Kelli Vilchis loves to shop. When she went looking for a flexible side hustle that would suit a young mom, being a personal shopper for Instacart seemed like a natural fit. But as the shopping scene changed, it became tougher to earn a decent living with Instacart. So Vilchis went into business for herself.
This allows shoppers to price for things like distance to the store and whether they’re likely to wait in line.“Dumpling isn’t our boss. We are our own boss,” says Vilchis, who pays $39 a month to have the app provide billing and support for her shopping operation. “We essentially own our own business.”
Additionally, customers choose their Dumpling shopper based on location and the shopper’s reviews. Assuming you like that person, you can have that same shopper complete your order every time. This allows you to get to know your Dumpling shopper; and it presumably allows the shopper to understand your preferences well enough to do an increasingly good job.Vilchis says forming continuing relationships with her customers is particularly handy now.
However, whereas shoppers with Instacart only have to pay for their own transportation and insulated bags, Dumpling shoppers have to pay fees to list and sell their services through the platform too. That said, Dumpling’s fees are modest.There’s a $10 fee to get set up on the site. That gives you access to a Dumpling credit card, a listing on the company’s website and Dumpling’s ZIP Code-fueled shopper search tool.