I can't tell if my thrive cash of $5 was applied to my order or not. I can't tell if my thrive cash of $5 was applied to my order or not

I have been a member of Thrive for several years and at first I liked them. When I PAID my annual membership fee, I TRUSTED that their promise of discounted prices was genuine. But not so.

Since I believe in giving credit where credit is due, I am going to start with what is GOOD about Thrive Market.

1. On the good side, the products that they ship to you are always neatly and securely packed and there is seldom any damage. If anything is damaged, they ask you to send a photo of the damaged item and then they give you a full refund. I don't like them in general, but this particular aspect of their business is actually excellent.

2. They also offer FREE MEMBERSHIPS to people who qualify, so if you still want to buy from them after reading what I am about to tell you, then see if you qualify for a free membership. Since the membership issue is mainly what I do not like about Thrive, having a FREE MEMBERSHIP would go a long way toward resolving my issues with them.

I have cancelled my current membership, but since my husband is a veteran, I hear he meets one of their criteria for a free membership so I might have him join and keep shopping here - but with careful price checking because their prices are not usually truly discounted as they claim.

Now. Here is what I DO NOT LIKE ABOUT THRIVE MARKET: Their prices are not discounted and you can often find the same items for less on other non-paid sites. My advice is to save the membership fee and just shop elsewhere.

I started to smell a rat when I ran across one of the products I had purchased on Thrive while browsing Amazon. This product was not just less expensive on Amazon, but it was LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE OF OF WHAT I HAD PAID ON THRIVE MARKETPLACE!

Thrive does have a price-match policy, but why should I have to take the time to price-check all my purchases? That is a seriously time consuming and deeply involved process. Why couldn't I just TRUST THESE SCOUNDRELS WHO PROMISED DISCOUNTED PRICES IN EXCHANGE FOR A PAID MEMBERSHIP instead of having to watch them like a hawk every time I buy something from them?

For awhile I put up with it, thinking it was probably a one-off situation. But recently, I printed out my latest order and actually compared what I was paying on THRIVE to the same products on NON PAID SITES like VitaCost, iHerb, Amazon, and others. After comparing the prices I was paying to other sites, I was shocked to find that a full 70% of the items I had purchased on THRIVE were less expensive elsewhere. The other 30% were less expensive on Thrive, but that savings was not enough to offset the subscription fee.

Thrive Market's prices are absolutely NOT DISCOUNTED. They are a little higher if not significantly more expensive than their MEMBERSHIP-FREE competitors. Occasionally, they are slightly lower, but not significantly lower. The truth is that Thrive is a high-end vendor with a reputation for low prices but the prices tell another story.

Lately, Thrive Market introduced their own house brands that SOMETIMES (but not always) have a lower price, but the quality is not the same. If you buy their house brand products, be sure to read the ingredients and compare them to mainstream brands. An example of their canned Coconut Milk - the ingredients don't "actually" include real coconut milk. Here is their ingredient list: Water, Organic Coconut Extract. Will somebody please tell me WHAT IS COCONUT EXTRACT? I don't see anything in the ingredient list that says COCONUT MILK! Other Thrive house brand products might have similar strange ingredient lists. Sometimes, the ingredient list checks out, but not always. Again, you have to be careful.

When I pay a membership fee, I expect to get what is promised and with THRIVE this simply does not usually end up costing what they promised. The thing that irks me the most is that this: in my membership page, they have a running total of what they have "saved" me over the years. The problem is that this savings tab is based on dishonest pricing - they claim that the products they carry are more expensive on the open market than they really are. Then they make it LOOK like you are saving money when you are really paying the same or more. They must think their customers are stupid!

AND GOOD LUCK GETTING THEIR CLAWS OUT OF YOUR POCKET, BECAUSE THE DO NOT MAKE IT EASY TO END YOUR MEMBERSHIP. Instead of simply allowing you to go into your account, delete your membership AND remove your payment information, they REQUIRE members to take precious time to call them ON THE PHONE, sit on hold, and have THEM end your membership for you. That is AFTER YOU SUBMIT TO AN INQUISITION ABOUT WHY YOU ARE LEAVING, AND "ENCOURAGING" YOU TO STAY.

This type of shady dealing makes me angry. My advice is RUN AWAY. Do not waste your hard-earned money buying from people with this kind of dishonest and greedy business model.

