Terms of service

What we do

We shop for and deliver goods on your behalf, and run related errands. We act as your agent when buying: we purchase the items you asked for and hand them to you, and the goods are yours from the moment we buy them. We are not the seller or the manufacturer of anything we pick up for you.

We serve Des Moines and the surrounding area.

Your account

You must be 18 or older to hold an account, and the information you give us — especially your delivery address and the instructions attached to it — has to be accurate. Keep your password to yourself; you are responsible for what happens under your account. You may add household members who have no account of their own, and by doing so you confirm you are entitled to give us their address and delivery instructions.

Placing a request

A request is a request, not a guarantee. We will tell you when we can fit it in, and confirm a delivery window. Stock, store hours, weather and traffic are outside our control, and occasionally a trip has to move.

• Substitutions follow the rules you set — swap freely, same brand only, ask first, or never — per item, or as a household default. Where you have asked us to ask, we will message you and wait.
• Budgets are a ceiling we shop to. If your list will exceed it, your shopper will contact you rather than guess what to drop.
• You can cancel free of charge until your shopper has accepted the job. After shopping has started, contact us — we will sort it out, but we may charge for goods already bought and for the trip.

What we will not buy

We do not purchase alcohol, tobacco, firearms, or anything whose sale is restricted, unless we have told you in writing that we are licensed and equipped to do so in your area. Prescription pickups are handled only where the law and the pharmacy allow it, and may require you to authorize us with the pharmacy directly. We will decline anything illegal or unsafe.

Prices, fees and payment

Merchandise is charged at the price on the store receipt, which we photograph and attach to your order. On top of that we charge a service fee, and mileage beyond any included distance, at the rates published on this site and in force when your trip is scheduled. If your household is on a different rate — an older one, or one we agreed with you — that is the rate we charge, and it is the one shown on your orders. We will tell you before a rate that applies to you changes. Tips are optional and go to your shopper.

Because the final total is not known until checkout, we may authorize an estimated amount when the trip is scheduled and charge the actual amount once receipts are recorded. You will always be able to see the receipt behind the number.

Delivery

We deliver to the address on the request, following your instructions. If nobody is available and your instructions do not cover it, we will contact you and wait a reasonable time before returning the goods; a wasted trip may be charged. Once perishable goods have been left as you instructed, keeping them at a safe temperature is out of our hands.

If something is wrong

Tell us within 48 hours of delivery. If we bought the wrong thing, damaged something, or missed an item, we will refund it or replace it on the next trip. For goods that were faulty when the store sold them, we will help you return or exchange them — that is an errand we are happy to run.

Liability

We take responsibility for the work we do: our own negligence, and the goods while they are in our care. We are not responsible for the quality or safety of products the store sold us, for allergic reactions to items you asked us to buy, or for losses we could not reasonably have foreseen. Nothing here limits liability that the law does not allow us to limit, including for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

Ending the arrangement

You can close your account at any time by emailing us; see the privacy policy for what happens to your data. We may decline service or close an account for abuse of our shoppers, repeated non-payment, or requests we are not willing to fulfil. Any trip already under way will be settled first.

Changes and contact

We will give notice before these terms change in a way that affects you, and the date at the top of this page will tell you when they last did. Questions go to ianwalmsley@ianlan.net or (319) 555-0199.