Amazon announced on September 3, 2024, that Seattle-area specialty grocer Metropolitan Market had joined Amazon’s third-party grocery-delivery network. The arrangement initially covered shoppers in Sammamish, Queen Anne, Tacoma and Crown Hill, while Metropolitan Market continued offering delivery through Instacart and DoorDash. It was a marketplace and delivery partnership—not an acquisition or an exclusive Amazon operation.
The launch terms below are historical. Availability, fees, subscription prices and delivery rules may have changed, and a current checkout is required to confirm what a shopper can get in 2026.
What Amazon and Metropolitan Market announced
Customers could order Metropolitan Market groceries through Amazon’s website, alongside Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods and other participating retailers. Metropolitan Market supplied the products and store inventory; Amazon provided the ordering marketplace and access to its customer base.
Metropolitan Market had 10 Seattle-region locations at the time of the announcement. The premium grocer already maintained delivery relationships with Instacart and DoorDash, so the Amazon deal added another distribution channel rather than replacing those services.
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Amazon’s announcement was reported by GeekWire on September 3, 2024: Amazon grows third-party grocery delivery network, inks new deal with Metropolitan Market in Seattle.
Where the service initially worked
Amazon said Metropolitan Market delivery was initially available in:
- Sammamish
- Queen Anne
- Tacoma
- Crown Hill
Those were launch areas, not a guarantee of permanent or complete neighborhood coverage. Grocery eligibility is typically determined by the delivery address, selected store, inventory, delivery capacity, order size and available time slots. A shopper must enter an address and check the live storefront before assuming an order can be delivered.
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The Amazon storefront cited in the announcement is Amazon’s Metropolitan Market page. Metropolitan Market also maintains its own pickup and delivery page.
What Prime members received at launch
The reported September 2024 terms applied to both Prime and non-Prime customers, but Prime members could qualify for delivery-fee benefits:
| Launch provision | Reported 2024 terms |
|---|---|
| Prime introductory offer | Free Metropolitan Market delivery on a member’s first three orders above $10 |
| Separate grocery-delivery subscription | $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, according to the 2024 report |
| Subscription threshold | Free same-day grocery delivery above $35 for eligible Prime members |
| Prime without that subscription | Free grocery delivery above $80 at select third-party stores |
These figures were launch-period terms, not verified August 2026 pricing. The available evidence does not establish today’s membership cost, service fees, small-order charges, tips, item-price differences, minimums or delivery zones. Prime membership alone did not mean every grocery order was free to deliver.
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Why the advertised fee can mislead
A zero delivery fee is only one part of the delivered cost. Compare the full checkout total, including item prices, service or priority fees, taxes, tip, membership cost, substitutions and refunds. A promotion can reduce the first few orders without making a recurring shopping pattern cheaper.
How Amazon compares with Instacart and DoorDash
Metropolitan Market’s presence on multiple platforms gives shoppers a choice, but no available evidence proves that one service is universally cheapest or fastest. Compare identical baskets and delivery windows.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Market availability | Confirmed at the 2024 launch | Existing relationship reported | Existing relationship reported |
| Marketplace | Amazon website or app | Instacart marketplace | DoorDash marketplace |
| Membership integration | Prime plus reported grocery-delivery terms at launch | Separate membership and fee structure; current terms require verification | Separate membership and fee structure; current terms require verification |
| Store choice | Amazon, Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and participating third-party retailers | Broad multi-retailer grocery marketplace | Grocery, convenience, restaurant and retail marketplace |
| Best comparison | Total delivered price, selection, delivery slot, substitutions, promotions and support | ||
Retailers often use several marketplaces to reach different customer groups. Metropolitan Market’s continued relationships with Instacart and DoorDash mean the Amazon arrangement was not exclusive.
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A practical comparison checklist
- Enter the same delivery address and build the same basket.
- Compare the final total, not only the headline delivery fee.
- Check whether loyalty prices, coupons or prepared-food promotions transfer to the marketplace.
- Review delivery windows, substitution controls and refund procedures.
- Check tip expectations and any small-order, service or priority fees.
