In the last couple years Austin and the rest of the U.S. have seen an explosion in on-demand delivery services. They have become nearly ubiquitous, begging the question, why ever bother going to the store yourself at all? The pure diversity of products which you can have delivered to your door is astonishing, and the number of services willing to bring those random things to your door equally so, as you will see below. To help you make sense of the offerings here in Austin, as well as to amuse ourselves at the sheer insanity of options, we selected eight delivery services and figured out the basics for you.
What they deliver: Groceries, and random things in stock at Costco, Whole Foods and your local grocer.
Where they’re based: San Francisco
Delivery fee: $3.99 for delivery within two hours, $5.99 for one hour delivery
Really questionable item they’ll deliver: A zebra print gerbil carrier from Petco. You’ll look just like Paris Hilton, only instead of carrying around that ratty looking little dog, you can actually carry around a rat.
[ibimage==36082==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]What they deliver: Booze. Lots and lots of different types of booze.
Where they’re based: Massachusetts
Delivery fee: $5 + tip
Really questionable item they’ll deliver: If your credit card can handle it, they’ll deliver you a $440 bottle of The Macallan Fine Oak 21 Year.
What they deliver: Anything you want — just not booze.
Where they’re based: Austin
Delivery fee: $5 + 5% of the total cost of the item purchased + a tip.
Really questionable item they’ll deliver: Starbucks. Ok it's not questionable, but there are enough Starbucks around that you couldn't just walk to get a coffee?
[ibimage==36083==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]What they deliver: Anything — except some pretty weird and disturbing exceptions like body parts, crime scene photos or currencies still using the Gold Standard. No joke.
Where they’re based: San Francisco
Delivery fee: $5 + service fee + 9% service fee + a tip.
Really questionable item they’ll deliver: Dulcolax Stool Softener, for those times when you’re really stopped up and really want your delivery person to know it.
[ibimage==36085==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]What they deliver: Wine, spirits and beer
Where they’re based: New York City
Delivery fee: None, and you can get $5 off your first order by signing up for their newsletter.
Really questionable item they’ll deliver: A $509.99 Château Margaux 1997 bottle of wine. Not to sound like a philistine, but can you really taste that last $480 worth of difference?
[ibimage==36084==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]What they deliver: Food from restaurants.
Where they’re based: Chicago
Delivery fee: Depends on the restaurant you order from. Some don’t have delivery fees, others charge a couple of bucks.
Really questionable item they’ll deliver: Sushi. Raw fish in the back of a delivery truck is NEVER a good idea.
Have a tip for us or know of a company that deserves coverage? Email us via [email protected].
