An Honest Review of Imperfect Foods Grocery Delivery
Interested in trying out Imperfect Foods grocery delivery? Check out my honest review, how it works, and what it costs along with an unboxing video where you can see how the products are packaged, as well as how to save on your first order.
Some links in this article are affiliate links and if you click on them I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.
**Use this coupon code to save on our first order!**
Have you heard of Imperfect Foods? (UPDATE: Now merged with Misfits Markets.)
The last I had heard of them they were known as Imperfect Produce, delivering only produce, and were only available in select larger cities.
Recently, though, I discovered that they have grown into a larger grocery delivery subscription box service and are available in a lot more areas.
But I really got interested when I read that the boxes you get now are customizable – not just the “this is what we have” boxes I had gotten in the past from similar produce deliveries. Even though it was sometimes fun to try new produce, most of the time it was a quite a few things our family just wouldn’t eat.
So I grabbed a coupon referral link and visited the website.
Before I ordered, though, I looked around at some of the FAQs to answer some questions I had.
The most important being: did they deliver in my area?
I was happy to see that yes, they did – they are now in 43 states, in fact. (Note: some areas are serviced by FedEx and may have a minimum requirement for each box.)
Other questions answered on the website include how to pick the food in your box, how the food is delivered, pricing, and delivery options.
I was also pleased to read about their mission to eliminate food waste and build a better food system for everyone. And that the prices average 20-30% lower than store bought.
Imperfect Foods Unboxing Video
How to Order From Imperfect Foods Grocery Delivery
I signed up and ordered my first box to test it out.
I do have to say I was a bit confused at first because when you sign up you are required to pick a “starter option.” This is a small, medium, large, or extra large box that will be delivered on a weekly or every-other-week schedule as you choose.
You also choose organic or conventional. These things made me think I was only going to get what was listed.
Don’t worry, though, you’re not locked into anything.
I think there were prices listed at that point, but nothing is charged until your window for customizing your box opens. This happens a few days before your delivery – you will get an email.
And it’s at the customization stage, when you can choose to leave what they’ve chosen for your box, or take it out and add others, that I finally “got” the system.
Here’s a screenshot I took of customizing my medium size box:
On the right is where the items for your suggested box are listed and it’s easy to just scroll through and remove what you don’t want. It doesn’t matter that I chose an organic box – I can add any conventional produce I want.
Again, you’re not locked into anything, thankfully.
(Wondering why I sometimes choose conventional? To keep my grocery budget down, I use the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” lists, buying organic for the former but choosing conventional for the latter.)
Then you scroll through the items pictured on the left and click the “+” to add to your box. You can choose all produce or both produce and non-produce, it’s up to you. So simple, right?
Imperfect Foods Packaging
If you’ve had a chance to watch the video, you know that I’m most happy with the lack of plastic in packaging.
The box I ordered this time was delivered in two cardboard boxes and the only plastic was around a head of cauliflower, a plastic box for the tomatoes, and the cheese and tortillas.
The only other packaging was a cold ice pack and the silver quilted liner for the cheese.
What to do with the packaging?
Cardboard is never hard for us to recycle, since we’re always saving it up to use in the garden, plus most recycling places still take cardboard. But what about the ice pack and lining? You may be able to reuse them for picnics or camping, but you’d only ever need one or two.
Guess what? Most of the time you can return the ice pack and silver packaging!
If your boxes aren’t delivered by FedEx, you can leave the packaging out when your next box is delivered and they’ll take it away. Isn’t that a great option?
Again, there is more on this on the website, but I was really happy to try this out and see that yes, they did just take the packaging I put out on the porch.
Types of Food & Pricing for Imperfect Foods
Pictured above is my entire order that was delivered in the two boxes as I show in the unboxing video.
Keep in mind these are things I chose this time – there were lots of other produce and grocery options I didn’t choose, including more fruits, as we already had some.
