I ordered from Martie, a discount specialty food site that has tons of cheap and fun snacks

The advertisement that got me to click on Martie's website said, "It's like shopping the snack aisle at Marshalls!" Martie sells fun and interesting specialty foods (plus a few beauty and home products) at a major discount. As someone who can frequently be spotted in the snack aisle of my local HomeGoods, this ad was highly targeted and extremely effective.

I spent about 20 minutes adding random snacks, acai smoothie boosters, teas, and more to my cart. I found plenty of brands I already loved and lots of new ones I'd never heard of. When I went to check out, Martie told me I saved $101.89 on my order of $106.64. Of course, I probably also bought a lot more than I usually would have at a grocery store. But I could not resist getting those $10 Firehook crackers I love from Whole Foods for only $3.50.

Is there a catch to the low prices? Well, sort of. Here's how Martie works.

Martie is able to offer lower prices by purchasing overstock items from canceled bulk orders, seasonal treats that haven't expired, products with packaging misprints, and items closer to expiring than a grocery store would stock. They buy these goods at a low price since they'd otherwise be wasted, and pass those savings onto us.

Besides shorter expiration dates, the only real catch is that the minimum order is $40, and shipping costs can vary depending on the size of your order and where you're located. I live in the suburbs above Manhattan, and my shipping cost was $1.99, but if you're shipping to a more remote area, you might be paying a lot more for shipping.

The site carries popular brands like Fishwife and Bonne Maman, along with niche specialty brands

I had expected to see mostly brands I didn't know when I started shopping, but it turns out Martie carries a lot of big names. I was excited to see some of my favorites, like Simple Mills (known for gluten-free crackers), Bonne Maman (the best jams and curds), Unreal (candies made with better ingredients and no food dyes), and Fishwife (expensive but delicious and sustainable tinned fish). Keep in mind that Martie's stock is constantly changing, so you might not find everything you're looking for.

I also discovered some new brands that I'll be looking for in my local grocery stores, including the sprouted almonds from Daily Crunch, and the green apple licorice (with natural food dyes) from Darrell Lea.

It's not just snacks — Martie also carries pet products, baby items, skin and body care, household goods, and more.

Endless options and scrolling leave me with overwhelming decision fatigue, but Martie's sections are helpfully limited. The sections are highly curated and turn over often, so offerings stay fresh and interesting. Plus, you can sort by specific needs like organic or gluten-free.

As a former beauty editor, I'm actually really impressed with some of the skincare and body products on the site. I ordered the Goop Afterglow Body Oil for $19.99, which is now sold out at Martie but retails for $48 at Sephora. The oil was set to expire within a couple of months, which is the reason the discount was so steep.

The expiration date for each item is right above the "add-to-cart" button so you know how long your items will last.

In my order, almost everything had an expiration date within one to two months. Since some of these pantry items have really long shelf lives, you're probably not getting the absolute freshest packaged food. You'll just need to be cautious about only ordering quantities that you know you can eat before they expire.

The prices also seem to go down the closer you get to the expiration date. For example, I paid $8.99 for the Kos Acai Superfood Booster, which had an expiration date a month later. When I checked the website to see its current price 10 days after placing my order, the price had come down to $6.29.

The bottom line: Martie is a great place to find serious discounts on both familiar and new specialty snacks.

In the time it took me to cross-reference prices for this review, I've already found several new snacks I want to try. It's a really fun site that lets you explore new brands and find great deals on pricier stuff you might not splurge on at the grocery store. I'll definitely be browsing Martie for myself, but also for care packages and holiday gift baskets in the future.

Start browsing at Martie.

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