Delivering packages for Amazon through the Amazon Flex app is a great way to earn extra money. But when it comes to app design and usability, it falls behind other delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
When you open Amazon Flex and search for delivery offers, you will see confusing codes and unexplained order labels.
An order might say: Torrance (DCX7) Amazon.com with no additional information to explain the meaning. It’s confusing for new Flex drivers, and the lack of clarity makes it hard to pick good offers.
There’s a lot of info built into each offer. But you need to know the codes!
Here’s a quick explanation: The first letter is the order type, the following three letters and numbers are the pickup location, and the words at the end describe more about the order type. More detail on decoding orders below!
In this article, learn what each order type is, what the warehouse codes mean, and what kind of work you will do for each order type.
Article contents
- A list of all Amazon Flex offer types
- Warehouse codes and pickup locations
- Instant offers: On-demand work
- How to get more offers
Amazon Flex offers: What each order type means
As you browse offers in Amazon Flex, each offer shows the order type, date, estimated payout, length of the shift, and information about the location.
The order types are AMZL, Amazon.com, Sub Same-Day, Whole Foods, Fresh, Prime Now, Community Delivery, and Retail Delivery.
How to decode a Flex order
Each order type involves picking up items and delivering them to a customer, but there are differences between the orders that you’ll want to understand before you accept the offer.
Amazon Flex order types
- AMZL or Amazon.com — Also known as ‘logistics’ offers. These are standard Amazon.com deliveries that come in boxes and envelopes. Routes have around 10–40 packages.
- Sub Same-Day — Similar to Amazon.com, but for same-day and overnight deliveries.
- Prime Now — Amazon instant deliveries with a 1–2 hour turnaround. Customers can tip. Packages are in a bag. Many drop-offs will include several bags per address. Routes may be shorter.
- Fresh — Amazon Fresh grocery orders. Customers can tip. Typically fewer stops on the route compared to logistics.
- Whole Foods — Grocery delivery pickups from Whole Foods. Customers can tip.
- Community Delivery — Deliveries from local food banks to people in need.
- Retail delivery — Pick up orders from non-Amazon retailers at local malls and shopping centers.
Order types: AMZL, Prime Now, Fresh, Whole Foods. Note the estimated payouts
How to decode warehouse codes and pickup locations
When browsing offers, you’ll notice that each offer lists a location, a warehouse code in parenthesis, and an order type.
For example, an order might be “Santa Monica – (UCA3) Prime Now.”
The first letter describes the delivery pickup location. The following three letters and numbers are the warehouse location.
Here’s what the first letter in a warehouse code means:
- D: Standard Amazon.com warehouse pickup
- C: Whole foods
- H: Amazon XL large pickups
- N: Neighborhood delivery
- P: Retail delivery
- R: Community delivery
- M: Amazon Fresh
- U: Amazon Fresh online delivery and Prime Now
- V: Sub-same day
In the example “Santa Monica – (UCA3) Prime Now,” the letter U means that it’s a Prime Now delivery, and it’s from a facility labeled CA3 in Santa Monica.
You can decode the first letter with the info above, but you will need a guide to determine what each warehouse code in parenthesis means.
See a complete list of warehouse codes and locations on Reddit. It lists warehouse IDs, names of facilities, and GPS locations.
You’ll eventually get an address for the pickup facility an hour before the offer begins, but it’s much easier to make an informed decision about the offer if you know where the warehouses are.
Order types that allow tips
Customers can tip drivers on Prime Now, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods orders. Tips can significantly increase your earnings, but offers that allow tipping typically have fewer pickups and shorter routes.
Order types that allow tips show two estimated payout amounts: The base pay from Amazon and expected earnings from tips.
Orders that allow tipping explain how tip estimates are calculated
For example, the Prime Now order above shows a payout estimate of $38–$66 ($38 + tips). That means you’ll make $38 in Amazon base pay and tips are estimated to be anywhere from $0–$28.
The power of tipping. $18.50 from Amazon, $74 in tips. Results definitely not typical!
Instant offers: Get on-demand work
Instant Offers (IO) are on-demand orders you can accept or decline in real-time. IOs are the only type of delivery that doesn’t require you to schedule a block.
These offers have a faster turnaround time: You must pick up the order within 30 minutes of accepting it.
Instant Offers are for Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and Prime Now deliveries. One perk is that all of those order types allow customers to tip.
Offers are location based. You must be within 15 minutes of an eligible pickup location to receive offers.
For example, if you turn on Instant Offers near Whole Foods, you might get an offer to do a Whole Foods delivery. After you finish that delivery you can wait for another Instant Offer to come in.