Here are the produce and non-produce items included with the (Jan. 2020) prices:
- Organic Celery (1 ct) $1.89
- Organic Bell Peppers (1 lb) $3.19
- Organic Carrots (1 lb) $2.18
- Organic Potatoes (1 lb) $1.58
- Organic Apples (3 ct) $1.79
- Organic Parsnips (1 lb) $2.39
- Organic Rainbow Carrot Bunch (1 ct) $2.29
- Organic Grape Tomatoes (1 ct) $3.09
- Organic Romaine Lettuce (1 ct) $2.09
- Organic Beets (1 lb) $1.75
- Conventional Onions (1 lb) $0.65
- Conventional Cauliflower (1 ct) $3.06
- Conventional Turnips (1 ct) $1.89
- Conventional Avocados (3 ct) $1.99
- Imperfect Foods – Sharp White Cheddar Cheese (8 oz) $3.49
- Mi Rancho Organic Flour Tortillas (6 ct) (10.8 oz) 1 $2.49
- Mind Fish Co. Skipjack Tuna with Spring Water (5.6 oz) 1 $1.49
- Imperfect Foods Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips (14 oz) $2.99
Total = $40.29 + $4.99 delivery
Note: in the video I mistakenly say it cost $43, which was actually what our first box was – this one with shipping was $45. But this is just to give you an idea of prices and cost, which I hope you can see are pretty good for delivered-to-your-door food.
Most of the time you can get free shipping with a $60+ order, too.
UPDATE: In the years since recording this unboxing, Imperfect’s prices have increased just like stores (hello, pandemic) – and they seem to have gone up with the Misfit merger as well. Because of this I only order occasionally (mostly produce when my garden isn’t producing) mainly for convenience. See more in the “January 2024 Update” below.
How does this fit into a tight grocery budget?
I’ve already gotten this question on YouTube, so I wanted to address it here, too. Our budget isn’t as tight now as it used to be when our kids were younger, but I remember what it was like.
I can’t answer if this would be right for you with your specific circumstances and the area you live. Some parts of the country can get cheaper produce – if this is you, it’s probably not a good fit.
But I do encourage you to at least check out the website and prices, using this coupon code to try it and see if it’s something that will help you keep your budget down.
I regularly shop at Grocery Outlet and the prices you see listed above are all comparable, even with the delivery fee.
As for me, if it saves me a trip to the store it will save me money because I often buy items I see on sale that aren’t on my list (this isn’t terrible, but does make the trips more expensive).
I hope to use this service to keep us in produce (which is usually the reason I go to the store) and only shop once a month in a regular grocery and once every other month at Costco.
As you can probably tell, I’m pretty happy with Imperfect Foods and will continue to get boxes every other week from them as we need them.
It’s very easy to skip a delivery, though, so you’re not even locked into that if you don’t need anything.
How to Use The Coupon Code:
Simply CLICK HERE to check out the website and the coupon will be applied to your account once you set it up!
Have you used Imperfect Food Delivery Service? I’d love to know what you think!
*June 2021 Update*
We’ve been getting boxes regularly, and Imperfect Foods continues to deliver through the pandemic and lock downs (was I ever grateful for the deliveries then!). I wanted to address a couple things from the comments:
- Yes, I have gotten 1 – 2 produce items that weren’t useable – beets that were too woody, even after cooking and one other I can’t remember. I didn’t bother contacting them because it’s not really a thing they would’ve been able to tell and I really do want to support the idea of less food waste and shopping responsibly.
- The customer service has been really great the times I’ve used it (this is in contrast to one of the comments). When I was given less rhubarb than I ordered, I sent in a message on their website and was emailed the next day with a credit to my account.
- The service has gotten really popular because of the pandemic issue and I’ve learned that the sooner I customize my box the more likely they won’t be sold out of some things. I’ve put a reminder in my phone when my window opens to choose.
