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37 Hilarious Male Instacart Fails That Women Just Had To Share
It’s sort of a modern miracle that you can open an app and just have a person do your shopping for you, never mind the pretty exploitative labor practices. If you have happened to use a service like Instacart, you may also be aware of the fact that sometimes one’s personal shopper can start making “interesting” alterations.
So if you were looking to be confused and perhaps irritated at the same time, we’ve gathered some of the funniest posts from folks sharing the shenanigans their Instacart shoppers have gotten up to. Get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and tales in the comments down below.
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#1
I ordered a new electric toothbrush and I guess they were out and it got replaced with a wireless mouse
RELATED:
#2
I ordered a saalt brand menstrual cup, only item, $35, and homie dropped this off
Instacart in a nutshell is a three sided operation. You pick a store and load up a virtual cart, a nearby personal shopper accepts your order, and that person walks the aisles picking your groceries before handing them off or driving them to your door, often within an hour or two according to Instacart's own explainer. It sounds simple because in theory it is.
Someone reads through your list, looks for a reasonable replacement if something is unavailable, checks out with a company issued card, and brings everything to you. In practice, that someone is a real person moving fast through a store they may not know well, trying to satisfy a stranger's specific instructions, a ticking delivery window, and their own performance rating all at the same time. That is where things start to go sideways.
#4
I had a guy bring me 30 bananas. He replaced every fruit they didnt have with bananas. I didn’t even order bananas.
Vicki Seale 1 week ago
My daughter ordered rhubarb to make a crumble and they sent celery - mmmmm yummy with custard!
#5
12/06/2026
Sure, that’ll work.
#6
When this man tried to replace a bag of frozen red and green peppers for a singular Strawberry milk... like can we please for the love of g-d stop this nonsense
The biggest source of chaos by far is substitutions. If an item is out of stock, shoppers are supposed to text a suggested swap and let the customer approve or decline it. Sometimes that works exactly as intended. Other times the substitution logic seems to come from a random number generator.
#7
This reminds me of the time I used Instacart and ordered Almond Milk. Apparently there was no more left (which I found very hard to believe). He subsituted it with a single almond.
#8
ugh
Asmodeus Hare 5 days ago
As someone that works Walmart... The system has and will give us the stupidest cr@p to substitute. Out of red bell peppers one time. Ya think it would suggest yellow or orange peppers right? Nope red rubber ball from pet toys.
#9
Dumped everything, Then he started cursing and bugged out sending crazy messages . He got fired
One Redditor recounted ordering a simple bag of lettuce, only to receive no lettuce at all and, inexplicably, a box of molasses cookies instead, a story Cheapism collected among a whole pile of similarly baffling shopper fails. Other customers online describe swaps that miss by an entire food category, cottage cheese standing in for ricotta or turkey pepperettes replacing pork ones, regardless of brand or flavor.
#10
I once canceled a giant order when I saw they assigned me a male shopper. Canceled the whole thing. I just didn’t have the mental fortitude that day.
#11
hm
ॐBoyGanesh 1 week ago
So human gelato for dog ice cream? Because the price is the same. InstaCart workers need to take some sort of supermarket/shopping exam before being given the job.
#12
I of course have since deleted my screenshot (unfortunately) but one time I ordered a pack of 6 chocolate cupcakes.
They wanted to replace it with PARMESAN CHEESE. Had to message the dude and be like: "are we okay? Get another cake then not freaking cheese, I'm on my freaking period."
Sometimes shoppers skip the ask first step entirely. A Colorado woman named Roxanne Nice told 9News she ordered around forty dollars worth of groceries through a King Soopers order fulfilled by Instacart, then later noticed her card had been charged more than one hundred and forty dollars.
#13
literally drove to the store in the middle of the night to prove that he did not look.
Tyranamar Seuss 1 week ago
Ok but I'm not seeing the flex foam in size 5 here. Only a size 4. He probably assumed it being level 5 was more important. This one is lame. He did replace it with a similar item.
