From stool softener to pinatas to cognac, these 8 delivery startups have you covered

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Published on Jul. 14, 2015

In the last couple years Colorado and the rest of the U.S. have seen an explosion in on-demand delivery services. They have become nearly ubiquitous, begging the question, why ever bother going to the store yourself at all? The pure diversity of products which you can have delivered to your door is astonishing, and the number of services willing to bring those random things to your door equally so, as you will see below. To help you make sense of the offerings here in Denver, as well as to amuse ourselves at the sheer insanity of options, we selected eight delivery services and figured out the basics for you. 

 

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Instacart

What they deliver: Groceries, and random things in stock at Costco, Whole Foods and your local grocer.

Where they’re based: San Francisco 

Delivery fee: $3.99 for delivery within two hours, $5.99 for one hour delivery

Really questionable item they’ll deliver: A zebra print gerbil carrier from Petco. You’ll look just like Paris Hilton, only instead of carrying around that ratty looking little dog, you can actually carry around a rat.

 

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Drizly

What they deliver: Booze. Lots and lots of different types of booze.

Where they’re based: Massachusetts

Delivery fee: $5 + tip

Really questionable item they’ll deliver: If your credit card can handle it, they’ll deliver you a $3,000 bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII.

 

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Favor

What they deliver: Anything you want — just not booze.

Where they’re based: Austin

Delivery fee: $6 + 5% of the total cost of the item purchased + a tip.

Really questionable item they’ll deliverI'm thinking we can come up with some incredibly impractical things to have delivered. How about this life-sized pinata of a Denver Bronco from Pinata Pros Denver?

 

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Door to Door Organics

What they deliver: Organic, mostly local-source grocery items.

Where they’re based: Lafayette, CO

Delivery fee: None

Really questionable item they’ll deliver: $10 worth of organic, freeze dried, decaffeinated coffee. Really? Who thought that was a good idea to produce?

 

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Postmates

What they deliver: Anything — except some pretty weird and disturbing exceptions like body parts, crime scene photos or currencies still using the Gold Standard. No joke.

Where they’re based: San Francisco

Delivery fee: $5 + service fee + 9% service fee + a tip.

Really questionable item they’ll deliver: Dulcolax Stool Softener, for those times when you’re really stopped up and really want your delivery person to know it.

 

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Minibar

What they deliver: Wine, spirits and beer

Where they’re based: New York City

Delivery fee: None, and you can get $5 off your first order by signing up for their newsletter.

Really questionable item they’ll deliver: A $700 bottle of Opus One wine. Not to sound like a philistine, but can you really taste that last $600 worth of difference?

 

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Orderup

What they deliver: Food from restaurants

Where they’re based: Denver

Delivery fee: Depends on the restaurant. Some charge nothing, some charge upwards of $5.

Really questionable item they’ll deliver: McDonald's. Enough said. 

 

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GrubHub

What they deliver: Food from restaurants.

Where they’re based: Chicago

Delivery fee: Depends on the restaurant you order from. Some don’t have delivery fees, others charge a couple of bucks.

Really questionable item they’ll deliver: Sushi. Raw fish in the back of a delivery truck is NEVER a good idea.

 
 

Have a tip for us or know of a company that deserves coverage? Email us via [email protected].

 

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