- Confirm how alcohol, age-restricted products and specialty items are handled.
- Identify whether store questions go to Metropolitan Market or the marketplace’s support team.
What the deal says about Amazon’s grocery strategy
The partnership expanded Amazon’s local assortment without requiring Amazon to buy another grocer or rely only on its own stores. It also gave Amazon another way to use same-day delivery capacity and keep Prime customers shopping for recurring household needs.
Amazon’s grocery history includes Amazon Fresh experiments beginning in 2007 and its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017. The Metropolitan Market arrangement added an asset-light layer: established retailers could contribute local inventory while Amazon supplied digital demand and delivery infrastructure.
Amazon separately described a broader same-day strategy involving regionalized fulfillment and inventory placed closer to customers. Its 2024 corporate overview said same-day delivery operated in more than 120 U.S. metropolitan areas, but that statistic describes Amazon’s overall network—not Metropolitan Market’s delivery performance. See Amazon’s same-day delivery overview.
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- Gift Cards are shipped active and ready for use.
- This card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Funds do not expire. If available funds remain on your card after the valid thru date has passed, please call customer service for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout. No fees after purchase.
- To access your card information safely, type the complete website address shown on your Gift Card (MyGift.GiftCardMall.com) directly into your browser's address bar. Don't use search engines or shortened versions of the website address, as these may lead you to fake or fraudulent sites. Do not provide any Gift Card details (example: Card Number) to someone you do not know or trust. If you believe you've reached an illegitimate website, contact cardholder service at 1-888-524-1283. Be cautious of phishing sites, there are a variety of scams in which fraudsters try to trick others into paying with gift cards.
- To report your Lost or Stolen Physical Visa Card, call Customer Service 24/7 at 1 (888) 524-1283 to cancel your Gift Card as soon as you can. You will be asked to provide the Gift Card number and other identifying information.
- Use your Visa Gift Card in the U.S. everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, including online.
Trade-offs for Amazon
- Benefit: more grocery selection and local assortment without acquiring additional stores.
- Benefit: greater use of Prime and same-day logistics infrastructure.
- Risk: perishable fulfillment is harder to standardize than parcel delivery.
- Risk: grocery margins are thin, while delivery, substitutions and refunds add cost.
- Risk: service quality can vary across independent retail partners.
Trade-offs for Metropolitan Market
- Benefit: access to Amazon’s customer base and an additional acquisition channel.
- Benefit: incremental orders without building a separate large marketplace.
- Risk: platform fees and less control over the customer relationship.
- Risk: customer data and loyalty may remain with the marketplace.
What shoppers should verify before ordering
- Open the Metropolitan Market storefront and enter the exact delivery address.
- Confirm the selected store, available inventory and delivery window.
- Read the checkout breakdown for item prices, delivery, service, small-order and other fees.
- Check the minimum order and whether any Prime or grocery-subscription benefit applies.
- Review substitution, refund and damaged-or-late-order instructions before paying.
- Compare the same basket on Instacart and DoorDash if total cost matters more than account convenience.
Perishable grocery orders are not ordinary Amazon parcels. Temperature handling, substitutions, missing items, refunds, tips and customer support can follow different rules, and not every product in a physical store will necessarily appear online.
What remains unverified
The 2024 announcement does not establish whether Metropolitan Market remains available through Amazon in August 2026, which neighborhoods are currently covered, who physically picks and delivers each order, or what commissions and retailer economics apply. It also does not provide a controlled basket comparison with Instacart or DoorDash.
For current terms, rely on the live checkout and official pages rather than the historical $10, $35, $80, $9.99 or $99.99 figures. Amazon’s Seattle and Puget Sound corporate information is available at Amazon’s Seattle and Puget Sound page.
The Bottom Line
Amazon’s Metropolitan Market deal showed how it could broaden grocery selection through local retail partnerships instead of relying solely on Amazon-owned stores. For shoppers, the useful question is not whether Prime makes delivery automatically free, but whether the current address-level checkout offers the best combination of total price, selection, delivery time and support.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
