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PC Insiders

Get 60,000 points when you sign up from January 21 - February 6 (new subscribers only)

  • Last Updated:
  • Feb 2nd, 2021 10:09 pm
Sr. Member
May 19, 2005
555 posts
727 upvotes
Vancouver/Toronto
Wouldn't delete..
Daydreaming about the food in Richmond, B.c.. I miss that place :) :cry:
Sr. Member
Apr 7, 2015
835 posts
853 upvotes
Vancouver Island
As far as grocery pickup goes, I find it an excellent value. The only issue I've ever had was when I tried buying a bunch of stuff to try doing more Indian cuisine and half the items I ordered were missing with no replacements and some items had been swapped for 3 x more expensive ones.

Ordering more common stuff I've been pretty happy every time.

I once waited more than a half hour to pick up my groceries once because they were short staffed (which they'd both called and emailed me about), and the lady beside me sent the shopper back in three times because an item she wanted was out of stock and she didn't like her options. I felt bad for the poor girl she was chewing out.

Definitely set your attitude to being okay with what you get. Be kind, be flexible, be pleasant.
Deal Addict
Dec 17, 2009
1566 posts
1372 upvotes
Vancouver
Longprocess wrote: It's likely not the same everywhere but from my experience putting together grocery orders it is drilled into us to find the freshest produce that we can - even if this means getting something from the back. The goal is to avoid having to deal with any customer complaints if at all possible. It's really worth it to just get it right the first time.

That said, I have had a few issues with produce when I've picked up orders but largely it has been fantastic.
You are a responsible person. My experience was not that good. But after I saw those teens fulfill customers’ orders in the store, I believed they are not intend to pick the bad produce, they just don’t know or they don’t care

Unlike Walmart, PC express will not honor the price for the substitute items. If the substitute item is more expensive, they will charge you the higher price.
Newbie
Jun 10, 2017
96 posts
132 upvotes
tofubb wrote: You are a responsible person. My experience was not that good. But after I saw those teens fulfill customers’ orders in the store, I believed they are not intend to pick the bad produce, they just don’t know or they don’t care

Unlike Walmart, PC express will not honor the price for the substitute items. If the substitute item is more expensive, they will charge you the higher price.
According to their policy, they should reprice it at the lower of the requested or substituted item:

Your PC Express personal shoppers can substitute unavailable items with similar ones. But you’ll always pay the lower price between the original and the substitutions. You also have the option not to accept substitutions in your grocery order.


Scroll down to the last FAQ
Deal Addict
Jul 13, 2013
2325 posts
1186 upvotes
Richmond Hill
The Insider is no longer worth since they removed baby products
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 18, 2008
2211 posts
2139 upvotes
Winnipeg
Gotta love the PC point program. Took me the first 5 months to get almost $600 of points with all the wicked personal offers they would send me.

The Last 3 months I would be lucky to get any decent offers anymore!
It seems once they know you regularly shop with them, they basically stop feeding you the good offers.
:arrow: "Proudly Serving The RFD Community"
Deal Addict
Dec 17, 2009
1566 posts
1372 upvotes
Vancouver
0707DHToronto wrote: According to their policy, they should reprice it at the lower of the requested or substituted item:

Your PC Express personal shoppers can substitute unavailable items with similar ones. But you’ll always pay the lower price between the original and the substitutions. You also have the option not to accept substitutions in your grocery order.


Scroll down to the last FAQ
Thanks, good to know, still remember I ordered few bottles of No name Bleach when they are on sale. Superstore substituted them with Clorox Bleach and charge me the full price.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Apr 7, 2011
1293 posts
1643 upvotes
ottawa
0707DHToronto wrote: According to their policy, they should reprice it at the lower of the requested or substituted item:

Your PC Express personal shoppers can substitute unavailable items with similar ones. But you’ll always pay the lower price between the original and the substitutions. You also have the option not to accept substitutions in your grocery order.


Scroll down to the last FAQ
That's not true. Happened to me a couple of times. While they would reduce the price on some things it's not always cheaper. Walmart on the other hand would never charge you a penny over what was agreed
Member
Dec 25, 2010
382 posts
430 upvotes
Canada, Quebec, Mont…
For those subscribed or that know:
- Are there more offers being an insiders vs normal?
- What happen when you buy at Shoppers/Pharmaprix with 20x points offer... are they stacking if it is a PC product or only best of the 2 is taken?
- What do they put inside the "welcome box"? How much value?
Sr. Member
Oct 14, 2013
542 posts
387 upvotes
I used this quite a bit (when the program was $99) and benefited from the points on diapers, pickups, free shipping and points on Beauty Boutique and Joe Fresh. I also sometimes picked Pc organics items with the points back. I found this membership very valuable as I was working FT and would pick up groceries without having to tote around a toddler.

Now with the changes in the program, it is not as worth it as it used to be, but I am still seeing good value in the pc express service so I don’t have to risk waiting in line outside with my newborn. Not sure how much I will make back in points with pc brand products but time will tell.