- Like I mention in my review, if you can easily find produce and food cheaper in your area, this might not be the service for you – that’s okay. I still think it’s worth it to try it and see – like any store there are things I’d never pay a certain price for and other things that are decent price. I always add in the convenience of having it delivered and because I’m rural that’s good for me.
January 2024 Update
If you’ve visited the Imperfect Foods website, you may have noticed that the prices are quite a bit higher than what I listed in 2020.
Like everything, they have gone up quite a bit and to be honest I don’t order from them as much anymore.
I place an order only once a month or 6 weeks and then usually produce and a few dairy products that are similar to what I would get in stores (their butter prices have been consistent with stores, for example).
It’s been especially nice when things have been super busy and I don’t see me getting to the store to refresh our produce to be able to have it delivered. So that’s how ordering from Imperfect has been fitting into our food budget these days!
Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn’t change your price. Click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.
Hi. We have been IF subscribers for a few months. We get a delivery every other week. We LOVE them! Our experience has been, well Perfect. We have had one bad item from them, but it got damaged in shipping. Of course some of the fruit is bruised, hence the reason it is Imperfect. We have had some cool shaped veggies. We have no complaints.
Customer service has been great too.
We also get a box from Misfit Markets. We have had a lot more bad quality produce from them.
Just FYI, we get our delivery through FedEx. We do have a minimum, which just went up, as did our delivery fee. It is still worth it though. With two family members who are in the high risk group for severe complications from the virus, getting in groceries is life saving convenience. We go grocery shopping once a month, get in our IF and Misfit, get a few meals from Dinnerly every month and get one monthly grocery delivery for milk and other necessities. (The grocery delivery fee and tip are $25 total, so a lot more than IF’s delivery fee.) Other than doctor’s appointments, we don’t leave the house except that one grocery run. IF has allowed us to have fresh produce all of the time. We are on a tight budget. We get so much from IF, we save money.
We love IF and highly recommend them.
Thank you so much for this review of IF that is like my experience! As you can see, it’s mostly people who aren’t happy who are leaving comments, so it’s nice to have some balance.
I do think it would be good for people to try it if they’re interested and see what their experience is – it could be like you and me. š
First I just accidentally ran across this imperfect food article by sheer accident. Any way I have been ordering since may, and recommended by daughter. As far as mostly unhappy people posting? What would you expect when not getting what they expected. Any way when more neg reviews over positive, something is going on.when you opened your two boxes I was amazamazed to see the recondition of the contents.I have in 6 months never opened a box as in that good of condition. I have learned not to order such as tomatoes, lettuce, grapes,bell peppers, raspberries, blueberries even strawberries. ACTUALLY any item that I was not going to consume very quickly. The packing is poor at best. Imperfect should not mean unusable or for immediate use.I under stand food waist etc but I deserve usable products ugly produce no problem, just not stale produce. I do not purchase chicken or fish, I would question the condition of such items. I still use imperfect food service, but out of 5 stars 2 1/2 and that’s my experience. When I want higher quality I go to whole foods or a similar quality market.
Thanks for your viewpoint and experience, Charles. That’s interesting about the produce – where do you live? I’m wondering if that’s the issue with such a diversity in quality (ours is still very good – I order lettuce almost every week now that our garden is done and it’s lovely).
Charles, from Mckinney tx, i watched your unboxing again very close, and it still amazed me. Your box contents are very close to what i order ( i only purchase organic). and i try to purchase from US farms/markets, i realize much of the produce is coming from mexico due to season. I was raised on about 500 acres in the great state of Oklahoma, we grew every thing fruits and vegetables, cane for sorgum mill. cattle, pigs , chickens. i know a little about no waist. So when i get products that actually have mold or slime i question Imperfect’s food waist statement. I’m not in the habit of throwing out food. raspberries in the little clamshell package that was just MUSH. Enough neg’s i am pleased other’s are getting what the have paid for. as far as responding back to Imperfect foods, i have politely notified on occasion, and have yet to receive a return call. E-mails sure. And again i will continue to use Imperfect foods they have other products i desire. But when it is produce? I just know what and what not to purchase. And let me say shipping via FEDX may be some of the problem. Have a good day and thank you for returning to me.
