Misfits Market review: Food is good, but packing & shipping are awful.
I have been Misfits Market member for over a year. Overall, the produce is good, usually better than what is available in stores, but I have received boxes of lettuce that were within 3-4 days of their "use by" date. I was credited for those items.
The reason for only four stars is the way the shipping box is packed and sealed. Every shipping box has been stuffed tightly and the top flaps never meet. That leads to spoiled produce in hot weather and frozen produce in the winter. The cold bags with ice packs do keep things cold, but only when the bag itself is closed properly. Many times, the heavy cold bags were placed on top of fragile produce such as green onions and tomatoes.
Today's order takes the cake and makes me rethink my future with Misfits Market. There were two cold bags in the box, one unsealed and fully open at the top with one ice pack, the other was improperly sealed with two ice packs. All of the items that needed to be kept really cold: two packs of chilled/frozen chicken cordon bleu, a flank steak, potstickers, and meatballs were stuffed, not placed, into the unsealed bag with only one ice pack; the items were cool to the touch, but not cold and/or frozen. The improperly sealed cold bag with two ice packs contained only three small bottles of ginger shots. Three other bagged items that did not need refrigeration and another that did need to be kept cold were placed in the order that I listed them on top of the "cold" foods and show condensation on their sufaces. A box of arugula and two boxes of spinach were crammed into the shipping box on their sides between the cold bags and the walls of the shipping box. Carrots, Swiss chard, and butter lettuce were placed on top of the cold bags. When the shipping box was sealed (again, the top flaps did not meet in the middle with 1/2- to 3/4" gap), one spinach and the arugula boxes were crushed so heavily that the covers popped open and the upper side of each box was folded with open space in the cracks, compromising the contents. The slim box of blueberries, a box of mushrooms, and an avocado were placed in the corners of the shipping box and, thankfully, were not harmed.
I just now received an AI-generated e-mail message that all the damaged items were credited to my account ($67.54), which means that no human read my complaints. Misfits does have their fax numbrer on their site, but do not post a phone number, so you cannot talk to a real person about problems. I once asked in a "reported issue" if they ever read the complaints and suggested fixes, but never heard back.
At first, my reactions were five stars and contained many pros and few cons, but the cons are growing fast. I like the produce and several other items I cannot get elsewhere, but the inattentiveness to the constant packing & shipping and other complaints is very disturbing.
Recommendation: OK to try for a while, but do not become a paid member until you have experienced several deliveries.
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