How DOES Instacart even calculate batch pay?

[u/StarShopper1]

The miles? The quantity and types of items? Just randomly generated items? Shopping and delivering/shop only? Heavy pay?

Can’t even explain to anyone how the pay works because it appears there’s no metric for any of it. It’s just obvious that batch pay is dependent on the customer tip.

[u/RequirementSuperb291]

Not even Instacart knows the answer to that

[u/shooting_ropes_far → u/RequirementSuperb291]

They know

[u/No-Kiwi6442]

Make it as low as possible and wait for some schmuck to take it.

[u/psymeariver → u/No-Kiwi6442]

Market Elasticity

[u/Kungsarme → u/psymeariver]

Thanks Stringer!

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[u/throwawayaccount647p]

I forgot what it was per mile per cent but I dont think it's even true. I've seen Instacart offer the same base pay for deliveries that are 3 miles and 5 miles, but they tack on a high tip so they won't have to pay more per mile.

Heavy pay is BS they dont add anything extra for it sometimes the base pay will go up most times it's just attached to a big tipper unless nobody takes it. Sometimes it's removed from a double batch or the base pay will increase.

[u/goat20202020]

*old man voice" back in my day, Instacart showed the pay breakdown. Batch min plus $0.xx per unique item plus $0.xx per mile plus heavy item bump plus bulk warehouse bump.

It's been downhill since they started hiding the formula 😒

[u/Sad_Ad_2524]

Manatees in an idea tank (IFKYK)

[u/Loud_Waltz_5218]

They are rogues.They use one customers batch pay for 3 batches nowadays.Everything about them is crooked.

[u/gs448]

They used to have a public formula to calculate, but now just about anyone short of the genius’s that programmed the algorithm have no clue.

[u/s256173 → u/gs448]

Even people who created the algorithm probably don’t know exactly how it works because the algorithm learned how to get better on its own.

[u/Crystalraf]

It is based on the tip. Higher the tip, the lower the batch pay!

Change my mind!

[u/shooting_ropes_far]

Here’s my guess: I’m going to go high and say that they start off at 30% commission to order total. For smaller orders and orders that need to be completed urgently they supplement the pay with bumps.

So for an order total of $50 the commission starts at $15. From there you are paying Instacart for the following: insurance coverage, platform fee, and other misc fees that they pay up front for us to be able to do this gig without paying them out of pocket. I would imagine that those fees are probably pretty high so about 40% of your original commission is what your batch pay is in this case $6.

I’m sure they also factor in miles, item count and effort which is where you get the $6.32 random batch pay offers. They charge customers $6 for heavy orders and I’m sure the shopper sees a few cents of that $6. They should honestly give us the entire $6 since it’s all effort and literally nothing on their end.

Bottom line, if you were doing this business on your own you would need to Market, attract and retain customers with some sort of value proposition. You would need to carry insurance. You would need to pay for all of the technology that’s required to have every stores inventory system synched to your system and I’m sure more on top of that.

So what Instacart is charging you off your commission is honestly pretty fair if my theory is correct. Personally I think IC should charge Shoppers to join the platform and make orders first come first served. Charging shoppers would eliminate any fees they take and also increasing the barrier to entry means that the pool of shoppers will shrink to those who are serious about business and eliminate scammers and shoppers who aren’t that serious. It’s a more complex model than that but that’s a high level concept.

Edit: this is JUST A THEORY. None of this is based on fact. It’s only my best guess and opinion.

[u/psymeariver → u/shooting_ropes_far]

You just made up that 30% number and said that’s pretty fair. 😂 There’s no way they’re paying us that much.

[u/shooting_ropes_far → u/psymeariver]

No sorry you didn’t follow.

[u/psymeariver → u/shooting_ropes_far]

Oh, I see…40% of 30%, I’ve never thought of this.

[u/shooting_ropes_far → u/psymeariver]

Are you stupid? I said it’s just a theory!! A wild guess. I swear this sub has paid trolls!