A Guide to Martie, the Online Store That Sells Fancy Snacks at a Huge Discount

Martie is like a high-end version of the Marshall’s food aisle — all at up to 70% off — and I can’t stop shopping it

Unlike some people (snobs), I have never felt any apprehension about the food section at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx or Home Goods. In fact, I make a beeline there, eager to see what marked-down multicolored pastas and bargain-bin pseudo-gourmet cookies might await me. There is an art to buying food at Marshall’s; I’d never buy coffee grounds there, but I’ve certainly stocked up on Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract for a few dollars less than at the specialty food store. I can’t turn down a discount, and Marshall’s-food-section slander only inspires me to shop there more, somewhat out of spite.

But as a New Yorker, in the absence of suburban Marshall’s and Home Goods (which are undeniably superior, both in vibes and in their selection), I like browsing Martie, a website that sells “surplus” packaged food for a discount. It defines surplus food as overstock that won’t sell in a timely manner, products that have undergone a packaging change, and seasonal foods that have passed their moment — it’s basically the food section at Marshall’s, except easy and online. This is food that would otherwise go to waste, Martie clarifies, so in a way, shopping there is doing good.

I like scrolling through the section of new additions, which is just as idiosyncratic as the shelves at the stores I love: millennial-branded date snacks mingling with grain-free granola bars and spicy dried strawberries. Some brands are recognizable, like Cheerios, Hippeas, and Fishwife, and others are as bizarre as I’d hope, like a line of pet-themed candles. Sometimes, it even has great skincare and home goods.

What clinched my first order was the fact that Martie had my absolute favorite cookies — Annie’s birthday cake bunny grahams — for half the price of the grocery store. I don’t buy these often since a five-dollar box that I’ll finish in half a day feels frivolous, but for that much of a bargain, I ordered four boxes, plus heavily discounted Fly by Jing Zhong sauce, limited-edition Bonne Maman spread, four packages of nice bronze die-cut pasta (for cheaper than my grocery store’s cheapest option!), and the vanilla almond butter I used to love but never see on shelves anymore. The total was way less than it would have been at the shoppy shop.

Recently, I revisited Martie and, finding that one-liter tins of nice Tunisian olive oil were just $10.99 each, I had to place an order. I stocked up on three liters for $20 less than the three-liter tins I get from my usual supplier, and the best-by date isn’t even until this summer.

While it’s slightly annoying that Martie has a $40 order minimum to unlock shipping, this can also be nice, since it dissuades the impulse ordering I’m prone to doing at midnight. Martie, much like Marshall’s, doesn’t always offer the biggest markdowns and thus requires the same discerning eye. Veggie Stix, for example, are just a dollar less via Martie than from another store, while a 12-pack of Ferrero Rocher is a tempting 56 percent off. But even those not-great deals are still good for hitting the minimum.

I’ll indulge the skeptics on one point: I’m slightly suspicious that the items on the shelves at Marshall’s don’t turn over too often. (That’s fine; sometimes my pantry doesn’t either.) For better and for worse, Martie’s selection seems to change pretty quickly.

That is to say that, sadly, I haven’t seen discount birthday cake bunny grahams ever again. Of course, the hunt is half the fun.