#14
I recently got a new job in the bakery of a grocery store and this (male) doordasher comes up asking where the pillsbury cookie dough is, I tell him to check in the coolers near where the dairy was and he asked me to check in the bakery freezer (where it wouldn't be anyway) and when I repeated myself he got all huffy and "this is freaking bull" and clicked item not found or whatever.
#15
I ordered Vicks vapo rub, and I got vanilla body wash for babies.
Nearly every item on her list had quietly been marked out of stock and swapped for pricier replacements she never approved and never got a text about. Instacart told the outlet that shoppers caught doing this can be removed from the platform. Ignored instructions have become their own genre of complaint.
#16
The male Instacart shoppers are never beating the allegations!
Lady Gypsy Rain 1 week ago (edited)
I always have an issue with orders delivered by men. Most recently, my order was for sodas. It was day 1 of the sale so I was surprised when he substituted six pack bottles with individual sodas. I ordered 15 six packs, he didn’t even try to get 15 sodas. Instead, got a 6 pack of another flavor and rang them up as 6 individual sodas for the same price per bottle as the 6 packs. Claimed there was none on the shelves of all 3 options we discussed. Told him to cancel it, he wasn’t getting even close to what I ordered. A bit over an hour later, a woman that picked up the order from the queue somehow not only managed to find sodas, she found at least enough to fulfill my order with my first choice.
#17
I’ll never forget buddy bringing me a bag of Avacados instead of Oranges. Like, there is no way there were no Oranges in the store and you decided “yup, Avacados will do”.
The good news is that Instacart does offer a bit of a safety net. Customers get three days after delivery or pickup to report missing, damaged, expired, late, or badly substituted items directly through the app, and eligible issues can lead to a credit or a refund, according to Instacart's help center. If a shopper sends something wildly wrong or extra, customers are only charged for what they actually ordered, and Instacart says the mystery items can simply be kept, donated, or tossed.
#19
They were looking for my neck brace in the candy section.. then replied “oh it was in the pharmacy”
#20
Brooo I literally had a male shopper last month replace 14 items!!! Upped my bill by $70. I texted him after the first 5 items to keep substitutions around the original price. Completely ignored it. So nuh uh, I took my $15 starting tip down to $5. (The store was only 4 miles away) Cause I'm on a budget bro!! He replaced all the items with expensive things.. I called the store and they refunded everything I wasn't happy with. Thankfully.
Tropical Tarot 1 week ago (edited)
Walmart plus is $7 a month if you use several different govt programs. Regularly it's $14 a month. Delivery is included for a $35 minimum. I live one freaking block from the store and I still use it because we have only one vehicle . My mom is 10 MI from a Walmart in a rural area and she uses it. Different people use it for different reasons. And you can't tell which one of us has the discount price or who pays full price. Quit being a privileged and ableistic d*********e.
#21
I can’t find my screen shot but I had ordered a sale item that was a $1 watermelon. They were sold out and instead of my alternative he picked a $43 WATERMELON. HOW.
#22
I ordered 4 single bananas because it’s just my partner and me in the house. Bro bought me 4 BUNCHES of bananas! I had so many bananas!
#23
I had a next day delivery from target allegedly stolen by the male delivery driver. Called shipt to report my package was missing and was told this happens a lot with the male drivers. Because I have it on camera that he did actually steal my free lip glass and cat food he will be disabled from the platform. We need to start complaining about these men and get them disabled from the platform.
#24
The strawberries a male shopper picked out for me last week.
Lukas (he/him) 1 week ago
I can't get fruit from delivery because they always deliver me spoiled fruit, which means unless my sister can take me shopping, since I don't have a car, I can't get fresh fruit. It makes me really sad.
#25
This happened to me with smoked turkey legs. They smelled rancid and leaked white fluid on my other groceries. I smelled it before I even opened the bag. So I can't understand how they couldn't.
#27
once i had a male instacart shopper and the order was for pads, he told me he couldnt find the aisle they were in, so he left the store and didnt do the order at all but refused to cancel on his end
Lyone Fein 1 week ago
Man, if you’re not going to fill the order, don’t pick up the job run. Let another shopper do it.