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I had been contemplating signing up, but never did. Actually reading this post was what prompted me to just go ahead and try it. After I signed up I then started to read the comments. I became really worried. Nothing had shipped yet so I could have cancelled then and there, but decided to just give it a shot. I’m glad I did. I received my first box today and I wanted to add my experience so far since I’ve noticed that it seems like the comments contain a lot of negative reviews.
I ordered around 27 items. Of the 27, only 1 of them was not available. I was told I wouldn’t be charged, but I’m waiting to see that that actually reflects correctly on my CC statement. If there is a discrepancy, I’ll reach out and go from there.
I saw someone mention that maybe food quality is regional, and I’m thinking that very well might be the case. All of my produce was ripe or at least ripe. Nothing was spoiled. The meat was either cold or a tad on the frozen side. I even got almond milk that was cold and seems perfectly fine. So far I am pleased with my box. Hopefully future orders are just as nice. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Thank you so much, Marianne, for taking the time to leave your positive experience! You are right, it’s people upset who tend to leave comments (as with everything, and I get that they are frustrated).
But I stand by my review all these months later – I have had only a handful of things not be good in all that time and most of the items I pick are delivered. Every once in awhile there will be a substitution.
And I know many people locally who use the service and love it like I do – they just don’t leave comments. š
Hi, my name is marzia and am from West Virginia. The service is terrible, missing items, botched produce, rough packaging. They just increased all the fees. Bummer. Will cancel the subscription asap.
I joined nearly a year ago and have seen this company nosedive. Sad because I love the concept. Theyāve blamed everything from an influx of customers due to increased marketing to expansion to Covid. It started with inaccurate deliveries and underweight produce then progressed to missed deliveries for weeks at a time and suddenly no more refunds but rather credits for their mistakes and now an unannounced shipping increase and minimum order for free shipping increased from $45 to $65. Their customer service went from stellar to mediocre at best and prices are ridiculous. I might as well shop at Whole Foods or Dean and DeLuca. And their emails made me shake my head. The arrogance behind their email when I canceled for the first time was mind blowing. Along the lines of not crying or missing me. Funny, you begged me to come back with credits that I hadnāt used. Congratulations! I came back for a week used my credits and experienced even worse service. Thereās no chance Iām ever coming back and I am so horrified by your bad business practices that I was driven to write this review. I will continue to spread the word on how bad this service is and theyāll either fix it or go out of business. I genuinely hope they fix it but no matter what, I am done. There is no winning me back.
Well, this is just a comment section on my site where I reviewed my experience with Imperfect Foods, so I doubt anyone from IF is reading this. š
I haven’t experienced this and continue to get service from them that I expect from a company like this, so I stand by my review. Sorry to hear yours has been different.
Hi Jamie,
Iām not concerned with anyone at IF seeing my review. Frankly, they donāt care based on their continued horrible customer service. My point in commenting is so people are aware of what many others are experiencing. While you may stand by your review and continue to push your affiliate link, the truth is that I am not the only one experiencing less than stellar service from this company. Just look at the comments. And in fact you have in your own comments acknowledged issues, āhappens all the timeā so you āblast customer serviceā but have said they were addressed so I guess that makes it ok in your book. Well I donāt have the time to constantly be addressing these issues and by your own admittance, itās not only their food but their service that is imperfect and frankly by extension so is your blog as you donāt address these issues other than to defend the flailing company in the comments.
Thank you I was considering using this service but your review saved me from a big mistake.
I recently tried Imperfect foods… I was not impressed. Ordering and delivery was great. Not too expensive either. I was so excited… then I received my order. The produce (fruit)was not ripened, the fish was of low quality, my carrots were slimy. I was so hoping it would be a home run š
It is a rip off. I tried it for a couple months. They notify you that your order has been changed and instead of crediting your order for items unavailable, they substitute items with much less valuable items at best but, most of the time it was just deleted and my account was never credited. They owe me about $40+. I would never sign up again.
