods. Since I am not a gourmet chef, I tend to buy the easy to cook items.
I am just happy that I don't have to shop at Gristedes anymore. The thing that bothers me about NYC is that every deli/grocery store claims they are 'gourmet' you'll see the dirtiest slop whole of a store (gristedes) and they will carry 40 different cheeses, 40 different olive oils and nothing else!
I will continue to support fresh direct, but I am skeptical that they will not stay in business. Or if they do, they will raise prices to the NYC going rate which is extortion.
Anyhow, if you are in one of there delivering zip codes (if you are you surely have heard of them) I highly recommend trying them. The delivery people are very nice, and they actually do not accept tips.
In a city like NYC where customer service is second rate, it is nice to see a company like them come around.
Notice: I do not have any relationship with the company; I am merely a new resident of NYC that believes buying groceries for a reasonable price should be a right for everyone.
Tesco.com have been doing this for years in the UK - with no venture capital, and using existing stores instead of specialised warehouses, are the biggest .COM in Europe - they have survived the .COM boom with no hype or fanfare.
Author, Shell Scripting : Expert Re
Here's why you shouldn't shop at Walmart, ever:
I don't know the story here, but I'm pretty certain that the courts will take care of it if true. Employers who blatantly shortchange their employees get slapped down. Plus, employers who habitually abuse their employees have a hard time hiring and retaining people. Keep in mind that U.S. unemployment is still very low.
No, automobiles destroy the social fabric of neighborhoods. Wal-Mart is just continuing the social change that started fifty years ago when cars became widespread.
I *love* Wal-Mart's "cencorship"! The kind of music I like the best tends to be rife with profanity, offensive themes, etc. IMO, none of that stuff adds anything whatsoever to the music and, although it doesn't bother me much, I have kids running around and I'd have a hard time teaching them to use good language if they heard some guy screaming the F word blasting out of my stereo while I was working. The bands may think that their offensiveness is important to their art, but I don't really care what they think, I'm paying their bills.
Lucky for me, even if the bands think that the stylized rendition of a penis on their latest album cover really adds significantly to public dialog, Wal-Mart will tell them they have to get rid of it, and I (and millions of others) can buy the CD with some assurances.
The conditions under which many products are produced is deplorable. The same thing was normal in the US 100 years ago, and it was terrible. However, that's an issue for the countries and people involved to deal with, just as we did (and continue doing), and it's very likely that our interference will do more harm than good.
Why? Economics. Industrialized countries have highly educated workforces and easy access to automation, which means that we can produce goods more cheaply and effectively than countries without those advantages, right? No, because we also have a labor force that demands short work hours, good conditions and high pay. What competitive advantages do third-world countries have? Their only real asset is their poverty. Because they have little, their people are willing to work longer, harder and in worse conditions than wealthy people would. And exploiting that one advantage is the only way they can get ahead. They cannot afford to educate all of their people for 17 years, or even 13 years. They cannot afford to buy expensive equipment. They cannot afford high wages, or 40-hour work weeks or, in many cases, even basic safety equipment.
All of that is very sad, true, but look at history and you'll see that all of the currently wealthy nations passed through a similar time. Right now, those poor countries produce cheap goods and sell them to wealthy countries, and they buy almost nothing the wealthy countries sell. Over time, this trade imbalance will erode the relative advantages of the wealthy countries and improve the situation of the poor countries (typically more improvement than erosion, this is not a zero-sum game), and as their wealth increases the people of the poor nations will obtain more personal power and eventually they'll be able to institute their own systems to prevent abuses.
On the other hand, if the wealthy steadfastly refuse to allow the poor to exercise their *sole* competitive advantage, then the poor will remain poor for much longer, having to lift themselves purely by their own bootstraps, without the benefit of international trade (except with similarly poor nations).
If you want to take this from a social/national level down to an individual level, go find a sweatshop worker in China and ask him if he would prefer to continue working 14 hours per day, 7 days per week in deplorable and unsafe conditions to make a meager wage that barely feeds his family, or if he'd rather be unemployed and watch his children starve. If American companies (including Wal-Mart) refused to buy sweatshop goods, the result would not be an improvement in the sweatshop conditions, the result would be closure of the factories as the production migrated to industrialized countries with automated factories.
The point of all this is that while your complaint is correct, (a) it's a much broader issue than just Wal-Mart and (b) it would really be a good idea to come up with a solution to the root problem (poverty), rather than just addressing the symptoms. Historically, we know that the odds are good that things will gradually improve if we just leave well enough alone. That doesn't mean it's the *only* way to improve the situation, but boycotts sure aren't going to help (that's like taking a man's last crust of bread to wave it around and complain that it's moldy -- makes you look like a compassionate person, but the guy whose bread you took is starving).
Personally, the best proposal I've heard is for the wealthy countries to give more student and work visas, and maybe even provide small subsidies. Allow the poor people to come and work here, in good conditions, for reasonable (to them) wages, and get educated here, and encourage them to save up and then go home and build something useful with the knowledge and funds they've acquired. The idea is to try to accelerate the transfer of wealth. Unfortunately, many, many of the wealthy nations' citizens oppose the idea of accelerating the transfer of wealth.
And the bit about Nike just makes me laugh: Nike took a major PR hit and they'll say anything and criticize anyone who will help take the pressure off them. What they say is meaningless.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Peapod does exactly this. In fact, if you know your monthly usage, you can just set up a shopping list and re-order it. All these people talking about how you can do it on a bike or whatnot are missing the point - it takes less time and is cheaper to have them delivered. It's not new to do it over the internet, but it's getting major stores like Shop & stop into delivery where they weren't before. It's cheap. It's convenient. It's MORE convenient than making the trip yourself, which is the point of the service, and has ALWAYS been the point of getting anything delivered. I haven't seen such righteous justification of doing things the hard way since the last time I visited my Baptist relatives.
Indeed! I must say this was an enlightening comment to me - when I wrote "outside the US", I implicitly meant "Urbanized Europe or Asia" and didn't even think about that connotation. Your comment pointed out my own ignorance to me, perhaps even without meaning to do so.
I stand more humbled and thank you for that.