#28
I was buying a case of water 24 pack for like 4 bucks. He replaced it with a more expensive water. 10 bucks for a 6 pack…. I was livid
Tropical Tarot 1 week ago (edited)
I'm familiar with the Walmart platform so I'll comment on that. You can allow substitutions and the driver can contact you about them. Now you can say what you're willing to have at substituted with because they show you a list of products and you click them. And you can say you only want to substituted with that item. I'm not sure of the price differential allowed . when WalMart delivery first started if they didn't have the size you wanted they would give you the next size without charging you. Which is how I went from 8 oz of pomegranate juice to 48 oz one wonderful day. These days that's $4 vs $10 but then it was a difference of more than $12
#29
Me when I was sick and this guy replaced my SOUP with a PASTA SAUCE???
Tyranamar Seuss 1 week ago
OK, but they're both Rao's. And they're Italian. This isn't the worst I've seen. I once ordered a baby bottle and it was replaced with a scrub brush.
#30
I bought 2 bouquets one 11, and the other 9. Tell me why this man replaced them both for a total of $48.96. It was my first time buying through instacart so i didn't know. I kept on at work. I got that backcharged later on. Hell nawwww
#31
I once ordered a delivery for a blanket for $30 and the driver brought me a $180 electric blanket. No upcharge. I wasnt mad at that at all
#33
My last order I had a $4 pack of 30 turkey snack sticks. They replaced it with an $8 pack of 4 beef chomps
#34
I had a driver give me 2 loaves of bread from someone else’s order… I ordered deli meat and I guess the bread was my substitute 😭😂
Mind you, deli meat ain’t cheap these days… I really hope that person who got my order either ate it or donated it.
#35
LITERALLY JUST HAPPENED TODAY! This man delivered me spoiled fruit. The pineapple juice was cloudy and some brown bacteria on the side of the fruit Granted it’s the grocery store fault for not removing it for purchase BUT WHAT? why not just refund me.
#37
Oh god, I had a man override my “refund me” and decide on a completely different supplement than ordered. Had him banned from my account for that. Normally the women are but uh… this was a first lol.
What do you think ?
Ace 1 week ago
I've never used online/delivery grocery shopping (it's actually not available where I live) and one reason I would choose not to is if I'm planning my meals and maybe one vital ingredient is unavailable. So I'd want more than just 'no substitutes', like 'don't get the feta if you don't have any cucumbers' sort of thing. Not gonna happen, of course, but yeah, I would hate _any_ substitutions.
Load More Replies...
Balseraph 1 week ago
We only notice when things go wrong. I guarantee that all of the people complaining have had correct orders also picked by men. I also guarantee that some of them have had f**k-ups done by women but that hasn't fed into the "men are incompetent at looking for things" narrative so it also goes unreported. This is not a gendered issue. People being paid minimum wage with little training or supervision are going to be unmotivated and unprofessional.
Tyranamar Seuss 1 week ago
I think the "men" part of this post is dumb. Bad shoppers are bad shoppers regardless of gender.
Load More Replies... Ace 1 week ago
Is there really some gender-related difference? Is it just male shoppers that make poor substitutions, and only for female customers?
Bald Eagle 1 week ago
of course...the internet keeps telling us how beyond help men are, and how untrustworthy women are while at the same time we need more space for data centers, less space for humans and other organic life...hmmm, but the tech nihilists pay lip service to our need to breed, why, to grind our kids into data and use up their future on this....*looks around*
Load More Replies... Bald Eagle 1 week ago
yes all, its the fact that these people are Male that they cant grocery shop...not that they are Human...this website serves a lot of h8
Nizumi 1 week ago
"If you're too lazy to go to the store yourself..." (I don't mean folks with health or mobility issues), and then I remember that I live in a city, in a safe neighbourhood with a few options within walking distance (closest being two blocks away). I have public transit options to go to different grocery stores. I have city bike options. I don't have mobility issues anymore. That person who said their grocery store is 4 miles away probably doesn't have a car and/or there are zero public transit options. I'm healthy and love walking, but I'm not walking over 6 km and then carrying a week's worth of groceries over 6 km back home.
