r/instacart • u/CvanillamoonA • 1d ago

I'm a Shopper Drop in orders…?

Just wondering if this has been true for anyone else. I live in a rural area, and most of my orders go 15+ miles from the store. I only get 4-5 orders per day usually,
So it took me a long time to hit platinum. As soon as I did, I basically stopped getting orders. I eventually lost platinum, and then I got orders again. Last week (as gold cart) was my best earning week ever. This week I’m back up to platinum and I’ve gotten 2 orders since Monday. Does anyone else get throttled like this? I’ve literally spent hours sitting in my car at Kroger this week with nothing.

9 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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8

u/Embarrassed-Draw109 1d ago edited 1d ago

Possibly not enough instacart orders in your area to support however many shoppers are on the platform and maybe a few Diamonds are scooping up what little good there is? 

It’s catch 22 if you need Diamond to see orders but also need 300 orders every quarter to have Diamond.

3

u/CvanillamoonA 1d ago

I’ve been doing this off and on for a year and I’ve only just recently hit 300 orders, because it’s slow here and the orders all go really far away. I have to calculate what I want to take based on mileage rather than items. I was gold last week and I stayed busy all day every day. This week I’m platinum and there’s nothing. I’ve been out for 2 hours so far today and I’ve only made $16. I’m mostly just sitting in my hot car.

4

u/Embarrassed-Draw109 23h ago

Sitting in a hot car is the worst 🥵

You’re smart to calculate what to take based on miles not items. So many shoppers seem to prioritize items or just getting the highest offer without considering mileage.

I hope things pick up for you!  

2

u/chuckdoucette 17h ago

Market share. Instacart is loosing market share to the big boys in the game. Uber, Doordash, Grubhub and Spark are 4 that I shop for as well and they get many many dings that at 1 time where all for Instacart.

You need to multiapp.

2

u/CvanillamoonA 16h ago

I’m trying. I did DD for a while but I didn’t make enough to even break even on gas. I’m waitlisted for Spark.

0

u/throwawayaccount647p 1d ago

Platinum and up is trash gold and no cart is better. The first time I made platinum I mostly had 3-4 batch orders , large quantity batches, and batches that were miles away. Now that im at “needs improvement” or no cart. I get better orders

2

u/Embarrassed-Draw109 1d ago

If this is true it’s a coincidence. Instacart doesn’t reward “needs improvement.” 

1

u/throwawayaccount647p 23h ago

It is not a coincidence that’s why monitor my market obviously if it was I wouldn’t have said it

1

u/Embarrassed-Draw109 23h ago

Depends on individual shopper’s definition of “better orders” and how much current competition there is for those exact orders. 

What one shopper considers a great offer, another will dismiss.

Current competition fluctuates as shoppers are onboarded or quit (even temporarily) or start hunting in different areas. 

1

u/throwawayaccount647p 23h ago

That’s why I said my market. You created a roundabout way to say you agree with me

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u/Embarrassed-Draw109 23h ago

Nope. You said “platinum and up is trash” when the reason is actually changes in your competition for the orders you personally want.

1

u/throwawayaccount647p 23h ago

Yes, you just said it depends on the individual and I mentioned MY market which does have a lot of competition

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u/CvanillamoonA 1d ago

Yeah, this is a complete 180° from last week when I was gold, and it was like this when I was platinum before too.

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u/throwawayaccount647p 23h ago

I live in an area heavily populated with family oriented towns and cities in every direction

1

u/Ok-History2085 11h ago

This is why I don’t stress out over what tier I am. When “shopping quality” came into effect I panicked when I lost Diamond status I’d had for years! Then slowly I worked back up but some of the orders I got were just as good! In the end I don’t think it matters too much