To enable Instant Offers: Tap Menu > Schedule, then tap “Available Now” at the top of the schedule screen.
Toggle ‘Available Now’ on the home screen to receive Instant Offers
The instant offer will tell you the pickup location and an estimated payout. There is no penalty for declining instant offers, so feel free to skip offers that you don’t want to do.
Instant Offers are a good choice if you can’t get a delivery block or don’t want to commit to a long route.
Instant Offer heatmap
In some cities, the Flex app has an Instant Offer heatmap that shows nearby IO locations with labels to show how busy each location is.
Some cities have an Instant Offer map that shows you every IO pickup location
The Instant Offer radius: How close do you have to be to get orders?
You must be within 3–15 minutes of a pickup location to receive Instant Offers. You won’t be eligible if you are closer than 3 minutes from the location, so don’t camp out in the parking lot!
Amazon doesn’t say exactly how they calculate the radius, so you’ll have to experiment with locations to see what works in your area.
To receive IOs, don’t be too close or too far away
How far will your delivery route be from the warehouse?
You will find out how far your delivery route is from the warehouse after you check in at the pickup facility. You can’t see where the delivery route is when you first accept the offer.
Test your market to see which pickup locations and order types lead to certain areas. You might notice that some pickup locations send you too far away, so you can avoid offers from there.
The maximum distance from the pickup location to the delivery route varies depending on the market.
A large city with many warehouse locations may only send you up to 30 miles from the warehouse. But cities with remote and rural areas might send you further away.
An example of how far a route can be from the pickup spot: The driver below had to drive over 60 miles to begin a route. That is an extreme example, but it’s possible.
You can decline a route if it’s too far, but it will affect your standing.
This driver had to drive around 130 miles for this route.
How to get more offers on Flex
Not getting many offers? There are a few reasons that can explain why.
Amazon says that “offers you see may depend on the amount of work you’ve done recently, the work you’ve reserved in the future, whether you’ve cancelled a lot of work, your Delivery Qualify, and your Reliability.”
If you aren’t getting many offers, try to increase your ratings. Consider instant offers if you can’t get regular offers, and check back with the app regularly to see when warehouses release new hours.
You can potentially get more reserved offers by using preferred scheduling, a perk unlocked at rewards level 2.
Getting a feel for Flex
It would be nice if Amazon made the Flex app clearer and more user-friendly, but in the end you’ll have to experiment with different order types and pickup locations before you can understand how this gig works in your area.
Eventually, you’ll learn which order types you prefer and which pickup locations to avoid.
More reading on Amazon Flex and delivery gigs
Mirthon Manon says
BRAVO!!!!
Thank you so much for this write up.
So hard to believe that a company of Amazon’s size does not have this kind of explanation on the app, on their website, or via their agents when you get them on the phone.
Thank you!
Doug H says
You’re welcome, glad it’s still helpful. Amazon really throws new drivers into the deep end of the pool.
FlexerLocal says
All of the standard script from Amazon is garbage. The ratings don’t matter, you won’t see or receive more offers because of it. You can sit in the parking lot and you’ll get way more offers than anyone else who isn’t in the parking lot. Bots and multiple accounts are winning day after day. Been doing this for 3 years. Live in the range of 3 Whole Foods and I can go for 1-2 weeks with no instant offer because I’m not a parking lot camper. This is the truth.
Doug H says
I agree that instant offers are more of a mystery than regular routes
Recinzi says
Does anyone know where Market Squares PMBJ(Colorado) is located
Edwin says
It’s a hustle folks. A hustle that has many variables. One of the biggest variable is what kind of vehicle you drive. If you drive a gas hog, don’t complain about gas. You will have to pay for gas so regardless of how much your block is worth deduct 15-30 dollars off that amount to accommodate for gas. Also you get paid 2x a week. Tuesdays and Fridays. So the cash flow will be steady especially if you have a full-time job and are using this as a hustle. I look forward to receiving 3 paychecks a week. You can make an extra 400 to 600 dollars a week on the side as a part-time hustle. I work out of the Cleveland area and it is what it is. The job isn’t a career nor is it rocket science.
For anyone thinking of doing Flex here are some simple tips for y’all:
Take extra caution by wearing a hi-vision vest ($5 to $20 at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Harbor Freight)
Go buy a literal headlight($10 to $25 Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Harbor Freight) if you’re a night owl or early morning bird to remain highly visible while providing light if you’re delivering out in the boondocks.
And people, use your hazards when stopping and getting out of your car in the early AM/middle of the night.
Be safe, make extra cash, and take care of yourself and your vehicle.