Is Postmates Worth it? Pros and Cons of Postmates

– Is Postmates Worth it? –

Is Postmates Worth it? If you are looking forward to making a passive income and perhaps have heard about postmate.

Is Postmates Worth it? Pros and Cons of Postmates

Is Postmates Worth it? Pros and Cons of Postmates

This article covers everything you would want to know about the delivery service. How postmate persons get paid.

The advantages and disadvantages of the delivery service, and as well the basic eligibility to signup as a postmate delivery person. Let dive in to know more in detail

What is Postmates About?

Postmates is a popular local delivery app with a dense network of local merchants, many of which are small, independently-owned businesses.

These include restaurants, grocery stores, drugstores, liquor stores, and general-purpose retailers.

Operating in more than 100 metropolitan areas around the United States, Postmates is powered by a growing army of relatively well-compensated independent contractors also called Postmates – capable of delivering most products an hour or less after they’re ordered.

If you’re looking to monetize your spare time by tapping into the gig economy, Postmates is a great way to earn some extra cash.

Is Postmates Worth it? 

All you need is a car, bike, or scooter and a willingness to out-hustle your fellow Postmates. According to the company, Postmates workers can earn $25 per hour or more in some markets at periods of peak demand.

Postmates doesn’t have a lock on the local delivery market, of course. Opportunities to earn money by delivering everyday goods abound, thanks to:

  • Regional grocery delivery services
  • National delivery services like Instacartand Amazon Fresh
  • Restaurant-focused delivery platforms like DoorDashand Grubhub
  • Task marketplaces like TaskRabbit, which sometimes offer courier services

Intrigued by the prospect of earning extra income with Postmates? Read on to learn what to expect from the platform, what to watch out for, and how to maximize your earning potential.

READ ALSO

How It Works for Postmates

If you’re willing to brave traffic, the elements, and the myriad pitfalls of the service industry, working as a Postmate is a great way to earn extra income outside of your day job.

It helps pay the bills as you work toward a degree, or simply to fill the gaps between full-time positions.

How It Works for Postmates

As a Postmate, you’re classified as an independent contractor and aren’t entitled to a minimum wage or other protections afforded by full-time employees.

But Postmates brags that individual Postmates can make $25 per hour or more. Though these results aren’t typical, they’re not bad for a job that doesn’t require a four-year college degree or even much on-the-job training.

Basic Eligibility Requirements

To make it through the initial round of the delivery agent application process, applicants need to meet some basic eligibility requirements:

  • Live in or near a Postmates market, though a Postmate can work in any of the company’s active markets once admitted to the app
  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
  • Own a functional bike, car, truck, scooter, or motorcycle, with valid vehicle insurance if required (Postmates also provides liability insurance up to $1 million per incident for each Postmate, at no cost to the worker)
  • Have a valid driver’s license, even if you’re only delivering by bike

Postmate applicants often have previous delivery experience. That could mean they’ve worked directly for a restaurant, delivered for a logistics company like UPS or FedEx, or picked up hours with direct competitors like Instacart or Grubhub.

But it isn’t a prerequisite.

How to Apply and Start Delivering for Postmates

Signing up to become a Postmates delivery person is a really simple process. Go online and get started at Postmates, then enter your email address and a secure password.

How to Apply and Start Delivering for Postmates

Postmates will ask you for your phone number and address so they can send you a Postmates card that you’ll use to pay for deliveries.

You’ll be matched with the delivery location (what Postmates refers to as a market) closest to your address, but you can always change your delivery location if you need to.

Postmates will also ask for your Social Security number and date of birth so they can perform a background check.

If you plan on driving for Postmates, which is how you’ll be eligible for the most orders, you’ll also need to enter your driver’s license number and expiration date.

After you’ve filled out your online application, it usually takes between 1 to 3 days for Postmates to verify your account before you can start driving.

Postmates will send you a welcome packet, including a prepaid card and delivery bag.

How Postmates Delivery Persons are Payed

Delivery drivers are paid weekly via direct deposit, and it takes about 2 to 3 days for your payout.

To show up in your bank account. You can keep track of your earnings for the day or week in the app’s dashboard.

If you want fast cash, you can sign up for Instant Deposit by linking your debit card to the Postmates app and cash out whenever you want.