That happens to me all the time. So, I just take pics as soon as I open the box, then blast their customer service chat line.
I take pictures of damages or substituted items every week and email them to let them know what is missing/wrong. Their customer service has been great about crediting me back for what is wrong- but at what point is it still not worth it? Every week at least one this is damaged beyond use because their packaging (while ecological) doesnāt protect the produce at all. If I donāt double and triple check the box, Iām losing money left and right. Planning to cancel after I (hopefully) get my refund for this weeks missing items.
Hi Caroline. I actually unsubscribed after all. I was so mad bc at the beginning I was excited at the idea of having stuff that otherwise would be out of the big distribution. Tempted to try misfits but who knows?
Terrible service. Totally disappointed. In my first box they didnāt deliver any of the products requested. On top of that from all the produce they sent I had to throw away more than half. The pears and mangos were spiked already. The cauliflower was too. Celery was soft already. Really bad quality! I requested food for 5-6 people and they sent me a little ouch with 2 chicken thighs, and that was all the meat sent! It is a FRAUD! Stay away! I really wanted to like it because of the concept, but it is not worth my time or money!
Gosh, I think the service must vary from area to area – which is too bad, really. I have had the best service with only a few pieces of produce not edible after 7 months and just a few wrong items which I was credited for. I still love the service.
If you wouldn’t mind sharing, what area did you order to?
Felt like a total scam. They forced me to sign up all the way to giving my credit card and creating a subscription and I hadn’t even had a chance to see what they offer or what foods I could choose to order! Talk about putting the cart before the horse. All of a sudden I had a delivery date and they had my credit card and I hadn’t a clue what food was going to be delivered or how to make any choices! I promptly canceled and will not be doing business with this place in the future. I should have stopped the process when they asked for my credit card before giving me a chance to even order what foods I wanted!
Well, from my understanding that’s how most subscription sites work – there isn’t another way to get into the cart to see what’s there. That’s why I tried to show in this article the types of foods offered and what the shopping looks like. Once you go in to customize your box, you can remove anything they added (based on your initial options of box size, etc.) and add whatever you like so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Not how any of my subscription sites work, including other food delivery services. Other sites you can browse the foods to have the knowledge required to make a decision on whether you should subscribe! This place expects to sign up and pay on blind faith and it’s ridiculous. A big reason why it has dismal reviews on trust pilot. I need to know in advance what foods are available to me before I sign up and pay for weekly deliveries.
Your experience is mine too. Such a scam and the produce that came, which I didnāt order isnāt āimperfectā, itās awful. Avocados are trash and priced like gold. Got a whole bunch of trash apples and the smallest hardest lemons Iāve ever seen. This company is a scam. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR CC INFO!
Just got my first box today. Of the 17 items on my order, I only received 4! I was charged for everything, so I have contacted them, of course. This has been the worst experience I’ve had with any of the “shipped to the home” food companies I’ve ordered from, and I think I’ve tried just about all of them. Most of the 4 items that actually arrived were pretty ragged. I would advise anyone who gets a link and a coupon to try Imperfect Foods, to just delete or trash it.
Gosh, that’s really too bad and if that had been my experience I’d feel the same as you do!
However, I’ve been ordering from them for 9 months now and nothing like that has ever happened. I’ve had a few missing items that they needed to refund me for, but that’s it.
I was so disappointed. I was hoping for a really good experience, as I found the concept to be very inviting. At best, they can’t seem to be consistent across the areas they serve. At worst, they just cannot get their act together. I think the reason folks are leaving bad reviews after yours, is that those of us who were so appalled at the service that we Googled for reviews, could not let people think that your experience was typical. Sorry.
Weāve been doing this for over a year now and the quality/freshness has really fallen off. For instance last week the pack of blackberries were full of mold, the cucumbers had a coat of slime and the raspberries were well… letās just say THE clump of leaky red fruit in the raspberry box was uneatable.
