Thrive Market Review – Is It Worth It?
When I first heard of Thrive Market I wondered "What is Thrive Market?" "Why should I pay for another food membership?" and of course "How much does it cost?" (Pretty much everything you'd want to learn in a Thrive Market review.)
Although it has been around since 2014, I didn't really know the details about what they had to offer. When I learned that they offer a FREE 30-day trial, the decision was easy, I had to try it out.
Here is what I've learned in the first 30 days of joining Thrive Market.
In the spirit of transparency, you should know that some of the links in this article are affiliate links. That means when you click on a link and then purchase a service or product, I may receive a commission. Rest assured that commission doesn't cost you anything to but it does help me keep the Pantry full of great, honest, information just for you.
What is Thrive Market?
Thrive Market has a mission “to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone.” It’s certainly a great option for people who want to eat right without spending a fortune.
Thrive Market promises its customers to only deliver the highest quality of healthy and natural products to their home, all at prices at least 25% off retail (and up to 50% off retail in some cases). It is also committed to sustainable practices and doing the right thing for the environment.
How Does Thrive Market Work?
Thrive Market is a membership-based store that uses direct buying power to bring you more healthful, natural, and organic food choices at wholesale prices.
Once you register you can choose from an array of food and other goods (more on that in a moment) and add them to your cart. After you make your first purchase, you start your free 30-day free trial membership.
You also get free shipping on orders over $49 .So as long as you take advantage of that, you can breathe a sigh of relief that the savings you get from shopping Thrive Market are yours to keep instead of paying a hefty shipping fee.
How Much Does Thrive Market Cost?
There is, however, an annual membership fee of $59.95 that is automatically imposed after your free 30-day trial membership ends.
Instead of pocketing all the membership fees for profit though, Thrive Market donates one membership to a low-income family, veteran, student, or teacher with every membership purchased through the Thrive Gives program.
Read this to see 6 more ways you can give back with groceries.
What Can I Buy at Thrive Market?
Once you sign up with Thrive Market, you’ll have a chance to browse the complete selection. You’ll find food including a newly-added meat and seafood section, vegan and non-GMO products, organic, and a variety of options for everything from soup to nuts.
In fact, Thrive Market offers over 3,000 high quality food items, including 230 of its own store brand labels.
Everything you need to look your best is also available with skincare products, makeup and more.
Health products like vitamins, baby products for your little ones including toys and games, even home and pet supplies are all available at Thrive Market with just a click. Now that free shipping sounds even more amazing doesn’t it?
Basically, it’s like one enormous supermarket that makes it easy to find and select all the things you’re looking for without wandering around the aisles like a lost soul.
What if I'm Unhappy with my Purchase?
But what if something isn’t up to muster? No problem. You can always return it although some items like perishable goods, cosmetics, intimate items, sanitary goods, and final sales, to name a few, aren’t eligible.
If something is wrong with anything you purchase though, you can notify Thrive Market within 7 days of receiving your order.
Speaking of customer service, Thrive Market has a Live Chat available 24/7 for any problems that may arise during or after your order.
Pros and Cons of Thrive Market
No Thrive Market review would be complete without talking about the pros and cons. Thrive Market offers many advantages to its customers but, as with all stores, it doesn't come without its downsides.
If you don’t earn back your membership fee in the amount you save by the end of the year, Thrive Market will credit your account with the difference.
What I Love about Thrive MArket
My favorite thing about Thrive Market might just be the different search parameters. Not only can you search using traditional categories such as Food, Health, Home, etc. You can also search by your values.
Do you want to search for Vegan foods? Done.
Are you searching for foods that are Sustainably Farmed? Done.
What about products from Women-Owned Businesses? Seriously. Amazing.
Although I was hesitant about paying yet another food membership fee, I was sold when I saw Thrive Market offers such big savings that it guarantees your annual membership will pull its weight in savings.
If you don’t earn back your membership fee in the amount you save (based on the MSRP) by the end of the year, they will credit your account with the difference (but don't forget to read that fine print). That’s a pretty nice perk!
What I wish Thrive MArket Did Better
Like all stores, there are things Thrive Market can definitely do better.
While they offers prices that are often lower than other stores (especially Whole Foods and Sprouts) they are not consistently lower than thriftier stores like Aldi.
But hands down my biggest complaint about Thrive Market is the slow and unpredictable shipping times.
In my Amazon Prime ruled world, I've grown accustomed to 2-day shipping. My orders from Thrive Market have taken anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks (no, that is not a typo) to arrive.
In reality, this just means that I have to plan a little more ahead of time when ordering from Thrive Market and I'll take that over coupon clipping any day.
Common Complaints about Thrive MArket
It is my goal with this Thrive Market review, to provide you with comprehensive information so that you can make the best decision for your particular life. In all my research the biggest complaints I saw were about the free trial and cancelling a membership.
I know what you are thinking, who complains about a free trial? The trouble was that in its early days Thrive Market wasn't very clear about the automatic charge for the membership at the end of the free trial.
The other problem was that many customers were having a hard time cancelling their membership either during the trial or at the end of the annual membership.
Long story short...customers were not happy and they are still talking about it.
Thankfully, it appears that Thrive Market took these complaints to heart and have made an effort to make the automatic charge following the free trial more obvious.
This is the notice that popped up just above the "Place Order" button when I was making my first order.
The cancellation process is still a little more difficult than I would like to see. I suppose not many companies want to make cancelling easy or obvious but I believe that any company worth its weight can still sustain their business despite some cancellations.
PRO TIP: If you are still nervous about signing up for the free trial because you think it will be difficult to cancel, I recommend paying through your PayPal account. Paying that way gives you the piece of mind that you can always claim a refund through PayPal if for some reason cancellation doesn't go smoothly.
Thrive Market Review - The Verdict
Overall, I love Thrive Market for the incredible selection of healthy items and other necessities at low prices. I also love that my membership provides the same opportunity to a family in need.
I really believe that the value and savings provided by Thrive Market outweighs any negatives, even the slower shipping time. Plus, the membership fee guarantee means you will always get your moneys worth from your Thrive Market membership.