Gaslighting is real with this company! I had signed up for a monthly membership back in July. Upon browsing the sign I realized I'd really prefer to shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or Aldi- I get delivery through Instacart and it's just much faster and more convenient for me and my needs. I called to cancel, which is when I found out they don't do phone calls. I requested somebody contact me, and somebody texted me 3 to 4 hours later. Not a big deal I understand there is a labor shortage, no worries. I canceled my membership and they sent me an email and a survey. Being someone that's busy and works and runs a household- I didn't fill out the survey or reply back to their email. It was very clear when I spoke to the representative that I wanted to cancel and the services weren't for me. Everything was fine- UNTIL, three months later they started charging my card again. I reached out to customer service again, told them this must've happened by mistake because I canceled my membership three months ago. The representative explain to me that since I didn't reply to their email or fill out their customer service survey they started charging my card again. I said there Hass to be some mistake and that didn't make any sense to which they gaslighting me. Saying that they do not offer refunds -and that my future membership would be canceled. I let them know that I don't have a membership with them anymore and I canceled three months ago. Again with the gaslighting. It really made me question their ethics in the way they do business. Seeing the other people have had this issue to makes me feel justified. They gaslight me and acted like it was my fault for not replying to an email after I clearly canceled. That just doesn't sound like a business that's going to be prosperous to me, you have to care about your customers, you need to be fair and empathetic. I reached out to their data department and their legal team. I am requesting that my data be deleted because I feel really unsafe with them having my credit card number. Obviously they will charge it whenever they want despite my multiple efforts to cancel. If you love it that's great, and I'm happy for you but be really careful if you're looking into signing up with this company. Something isn't right here.

THIS IS SO EASY TO USE. I ORDER ONLINE & MY ORDER IS DELIVERED RIGHT TO MY DOOR. I AM LEGALLY BLIND & CAN'T READ LABLES IN A GROCERY STORE.

See above in. Title. They are efficient no nosense people inwitch I definitely appreciate immensely

Horrible customer service! I have special dietary needs due to allergies, so I placed my first order, while doing so intentionally at a specific time to take advantage of certain promos and "gifts" I wanted (heads up, they email you about their promos multiple times/day, prepare to be spammed like you never have been before if you sign up for their emails), then went back a few days later to order a couple of things I forgot about and suddenly the majority of their website was having issues and couldn't be viewed. I tried again the next day and the day after, but same issue. So I wrote to them and let them know about the issue, asked that they cancel my membership I was going to try out (because if you can't see their website, you can't shop and actually use your membership), but the rep I spoke with was only concerned about keeping me on my membership and told me how much I would save (which them made it feel like a scam or a used car purchase). I reminded her I couldn't see the website (which she still hadn't addressed), asked that she cancel it again, so she agreed to cancel it without any mention of how I can view their website. Shortly after, my order arrives poorly package, the entire full size bottle of cold brew (one of the "gifts") had leaked all over on the thin plastic bag it was in and outside of it into other items in the box. I contacted thrive and nicely let them know, they responded back that there was nothing they could do since I already cancelled my membership. So I asked to speak to a supervisor, but one never reached out as of several days later. Wrote to them again and asked to speak with a supervisor and one responded to let me know their website doesn't always work well or without the use of certain browsers, I should use their app, and my item was free so they can't resend it, plus I cancelled my membership. I wrote back and let them know I'll ship at Vitacost (or anybody else) over their website because I placed my order at the time that I did under the impression I would be getting the offers that were extended to me and that "gift" was one of them, she had the nerve to write back again and tell me it was free and they couldn't credit my account since I don't have one. I don't know what is wrong with these people, they're unbelievably rude, I'm sure they would be mad if someone talked to and treated them the way they treat others, so I assume poor customer service and defensive behavior is just how their culture is there, which isn't a company I want to do business with. After seeing how many people have complained about membership issues and poor customer service, I'm just glad I'm cutting my losses now and moving on.

Honestly, membership fee complaints aside, I think that ordering from here is a waste of time. They don't sell fresh produce, kombucha, salsa, etc. so you have to go to the grocery store anyways to buy a majority of your weekly items. Plus, if you care about being zero waste, it's more zero waste to just buy bulk nuts/rice/etc at the store in mason jars then have it come in packaging (even if it's biodegradable) and be shipped using gas/fossil fuels from thrive when you're going to have to use your own gas anyways to get all the stuff you can't get at thrive.