In terms of the pc express service (Fortinos) produce has always been excellent. I have had sketchy meat only once and it was refunded no problem. I will say though the with substitutions, although the fine print states they will never charge you more, my experience has ALWAYS been the opposite and I have had to complain to get my money back. However, you can leave very detailed instructions for each item which gets saved if you ever buy it again. I like this feature a lot (not available with Walmart grocery).

I have also tried the No frills pc express (they pick your stuff but do not load it in the car). Definitely not as convenient, but saves time. Never tried price matching though I imagine it is a bit more work than in store..

Overall I would not pay $119 for this, but with a promo of some sort, I could be easily persuaded. Currently on the 3 month trial till March
Jr. Member
Dec 23, 2009
198 posts
91 upvotes
Although the PC insiders program got worse with the recent change last year, this deal is hot with the 60k points back. Use it at shoppers during bonus redemption and you can stretch that to 90k.

If you add the value of the welcome gift, buy PC products regularly and make use of the free PC Express pickups you can easily come out ahead VS the $119 annual fee spent.
Newbie
Dec 11, 2018
82 posts
45 upvotes
fg2wil wrote: Although the PC insiders program got worse with the recent change last year, this deal is hot with the 60k points back. Use it at shoppers during bonus redemption and you can stretch that to 90k.

If you add the value of the welcome gift, buy PC products regularly and make use of the free PC Express pickups you can easily come out ahead VS the $119 annual fee spent.
I used PC Express pickup in the early days of COVID to avoid going in store. My biggest issue with the app is that it did not recognize all of the items on sale in the weekly flyer. Sale items were at full price on the website. I've diverted my online grocery when needed to IGA.
Member
Oct 30, 2012
432 posts
795 upvotes
I signed up for free when they had the points promo going in 2019 I think? I got about $15 value out of it over an entire year+ as they extended my membership for no charge for a couple of months.

Since then they've raised the price of it and took away opportunities to earn points. I'm good.
Member
Oct 17, 2011
457 posts
610 upvotes
Toronto
0707DHToronto wrote: According to their policy, they should reprice it at the lower of the requested or substituted item:

Your PC Express personal shoppers can substitute unavailable items with similar ones. But you’ll always pay the lower price between the original and the substitutions. You also have the option not to accept substitutions in your grocery order.


Scroll down to the last FAQ
I know this is their policy but I've used PC Express pickup a number of times over the past year and this has never actually been enforced; I have always been charged for the price of the substituted item (which is generally higher than what I originally picked). I did send a couple emails to customer service which were never answered, but I couldn't be bothered to pursue it with the actual store. Anyway, keep an eye out for that if you use the pickup service.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jul 20, 2017
1284 posts
1568 upvotes
Kitchener
gizmokrap wrote: And it's 100 points per $1 spent on any PC products or Joe Fresh, no points for the diapers and formula any more, only one time welcome box. Not worth it for the parents. Maybe worth it for anyone who purchases PC products exclusively.
Not technically 100% true, as PC does have there own diaper brand, and the various other baby products. You still get 10% back on those. So for non PC brands, yea it's gone, for PC baby stuff, just dropped from 20% to 10%.

At 10%, you have to spend $1340 a year on PC products to break even. ($134 with ontario 13% tax). That's still reasonable for most 4+ person families if they shop exclusively at PC grocery/Shoppers. And that's not even counting a cent of the many other ways to get value
- $3-5 saved per PC express pickup
- $5-17 sometimes saved on free fast shipping from shoppers and joefresh - which imo was hardly any deal in 2019 due to poor selection, but starting late 2020 and now especially, Shoppers is really ramping up what they sell online, with most essentials and full on electronics department set up now.. Making it pretty much the #1 place to buy consoles and there video games due to the mostly fixed pricing and awesome PC points deals. So even a solo hardcore console gamer can actually make a profit on PC insiders with zero food purchases now, assuming one buys a fair bit of sub $50 games (today's new triple A $80 releases qualify for the free shipping anyways).
- Various , often very good exclusive points promos. A bit random when they happen, but over the holidays was every week, and otherwise is at least once a month. The main/best one is the extra $5 in point at shoppers during select 20x saturdays. Next week is points days , last years they had pretty nice PC insider exclusive points offers, this year I bet will be even better.
- Various, somewhat rare, grocery pickup discounts. On average I get sent 2-3 codes a year for $10 to $20 off a year, paying for a good chunk of the annual fee.
- 5% back on pctravel.. While I don't super recommend them as a travel agency, wouldn't use for hotels or cars, there site is fine for booking air canada flights and 5% is generally better than most people will average back on travel (and has no impact on aeroplan). At the very least you can call them and get someone to answer pretty fast during business hours.. While with AC if your not super elite, good luck calling them, hope you like waiting for hours.

And while yes they discontinued the welcome box per year.. I was supposed to get one final one, and guess it got lost in shipping, they offered me $20 in points in lieu of shipping a new one which was great customer service.