Weāve had an issue with how the pack the box at least once a month for the past 6 months, broken cucumbers, carrots and missing items…
The customer service was decent until they started accusing us of not being honest about missing items… ābecause weāre the only ones with that complaintā well needless to say it was easy to call their bluff because I provided pictures of the smashed fruits, broken slimy cucumbers, blueberries spilled all over the box and random items that we didnāt order.
They didnāt like being called out for it. What is amazing is we didnāt ask for anything or demand any kind of refund/replacement. We just thought they would like to know theyāve got a quality control issue that is getting worse.
Also quality of food has changed (about 6-8 months ago) we were getting really decent salmon that we liked and then all of a sudden it changed to really thin stinky āAtlanticā salmon (from Norway) itās very different farm raised ājunkā cuts.
I think that since we joined with a special price theyāve decided to just treat us like crap to either get rid of loss leader or just see how long they can get away with it.
Weāre done with them and I would recommend the fruit and veggie box from new seasons over this bait and switch
Thank for sharing your experience – sorry it’s not as good as it had been for you. We’re still very pleased with the food and service 9 months in – although I’ve never gotten berries as we’ve been eating our own.
I only received one order and cancelled. The fruits and veggies looked like they were ready for the trash. Nothing was fresh except 2 ears of corn on the cob. Apples, nectarines, green peppers, and potatoes all had bad spots. At least at the store I can reject them. We bought the medium for 2 of us and it would have been great if the quality was there. I guess, I learned my lesson the hard way.
Wow, that hasn’t been my experience at all, as you can see from the photos and video – sure sorry that’s been yours.
My first box was a similar experience. I paid more for everything per pound, topping it off with a $5.99 delivery fee. While it was a nice convenience, it didn’t impress me enough to keep overpaying for mediocre produce.
Question then comment.
Iām only one person can I order small amounts for just a one person family?
Comment: I really appreciate your review. Iāve tried other food services and find them Packaging heavy & that bothers me, if if itās recyclable. Thereās No recycling anywhere near my rural Tx area, sadly.
Imperfections donāt bother me, waste does and thatās why I asked about smaller amounts for just a single person. Iām also on a very tight budget which is why the other companies didnāt work for me.
Thanks so much for the review. Iām gonna use the $10 coupon on a first order. š
Yes, Jules, you can pick a small box – but that’s only a suggestion as when you customize you can add or delete so you get only what you need and think you’ll use! Plus, there are a lot of things that aren’t perishable (like canned tomatoes or beans) that can be added, too.
Also, you can choose to get a delivery every other week, giving you two weeks to use it up. š
I do hope this works for you better than the others you’ve tried! While I might be able to save a few cents on similar products at the store, not going to the store saves me money because I always buy more than what’s on my list, lol.
I just cancelled my Imperfect Foods subscription because the fruit that I have been getting is disgusting. I received it on my front step and immediately opened it. It was still very cold from coming out of the cooler. I got a rotten nectarine, along with fruit that is so scarred the penetrated by bugs and sharp objects that I won’t eat it. I tried them for three months and it went from marginal to non-edible for any of the pieces. I’m done! I wonder if it depends on where you live. I live in Southern California where we should have beautiful fruit, but this last delivery was the straw that broke the camel’s back!
Bummer, Christine. Yeah, I wonder if it depends on that, too. I’ve had only a few off pieces in the 7 months I’ve been with them, though nothing to make me want to cancel. Most of the produce is lovely.