Another thing is that they aren't super transparent on what is happening behind the scenes when they give a membership to someone in need. I feel like people would be more keen on having a subscription and paying the $60 if they actually knew what there dollars were going towards. What I mean by this is, who/where are the people that you are giving these memberships to? How does thrive market find these people? What is the system that they set up to determine if someone is eligible for a free membership? How can these people in need find out how to get a free membership? If they are lower class individuals then how do they order items if they can't afford a computer and possibly don't have a local library? I have tons of family that would benefit from a free membership that are in need but nowhere can I find how to get connected in that way. The bottom line is people want to help and are surprisingly generous, but we aren't going to trust a company that isn't transparent because it just seems like a scam if you aren't showing what the company is actually doing to help people.

Also, if you're just using 1 person's $60 membership fee to pay for someone in need's $60 membership fee, thrive market isn't making any money from that (another red flag that seems like a scam). So it would just be easier to not have a membership fee at all and let everyone buy for free. Plus, thrive would get so many more customers including the many working class/lower middle class that wouldn't qualify for a free membership but can't afford the $60 fee. The system essentially isn't set up for everyone to "thrive". Only a small amount of people in poverty (who get the free memberships supposedly) and middle class to upper class individuals that can afford the membership are benefiting from this site. Everyone else including most people in poverty and all working class/lower middle class individuals aren't included in the picture because they can't afford it. NO, it's not bad for a company to start up because they are interested in making money, YES, it is bad for a company to seem like they are helping poor people be healthy when that's just a sales pitch for wealthier individuals to buy into a membership. If you actually wanted to help people you would make it free.

Anyways, here are some of my favorite SoCal places to shop that are ethical alternatives to thrive market: Lazy Acres, Seed People's Market in Costa Mesa, Krochet Kids (this one is clothing but they are ethical and SUPER transparent on where your money goes), Mother's Market, Trater Joes, and farmers markets to support your local business owners! All these stores have awesome products and friendly employees so you'll enjoy shopping a bit more!

UGH! What an absolute SCAM! I never thought I'd have to worry about this kind of crap from a company that professes to have the values they do.

I placed an order, NEVER NOTICED ANYTHING ABOUT MEMBERSHIP... so much so that I wasn't even aware that membership was even a THING with this company, much less that I'd be signing up for it.

Suddenly, there's a whopping $60 fee on my credit card! I AM SO P! SS3D! Now I'm sitting on hold with them, and their recording says that it will take AN HOUR for someone to even be able to answer the phone. What the heck kind of support is this!

I don't want this membership, I won't USE this membership. Even if it were a good deal, since I got scammed into membership, I don't want to have anything to do with this company and will never EVER order from them again.

Their responses to people's complaints on here say that they email you the week before you'll be charged (no, they didn't), and then they email you again right before you'll be charged for the annual membership. (no, they didn't). If that were true, then there wouldn't be so many complaints on here.

If it were also true that we weren't getting scammed into the annual membership, and that it is made clear the customers, then there wouldn't be all these complaints.

Check out the Better Business Bureau as well. There were so many complaints that they had to call the company to get them to change their practices.

I'm a natural health care provider who treats HUNDREDS of people each year who use the products that Thrive Market sells. I will for sure be telling everyone about this scammy company and warning them to STAY AWAY.

Oh yeah... insult to injury... they tell you to try Chat support with them so you don't have to wait on hold so long... and it's so hard to even find the chat window, as it's only on certain windows. Then, once you click it, is just sits there looking like it's trying to open up, but it never does.

Probably because they're swamped with all the other angry people like me, trying to get their membership cancelled.

They claim that they make it obvious that you are signing up for a trial membership, so how are SO many people missing it? There are a few reasons.
1. "30 day FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP" is in bold and large text. Then only below it do they put in non-bold and small text "After your trial, you'll be charged." (And this may be worse on some browsers and some screens - which I doubt they tested) 2. The site repeatedly displays this on every page: "Today Only: Save an Extra 20% Off Your First 3 Orders Shop Now" - but they fail to display the membership details on any page. Also, the above text is a lie. The discount is not "today only" - it is every day. But anyway, that is the deal that catches everyone's attention. Further, I doubt they have tested this on every browser, screen resolution, and every mobile device, and the disparity between their big bold discounts and fine print of being charged after the trial is even worse on some screens.

I certainly did not see anything about this trial or I would've cancelled it immediately that day. I've dealt with this before on apps and websites & always cancel the same day or put it on my calendar to cancel it. I do this because other sites make the fee CLEAR. Thrive deliberately does not. How do I know it is deliberate? Well, for one thing - they haven't changed a thing about their website despite hundreds of complaints. But there is more.