I'm just a single guy, that buys way too much doordash so less groceries than average person for sure.. But yea I still manage well over the $120 a year in value. Family could easily do it. It is a bit of a game to take advantage of all the exclusive offers, but if you do, yea its very worth.
Member
Aug 28, 2004
319 posts
382 upvotes
Obviously it’s a personal choice based on your spending habits. But the accumulation of 60,000 points and welcome gift and even just PC Express pickup every other week will more then comp the cost. Then you’ll be ahead with any 10% back on PC products. Then cancel if you didn’t realize more then $119 in value over the year.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jul 11, 2006
2087 posts
774 upvotes
Toronto
When did they start skimping on the points for non-members? I knew my points balance wasn't growing quite as fast as before, with trips to Shoppers and Fortinos.
Deal Addict
Jul 22, 2019
2812 posts
3878 upvotes
dassub wrote: When did they start skimping on the points for non-members? I knew my points balance wasn't growing quite as fast as before, with trips to Shoppers and Fortinos.
Loblaws knows they are one of the few places open. Why be "competitive" and give deals? No pandemic pay for employees. No deals on points. They are raking in the cash BIG TIME. They don't need to persuade people to come in and shop.
Member
Dec 25, 2010
382 posts
430 upvotes
Canada, Quebec, Mont…
Eleventeen wrote: Not technically 100% true, as PC does have there own diaper brand, and the various other baby products. You still get 10% back on those. So for non PC brands, yea it's gone, for PC baby stuff, just dropped from 20% to 10%.

At 10%, you have to spend $1340 a year on PC products to break even. ($134 with ontario 13% tax). That's still reasonable for most 4+ person families if they shop exclusively at PC grocery/Shoppers. And that's not even counting a cent of the many other ways to get value
- $3-5 saved per PC express pickup
- $5-17 sometimes saved on free fast shipping from shoppers and joefresh - which imo was hardly any deal in 2019 due to poor selection, but starting late 2020 and now especially, Shoppers is really ramping up what they sell online, with most essentials and full on electronics department set up now.. Making it pretty much the #1 place to buy consoles and there video games due to the mostly fixed pricing and awesome PC points deals. So even a solo hardcore console gamer can actually make a profit on PC insiders with zero food purchases now, assuming one buys a fair bit of sub $50 games (today's new triple A $80 releases qualify for the free shipping anyways).
- Various , often very good exclusive points promos. A bit random when they happen, but over the holidays was every week, and otherwise is at least once a month. The main/best one is the extra $5 in point at shoppers during select 20x saturdays. Next week is points days , last years they had pretty nice PC insider exclusive points offers, this year I bet will be even better.
- Various, somewhat rare, grocery pickup discounts. On average I get sent 2-3 codes a year for $10 to $20 off a year, paying for a good chunk of the annual fee.
- 5% back on pctravel.. While I don't super recommend them as a travel agency, wouldn't use for hotels or cars, there site is fine for booking air canada flights and 5% is generally better than most people will average back on travel (and has no impact on aeroplan). At the very least you can call them and get someone to answer pretty fast during business hours.. While with AC if your not super elite, good luck calling them, hope you like waiting for hours.

And while yes they discontinued the welcome box per year.. I was supposed to get one final one, and guess it got lost in shipping, they offered me $20 in points in lieu of shipping a new one which was great customer service.

I'm just a single guy, that buys way too much doordash so less groceries than average person for sure.. But yea I still manage well over the $120 a year in value. Family could easily do it. It is a bit of a game to take advantage of all the exclusive offers, but if you do, yea its very worth.
Thanks for your detailed description.

I don't care about the pickup, and for now not the free shipping as if I order online, it is usually for a lot of items, but thing can change. I had some question that was unanswered, maybe you can answer.

1. What do they put inside the "welcome box"? How much value? -- I suppose from your answer that it is worth around $20 since they gave you $20 credit.

2. What happen when you buy at Shoppers/Pharmaprix with 20x points offer... are they stacking if it is a PC product or only best of the 2 is taken? I mean, if I buy a PC Product that is already giving 100 points per dollars... I doubt they will 20x that (as that will give 2000 points per $1), I guess it is the best of the 2.

However you talked of an extra $5? So you buy, you get 20x point on your buy and an extra 5000 points on top of that when they offer those?

3. Is there exclusive points offer on product compared to non-insiders offers?

-----

But yeah as you describe it... 60K points = $60 + let's say $30 in extra coupon for grocery + $20 welcome boxe + $5 there and there when going for 20x and personally there are PC Products I buy outside Shoppers/Pharmaprix (like at Maxi, so no 20x possibility), I usually like their product at good price... so I guest I can easily go above $120 in value over a year.

I'm trying to evaluate if it makes sense for me to use that offer.
Deal Addict
Oct 24, 2009
2477 posts
1102 upvotes
Eleventeen wrote: And while yes they discontinued the welcome box per year.. I was supposed to get one final one, and guess it got lost in shipping, they offered me $20 in points in lieu of shipping a new one which was great customer service.
I got two boxes in 2020, one over Christmas and one over the summer. The $20 would've been better.

I had the a year's subscription offered to me for free through a phone call from PC, so I took it. I also did use the $100 travel credit while I was in Thailand, but that's the only value I got from it. I would not bother spending $120 on this.

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