I started ordering through imperfect in April because of two things: trying to reduce the number of grocery trips and fresh fruit and veggies were becoming scarce in my area. The stores would put it out and it became a race to get the food. Iāve ordered every week since April. So, roughly 20 boxes. Iām a massive fan! Their customer service is top notch. I had blackberries spill one time, credit within 24 hours. And I just had to message them. As far as cost goes, for my area, itās cut my grocery bill in half. I also will only buy my chicken from them now as well. Itās delicious and healthy BUT the main factor was that I was tired of cutting off almost a pound of fat from the chicken Iād by at my grocery store. Imperfectās chicken has minimal amounts that I cut off. Iāve ordered so many different things from them..purple cauliflower (kids loved it! We canāt get it locally), FLOUR(another sold out item locally) weāve tried new things, got our usual favorite items..I honestly canāt say enough about Imperfect. Our first order did take about 3 weeks to process, BUT I signed up right at the beginning of quarantine. This doesnāt mean it was sitting for 3 weeks. The order was packed the morning it was delivered. My order is always delivered by an Imperfect delivery person, who always wears a mask!
I so appreciate you leaving this good review, Michelle!! Seems like it’s only the people who have a problem who leave a comment. š
I’m with you – the few things we haven’t gotten or that weren’t good have been taken care of right away.
And while I probably can get some of the things cheaper in a store, I save money because I’m not GOING to a store where I always overbuy anyway, lol. And I LOVE not having to shop as much!
Thanks for the video, but It looks like your promotional link is no longer working… And a single box , all regular food So none of it expensive organic, now costs $55 plus shipping so 60 total. I guess I’ll just keep on going to grocery outlet. I guess they somehow got popular enough to raise the prices.I mean it’s only been 6 months since this video.
Good luck all.
Thanks for letting me know the link wasn’t working – I’ve updated it so if you do decide to try it, you’ll get the $10 off your first box.
As far as the pricing, I’m not sure what you mean – maybe that was an example? You start with a size of box, but you can take things out or add when you customize and all the prices are on the right as in my screenshot. It is a little confusing that they have you start with a size when you can basically build whatever you want. And you can remove anything they’ve automatically added as well. You have choices for conventional and organic – you choose everything in your box. The site and choosing is all still the same as I’ve written here.
Hope that clarifies it for you!
I was excited to get my box but unfortunately I never received it. I saw the disclaimer that boxes may take up to 2 days longer to deliver. Well, after 4 days I contacted the company and there was no record of it ever being shipped. They said they would refund my $68.00 and it would take up to 10 business days to credit to my account. It’s been a month and I still haven’t gotten my credit. Very disappointing.
That is disappointing, Stacey! Keep calling about that credit, though – in my experience the customer service is good and they will fix it.
We really wanted Imperfect Foods to work for us, but unfortunately, they have not yet mastered delivery logistics. The first order arrived 3.5 days after it left the plant, which meant that all of the meat and fish was warm and unusable. I’m not sure how that contributes to the mission of reducing food waste, since we had to throw it out. Our second order, this week, also arrived late, rendering the meat unusable. But worse, it was the wrong meat–in fact, aside from the produce, the order was completely wrong and was missing all of the meat/pasta/cheese we ordered. Needless to say, we will not be using Imperfect Foods again. To their credit, customer service was quick and response, and I was promptly credited for the spoiled items. For a similar service and better shipping logistics, I recommend Misfits Market.
I’m bummed to know this, David, but also surprised, because in the 6 months I’ve been ordering, delivery has been like clockwork. Which probably means it’s area-specific, so your take that they don’t have delivery mastered is probably correct.
I’ve only had one item in all that time be wrong, too.
Well, not everything is good for everyone – I appreciate you’re leaving your experience, as well as how they credited you.
I’ve been ordering from Imperfect for about six weeks, and I am very happy with both the food and the customer service. Thanks for this article, Jami. I’m in Oregon too and look forward to following this site.
Welcome, Catherine! I’m so glad you’re following. š
Thank you for your input – I think what the company is trying to do is a good thing, so even when I got some woody, inedible beets in the last box, it didn’t bother me. It’s kind of like a garden – you win some, you lose some, but the overall picture is good!