By not making their fees conspicuous (clearly visible - like their promotions are), it is a violation most states' consumer fraud and deceptive business practices laws. So, you'd think I could just take them to court for this and also get punitive damages for this behavior, right? Nope! They thought of that already, and this is where it gets interesting. Their TOS has an arbitration clause, making it impossible to sue them out in an actual court of law. You have to arbitrate, and you can only arbitrate in California, per the TOS. Arbitration rarely (if ever) awards punitive damages, so you'd spend quite a lot of time and money traveling to CA for $60 - which nobody would do. They obviously know this.

Now, to Thrive Market employees who read / respond to comments here, why does a simple healthy organic online grocery store need a lengthy & tightly bound arbitration clause in its terms of service? Hmm? It is because you know the little scam you have going on with membership fees would eventually be challenged in another state's court system, at a tremendous cost to you in legal & travel fees to attend court out of state? That's the only reason I can think of, and I am sure that's the real reason, because what customer would fly to Marina Del Rey to arbitrate over a $60 membership fee? I was going to sue you here under our consumer protection laws just because you seem like horrible people, but I can't due to that clause (which may not hold up due to fraud - i. E. not conspicuously labeling membership fees... laws were passed about this after gyms defrauded consumers). Also, can you answer me this: After reading months of complaints about this issue, why have you refused to make ANY alterations in your website to make the fee more obvious? Do you think anyone signs up for Amazon Prime without knowing about it? Now ask yourselves what you are doing different from Amazon and why. Feel free to post it as a response (I see you ignored my post, but you responded to everyone else.)

Oh, in the fine print, Thrive does allow you to opt out of arbitration for the first 30 days after your purchase - only in a very small block of text in their massive TOS. But if you opt out, they still claim (though I don't see how this is enforceable) that all disputes are settled in CA under CA law... and not where the damaged party is (which is where jurisdiction should be). Consumer fraud lawsuits are brought where the consumer was defrauded 99% of the time, NOT where the company is based - like they are trying to enforce.

It is amazing how they keep pretending they just innocently charged you a yearly membership fee on here - and you're the one at fault for missing it (and you "agreed to" it - supposedly -- amazing how many hundreds of people missed it though isn't it?). However, when you read the TOS & see their refusal to modify the website, this reveals their true nature. It's all deliberate - obviously. Truly nasty, vile people are behind this site.

I signed up for Thrive Market because I saw that they carried a supplement I liked, and I could receive it at a discount for what I paid locally. Much like most other memberships, they were very clear in writing that I was receiving a trial membership to receive access to their products, and it would automatically renew my subscription at the end of the trial. A lot of people complained about this, but it's no different than Amazon, any number of food subscription boxes, or various other free trial offers. What I do have a problem with is how difficult it is to cancel the trial membership. First of all, there is no explanation of how to cancel except in the FAQ section. Second, there is no email or quick button to cancel the membership like most other services; instead, you have to call between 8am and 4pm, a time when most people are at work. I called just before the cut-off, and they offered to call back within sixty minutes so I could avoid a wait, but that would have put it outside of their operating hours, meaning I might not have received a call back at all today. I decided to wait, and my call was immediately answered by someone saying they were calling me back about Thrive because they are apparently unaware of whether they are making outgoing calls or taking incoming ones. I told him I would like to cancel my trial membership because I only used it for one item, I was not interested in their other products, and I found the same prices elsewhere without a $60 commitment. The agent asked me to explain in further detail, and when I did, he told me he was happy to let me know he was signing me up for a 30 day extension of the free trial membership. I've dealt with a lot of trial memberships and subscriptions, but this was a first. I was furious, and I tried to calmly explain that I didn't want a renewal, I just wanted to cancel. He completely disregarded this and told me how he wanted me to check out all of their other great products and how this extended free trial he was signing me up for would help me try out more products. That isn't trying to upsell or stop someone from canceling. That's outright forcing a membership on a customer. When I said that, he said he wasn't forcing anything... and continued to try and get me to take the extended trial. I ended up having to threaten to file a complaint before he finally agreed to cancel the trial. The worst part about all of it was that I found the product I had originally signed up for cheaper elsewhere -- and much cheaper with coupons. And since my product was just under $50 at Thrive, I would have had to pay shipping even WITH my $60 yearly membership, whereas I pay no shipping with my membership free order elsewhere. I had checked out a few other products in their health section, and again, I found that I could find all of them cheaper or the same price elsewhere, and mostly without a shipping charge. It's bad enough that they charge $60 membership fees for prices that aren't competitive, but to try and force a membership on a customer is absolutely unacceptable. Stay away from this company because once you sign up, it's not easy to cancel your free trial.