Tyranamar Seuss 1 week ago
I just don't like grocery shopping. It makes me an anxious mess. I can afford shoppers. So I do. That's my prerogative. I don't need to be disabled to use a freely available service. And no one should have to justify themselves. Some of us just genuinely don't like shopping.
Load More Replies... 
StumblingThroughLife 1 week ago (edited)
I always click the 'No Substitutes' button when I order groceries. Don't they have that option on this? Also, I wouldn't be aware what gender picks and packs- and I don't care, because I choose 'No Substitutes' 🤷♀️
Tyranamar Seuss 1 week ago
Yes. I am. Guess what? I'm paying for it. My life, my choice. Sorry it didn't meet your stringent criteria for what's allowed. LOL. OMG, can you imagine being so judgmental that you judge is other people are entitled to use paid shoppers or not?! Your life must be miserable. Bet you do a whole bunch of stuff you'd rather not do bc of all these weird rules in your head.
Load More Replies... Ace 1 week ago
I've never used online/delivery grocery shopping (it's actually not available where I live) and one reason I would choose not to is if I'm planning my meals and maybe one vital ingredient is unavailable. So I'd want more than just 'no substitutes', like 'don't get the feta if you don't have any cucumbers' sort of thing. Not gonna happen, of course, but yeah, I would hate _any_ substitutions.
Load More Replies... Balseraph 1 week ago
We only notice when things go wrong. I guarantee that all of the people complaining have had correct orders also picked by men. I also guarantee that some of them have had f**k-ups done by women but that hasn't fed into the "men are incompetent at looking for things" narrative so it also goes unreported. This is not a gendered issue. People being paid minimum wage with little training or supervision are going to be unmotivated and unprofessional.
Tyranamar Seuss 1 week ago
I think the "men" part of this post is dumb. Bad shoppers are bad shoppers regardless of gender.
Load More Replies... Ace 1 week ago
Is there really some gender-related difference? Is it just male shoppers that make poor substitutions, and only for female customers?
Bald Eagle 1 week ago
of course...the internet keeps telling us how beyond help men are, and how untrustworthy women are while at the same time we need more space for data centers, less space for humans and other organic life...hmmm, but the tech nihilists pay lip service to our need to breed, why, to grind our kids into data and use up their future on this....*looks around*
Load More Replies... Bald Eagle 1 week ago
yes all, its the fact that these people are Male that they cant grocery shop...not that they are Human...this website serves a lot of h8
Nizumi 1 week ago
"If you're too lazy to go to the store yourself..." (I don't mean folks with health or mobility issues), and then I remember that I live in a city, in a safe neighbourhood with a few options within walking distance (closest being two blocks away). I have public transit options to go to different grocery stores. I have city bike options. I don't have mobility issues anymore. That person who said their grocery store is 4 miles away probably doesn't have a car and/or there are zero public transit options. I'm healthy and love walking, but I'm not walking over 6 km and then carrying a week's worth of groceries over 6 km back home.
Tyranamar Seuss 1 week ago
I just don't like grocery shopping. It makes me an anxious mess. I can afford shoppers. So I do. That's my prerogative. I don't need to be disabled to use a freely available service. And no one should have to justify themselves. Some of us just genuinely don't like shopping.
Load More Replies... StumblingThroughLife 1 week ago (edited)
I always click the 'No Substitutes' button when I order groceries. Don't they have that option on this? Also, I wouldn't be aware what gender picks and packs- and I don't care, because I choose 'No Substitutes' 🤷♀️
Tyranamar Seuss 1 week ago
Yes. I am. Guess what? I'm paying for it. My life, my choice. Sorry it didn't meet your stringent criteria for what's allowed. LOL. OMG, can you imagine being so judgmental that you judge is other people are entitled to use paid shoppers or not?! Your life must be miserable. Bet you do a whole bunch of stuff you'd rather not do bc of all these weird rules in your head.
Load More Replies...
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