AVOID these scammers at all costs. They demand you give your credit card info before they give you a price list. IMPOSSIBLE to cancel. They won’t stop harassing me with constant texts and emails. They IGNORE all customer service emails sent.
Waited on hold for 1 1/2 hours after they emailed me the WRONG delivery date. REFUSED request to CANCEL.
Though I never placed an order I was woken up by repeated texts claiming my food delivering was on its way. WTF? They even accessed my gate code which is a MAJOR PROBLEM with our gate security company.
HELP. My credit card co requires over an hour wait on hold to cancel. HELP.
They’re also way, way over-priced. A LOT more expensive than Whole Foods delivery.
That’s not my experience with prices at Whole Foods, but it could be the area we live in. Like I said in the review, I think their prices are decent, and even cheaper for some of the produce.
Wow, I’m sorry you’ve had this issue with them, that has not been my experience at all. They are by no means scammers – I know many, many people getting quality food delivered and love them. I would keep trying their customer service, it’s a chaotic time for them with the Pandemic.
I’m thinking of signing up with them. Just out of curiosity-why do you think they are scammers?
Seriously?Who calls customer service anymore?Just email them or chat. Of course you’re gonna be waiting hours to get somebody on the phone. How do you think This kind of company saves moneySame thing with your credit card Just go to your bank website and you can deny just about any kind of charge with the click of a mouse.
It really sounds like you’re not the type of person who should be buying things on the internet. I use the service and have never had anything slightly bad happen.
Thanks for The video!It was very informative even for someone who already knows about it.
Glad you found it helpful, Sunny!
This is a good article that covers the brand promise Imperfect Foods is striving for. As was mentioned by the author, your experience will vary based on where you are. I liked what I saw from this relatively young company and they earned a lot of goodwill from me during the start of the Corona virus outbreak. But…
I’ve been with Imperfect Foods for 6 months in the Austin, TX area and just decided to cancel. I started out with a delivery every week, dropped to every two weeks, and the stopped altogether. The biggest factor in my decision was the inaccuracies between orders and delivery. I had no problem getting a box on time. It’s just what was in the box didn’t match the order and I was short by about $20 each time. I had to carefully check each delivery, contact the company for a refund for items not delivered, and then verify that each refund was processed. That all became too much work. I’m OK with some substitutions but I couldn’t plan a meal with Imperfect Foods. It was like delivery people in the warehouse were just throwing whatever was laying around in a box and shipping it. If I ordered the cornish hens, I got veggie patties instead. If I ordered chicken breasts I got hot dogs instead. But I would also get a box of egg noodles I didn’t order to go with the other box of egg noodles I didn’t order from last week. I ordered six lemons and 4 were bad so I couldn’t make the sauce I wanted to make for the pork that was missing entirely from my order. It’s impossible to keep a pantry stocked with the right stuff for the meals you want to make because you really don’t know what you are going to get. Customer service was helpful in getting my bill adjusted, and they promised to do better, but after 20 weeks all the customer goodwill was exhausted. The friend that referred me to Imperfect Foods had already quit. We did two more orders and decided it was too much work. HEB Grocery, Sprouts Grocery, most of the brands fronted by Instacart, and even WalMart have figured out how to execute a stock pull and home delivery better than Imperfect Foods in my area. I’ve been testing those for 6 weeks with no issues. So I’m just going to go with them.
That’s fair, though sorry that’s been your experience, as it hasn’t been mine.
I think since January I’ve had to contact them only 3 times for items that weren’t included and they credited my account. I’ve only gotten items I didn’t order a couple times, but I haven’t been charged for them so didn’t bother letting them know.
I’ve been getting weekly deliveries from Imperfect for the past year or so. I absolutely love it! There customer service is fantastic as well. I have received some very tired produce on a few occasions and broken eggs once. I emailed them immediately and they credited my account for the spoiled items plus a few extra $$ off my next box.
Oh, that’s so good to know, Rachel! I was thinking that maybe in the warmer months some of the veggies might not be so great, so it’s great that they take care of that, too.