Instacart: order for less with someone else's gift card
Updated September 29, 2026 · Reviewed by Kirill Novikov, FlipGift founder
Get your Instacart order delivered for less than the app charges: a seller who holds an Instacart gift card places it for you with the card, and escrow pays them only once you have the food. Instacart cards trade at roughly 8–12% off; grocery carts are larger, so the dollar saving is the biggest in this list.
How Instacart orders work here
The seller builds your grocery cart in Instacart — from the same store you screenshotted — and pays with their Instacart card. Groceries mean substitutions: you tell the seller up front whether an out-of-stock item should be replaced with the closest thing, skipped and refunded, or asked about in the chat while the shopper is in the aisle.
Instacart is built around delivery windows, so scheduling is natural here: pick the window you want and the seller books it.
Who the courier calls
Instacart shoppers message the account holder about replacements and delivery — the seller. If you chose "ask me first", be in the deal chat while they shop: the seller relays the shopper's question and your answer within a minute.
What you pay
Typical Instacart orders: a weekly grocery run, a party restock, a pharmacy-and-snacks order. You pay the app's total minus the discount you pick, plus a 2.5% fee, from your FlipGift balance. The food hub has the whole flow, step by step, and how tips, fees and substitutions are settled.
Order from Instacart → Upload a screenshot of your cart; a seller is matched in minutes.
Holding an Instacart gift card? List it on the food sell form and get paid once the buyer has their food.