There’s no limit to the number of times you can use it, but there’s a $0.50 fee per Instant Deposit. You also need at least $5 in your Postmates account

For each completed delivery, you’ll receive a payment broken down as follows:

  • The variable amount for each completed pickup
  • A variable amount for each completed dropoff
  • A variable amount (paid by the minute) for time spent waiting for the merchant to fill the order (if applicable)
  • Variable per-mile rate covering the distance between the pickup and dropoff locations
  • 100% of tips from the customer

Is Postmates Worth it? Details

Postmates CEO Bastian Lehman says that during peak hours, drivers have a median pay of $19/hour. Drivers on Indeed reports earnings from $12.40-$37.40/hour, with an average pay of $21.06/hour.

And on Glassdoor, drivers have reported base hourly earnings from $6-$26/hour, with an average base pay of $11.

Your entire account balance pays out via weekly direct deposits. Payments for activity during the prior Monday-to-Sunday period hit your linked account by midweek in most cases.

If you need funds sooner, you can cash out to a linked bank account using Postmates’ Instant Deposit feature.

Pros and Cons of Postmates Delivery Service

Postmates still has its pros and cons, and you need to know about them to put you on track.  if you want to consider this as a passive income. These advantages and disadvantages are stated below.

Pros and Cons of Postmates Delivery Service

Pros of Postmates

Postmates’ top advantages for drivers include no car necessary to work on the platform.

Attractive pay in busy periods, delivery fees proportional to distance, and demand pricing during busy periods.

we always receive questions such as ‘Is Postmates Worth it?’

1. No Car Necessary

If you’re an avid bike commuter, there’s a place for you at Postmates.

The platform permits bike-only delivery agents in all of its markets, allowing people who don’t own cars to earn some extra cash.

Other platforms, including TaskRabbit and Bite Squad, require you to have your own car or at least, be comfortable with driving one.

2. Pay Can Be Attractive

Postmates brags that its delivery people can make $25 or more per hour, including tips. Though this isn’t guaranteed, and you probably shouldn’t expect to earn so much on your very first shift.

Your earning power is higher here than in most other service-industry jobs – and on many competing delivery platforms. For instance, Instacart shoppers earn about $14 per hour plus tips, according to Glassdoor.

3. Delivery Fees Rise With Delivery Distance

To account for higher out-of-pocket fuel costs and greater time investments, Postmates compensates delivery people more for longer deliveries, increasing the likelihood they’ll accept out-of-the-way jobs.

Some competing platforms’ delivery fees are proportional to the size of the order, not the distance. That means drivers on long-distance deliveries must hope for higher tips, which aren’t always forthcoming.

Cons of Postmates

Postmates’ disadvantages include workers’, independent contractor status.

The potentially high overhead for those with gas-powered vehicles, and limited availability in smaller cities and metro areas.

1. Postmates Are Independent Contractors

All Postmates work as independent contractors. They’re responsible for tracking their own tax liabilities, paying their own expenses (such as fuel and car insurance). And eating the opportunity cost of an illness or injury.

Postmates, also don’t have much in the way of job security – they can be kicked off the app basically at will.

Pro tip: Since you’ll be running your own small business, it would be a good idea to use a cloud-based accounting platform, like Freshbooks to track all your expenses.

Then at tax time, you can just hand everything over to your accountant or upload it into either TurboTax or H&R Block.

2. Overhead Can Eat Into Earnings

Postmates, particularly those with their own cars, deal with fairly high overhead costs that can eat into their earnings. They’re responsible for the cost of fuel, vehicle insurance, parking, and possibly other expenses.

By contrast, Bite Squad and some regional grocery delivery services cover overhead costs, allowing workers to keep more of their pay and tips.

Pro tip: You can also rent cars from Hyrecar, and use them for the sole purpose of driving for Postmates, or similar services.

3. Not Viable in Many Locations

Postmates operates chiefly in larger cities and metro areas. If you’re out in the boonies, Postmates isn’t a viable extra-income option.

Larger logistics firms, such as Amazon, and regional grocery delivery services often have a presence in rural areas. Still, they’re not guaranteed to pay as well or schedule workers as flexibly as Postmates.

After going through this detailed article about postmates, you can go just right ahead and decide if you want this passive income.

If it is worth it for you if you have the required qualification, and finally, consider its advantages and disadvantages.

I believe you found this article helpful.go ahead and share it with your friends who might also need this information.

Subscribe to our website, and don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section about what you think, about the postmate delivery service.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *