Is the age of food delivery arbitrage in Australia coming to an end as they become more established?

Ldan-ozbargain on 09/11/2020 - 18:11

Hi cheap friends,

I wanted to have a general discussion amongst people regarding the delivery services and to see if people had been using them more during the lockdown.
Personally, I had spent a good amount of money on it (maybe $1500 over COVID) being in Melbourne.
I would always strive to get the deals which I joked about to my friends as being "food arbitrage" in the article below that I find funny:
https://themargins.substack.com/p/doordash-and-pizza-arbitra…

People can have different definitions, but for me food arbitrage for me is where:
-The cost and time of cooking / sourcing ingredients for the meal is perceived by me to be significantly less than getting it delivered to my door by pressing a few buttons, or substantially cheaper than eating out at the actual restaurant

You do need to have some discipline and avoid making purchases of food where it is very clear there will be a profit for the "Uber Eats" style company.

I would circulate between Menulog, Doordash, Deliveroo and Uber Eats based on which one had the best deal on (eg. delivering 75% of my daily food needs for the day around $15-$20) - and be happy to support the local restaurants and delivery drivers who get paid regardless; whilst at the same time undermining companies which I personally do not like. Rather fun.

I'd also sometimes just get a diet coke delivered to my door for $2 when there was no limit on spend repeatedly even though this wasn't arbitrage, it delivered me a great dopamine hit from exploiting the service and the company's bottom line.

But I've found increasingly that this is no longer the case and now they have caught onto and are very careful to prevent such food arbitrage from occurring.

I've since deleted all of my accounts for each of the apps, and I might reinstall them if I can see food arbitrage in the future.
Also, maybe just to get the cheap deals of being a new user again, if that works.

Are there people that have done similar? Do people seem to be reaching similar conclusions? Am I mentally unstable after 3 months of lockdown in Melbourne and this is how I use my time??

Would love to discuss below.

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • spackbace on 09/11/2020 - 18:13
    +3

    and be happy to support the local restaurants and delivery drivers who get paid regardless

    Umm, you do realise Uber Eats etc take 30% off the top? So actions like this:

    I'd also sometimes just get a diet coke delivered to my door for $2

    Aren't screwing over UE as much as you think it is

    Personally, though WA went through only a minor lockdown, I choose UE/Menulog/etc when I want a meal delivered, rather than going into the restaurant. I use it for the convenience factor, not to just go all out and try to screw a business.

    • dan-ozbargain on 09/11/2020 - 19:44

      Yeah very true, I was hoping to see if people did this too / also provide a laugh for some

  • salmon123 on 09/11/2020 - 18:30

    Do people seem to be reaching similar conclusions?

    Apps like HeyYou and Ritual are dead (for discounts), which is expected, given the reduced lunch time traffic in the cities.

    There's still plenty of people handing out doordash/ubereats discount codes in Sydney.

    Even if Doordash and ubereats stop offering discounts, I think there will still be discounts on other restaurant-direct apps.

    Am I mentally unstable after 3 months of lockdown in Melbourne and this is how I use my time??

    You might've reached the end of your creativity with generating unique identities.

    • dan-ozbargain on 09/11/2020 - 19:43

      Yeah, I've stopped it now by deleting all the apps. I wanted to know if anybody else did it.
      COVID has definitely affected my creativity

  • randomusername2017 on 09/11/2020 - 19:07
    +1

    undermining companies which I personally do not like

    … yet continue to support them being an avid consumer of the product they provide…

    Word of the day : Arbitrage

    Challenge: Create a post and use the word a minimum of 10 times… context, definition and logic optional

    7/10..

    • dan-ozbargain on 09/11/2020 - 19:42

      Yeah, I do like that word a bit too much, I think I read it in a book and like the term. and no English ain't a strength

  • kalithreaver on 09/11/2020 - 19:16

    what type of deals where you doing to take advantage of them? i found a few months ago there was good deals but lately its not even really worth doing anymore.

    • dan-ozbargain on 09/11/2020 - 19:22

      Mostly I'd be using Menulog recently to order between 4pm and 6pm with free delivery, $5 off and also stacking with 20% off from one store.
      It would work out to getting two dinners for around $15 delivered, which I was pretty happy with.
      I was doing this for around 2 months, but I think the deal has finished.
      Now when I go online there's not much to be had really and that's all good as I'd like to focus on losing weight.

      • kalithreaver on 09/11/2020 - 19:24

        oh yeah, i was taking advantage of the $5 deal too to get free delivery. i was just checking that the cost of the stores werent more than they asked for if i went there.

      • Hardlyworkin on 09/11/2020 - 20:19

        $7.50 a meal is pretty decent. I'd be happy to pay that a few nights per week.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/11/2020 - 19:29
    +2

    You think you've "stuck it to the man" because you're a customer that they don't benefit as much from.

    You're still a customer.

    You got someone to waste their time, use resources and create pollutants so you can have your $2 can of self righteous feel good.

    Not to rain on your parade but don't you think that's a little ironic?

    • dan-ozbargain on 09/11/2020 - 19:40

      Yeah I think it's pretty ironic

    • Guybrush57 on 09/11/2020 - 20:16
      +3

      rain on your parade
      a little ironic?

      It's like raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiin on your wedding day.

  • follow on 09/11/2020 - 20:57

    i use uber eats due to their promos. i'll stop when the promos end.

  • FIVEDOLLAR on 09/11/2020 - 20:59

    The cost and time of cooking / sourcing ingredients for the meal is perceived by me to be significantly less than getting it delivered to my door by pressing a few buttons, or substantially cheaper than eating out at the actual restaurant

    You mean significantly more?

    • dan-ozbargain on 09/11/2020 - 21:44

      In some of the instances; nope. That's the whole point of the above

      • FIVEDOLLAR on 09/11/2020 - 22:04

        How does "arbitraging" buying items from your supermarket and delivery apps relate to arbitrating price differences across different platforms?

        • JIMB0 on 09/11/2020 - 22:37
          +1

          True arbitrage would involve reselling the food for a profit. Ideally you'd take an order then have it fulfilled at a discount.

          • FIVEDOLLAR on 10/11/2020 - 10:46

            @JIMB0: Yeah, so you're not actually arbitraging anything if you're cooking at home to make the meal. Comparing apple to oranges.

            In short, it says, cheaper to cook at home is less than getting it delivered. Which is basically what every household is doing and does not really relate to the post in any way.

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