Instacart Shopper Stays With $300 Publix Groceries for Free

Delivery drivers for apps like Instacart regularly post about the lack of tips that they receive from customers, which often has them questioning the fiscal viability of their jobs. Some, however, find a silver lining in the gig when customers either cancel or neglect to pick up orders, resulting in them scoring free groceries.

This is what user Victoria Wilkins (@sagetori111) says happened after picking up $300 worth of goods from a Publix location.

@sagetori111 You need to provide an apartment # or answer your phone if you order groceries #instacartfail #instacarthaul #cancledorder #instacartdelivery #instacartshopping #instacart #fyp #fypシ #groceryhaul #freegrocery #instacartshopper #thankyou ♬ I Think I Like When It Rains – WILLIS

Victoria writes in a text overlay of the video as she pans over a massive amount of groceries, “What I got from a canceled $300 Instacart order.”

In the clip, she shows a big package of poultry along with bottles of juice, mashed potato mix, bread, a jug of oil, chips, red meat, produce, and a variety of other different products.

She provides additional context in a caption for the video as to how she was able to walk away with so much free food, “You need to provide an apartment # or answer your phone if you order groceries.”

Instacart users have previously reported that they’ve been able to take a customer’s order when they neglect to pick up their items or mark the delivery as complete from their end.

Some Instacart shoppers claim they’ve been instructed to return food items to the original grocery store they were purchased from if a customer no-shows.

However, there are some delivery drivers who simply keep the food on canceled/non-pick-up orders, as Wilkins did.

In the comments section, Wilkins responded to one user who speculated that getting so much food for free must have “helped [her] a lot,” to which she replied that “it really did,” adding she was so “thankful” to receive the free food.

But other users came up with ways that Wilkins could’ve used the delivery to her favor: by selling the goods at a discount. “I’d have brought it to the original customer and sold them the orders 50% off the receipt,” they shared.

Some viewers were shocked that the groceries cost a whopping $300, which may be a product of America’s 40-year-high inflation spike that has seen significant increases in recent years.

“I can’t believe that’s 300 dollars in groceries. That’s so sad,” a user wrote. Wilkins did mention that the groceries came from Publix, which has come under fire for being pricier as compared to other supermarket chains.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Wilkins via TikTok comment and Instacart via email.