Get Maine Lobster Review: Lobster Stores

Get Maine Lobster emerged from founder Mark Murrell's Maine-to-Chicago journey in 2010, launching with a signature combo pack and expanding to a dockside operation in Portland by 2019. While the company touts impressive growth - including a 600% expansion during the pandemic and 250,000 lobster tails shipped in one recent year - their marketing leans heavily on emotional appeals about Maine's heritage and promises of dock-to-door freshness (though you might want to take those claims with a grain of sea salt). The founder's story of bringing Maine lobster to the masses makes for compelling branding, but as we'll show you, the reality of their service might not live up to the romanticized narrative.

Aggressive marketing tactics

Get Maine Lobster's website employs pushy sales tactics that might make you uncomfortable. You'll encounter numerous pop-up windows advertising "hidden deals" that expire soon, email capture forms promising 25% discounts, and urgent messaging like "reserve yours now!" and "secure your share!" It reminds us more of a timeshare presentation than a seafood retailer.

Shockingly high prices

When it comes to pricing, Get Maine Lobster's offerings are significantly higher than competitors' (... even with those "deals"... why are we not surprised?). Their 1.21-1.45lb live Maine lobsters cost $105 each - considerably more than rivals' pricing of $20 to $43 for similar sizes. The lobster selection is also limited, with weights only up to 1.7 lbs and quantities between 2-20 per order. Their lobster tails are similarly expensive at $125 for a 4-pack of 4-5 ounce tails, while competitors offer the same amount for just $56.

Costly prepared lobster options

The pricing disparity extends to their prepared items as well. Their classic Maine lobster roll kit costs $175 for a 4-pack, while a competing vendor offers twice the amount of ingredients (enough for 8 rolls) for $189, and even includes Cape Cod potato chips as a bonus.

Free shipping threshold of $200

Get Maine Lobster offers free standard shipping on orders over $200 (excluding add-on-only orders). For Saturday delivery - which isn't available in all locations - you'll pay an additional $25 surcharge. If you're in Alaska or Hawaii, you'll need to call for a shipping quote.

Order by 9 AM for next-day shipping

Live lobster and fresh seafood ship via Priority Overnight or Next Day Air, with orders requiring booking by 9 AM EST for same-day shipping. Frozen items ship within 1-4 business days via 2nd Day Air or Ground. All orders come in specially-designed boxes with commercial-grade coolant. While most urban deliveries arrive by 2 PM, rural areas may see deliveries as late as 8-9 PM (and delivery drivers might not knock, so keep an eye on those tracking updates).

Strict satisfaction guarantee with a narrow window

Get Maine Lobster offers refunds or credits only in very specific circumstances - if there's a shipping carrier mistake, if lobsters arrive dead (with photo evidence within 4 hours), or if items are missing from your order (again, with photos within 4 hours). They might even ask you to ship the product back for inspection (hope you didn't dispose of that deceased crustacean).

Many exclusions to the guarantee

The list of what's not covered by Get Maine Lobster's guarantee is surprisingly long. They won't take responsibility for lobsters that die overnight if you don't cook them immediately upon arrival, packages left outside for over an hour, delivery delays during holidays or bad weather, or stolen deliveries. There's also a $17 fee for address corrections, and you'll need to notify them within 24 hours if your package doesn't arrive. (With all these conditions, you might need a law degree just to order some seafood.)

"Thousands" of reviews boasted, but nowhere to be found

Get Maine Lobster prominently displays a claim of "17,309 verified 5-star reviews" (or 16,535, depending on where on their website you look), but there's no third-party verification to be found - just hand-picked testimonials and sponsored TikTok content. The only third-party review platform we could find Get Maine Lobster listed on had just over two dozen reviews and a dismal 1.6-star average rating.

Customer complaints paint a concerning picture

Those customer experiences with Get Maine Lobster reveal significant issues with both product quality and customer service. One customer received their lobster a week late and completely thawed, while another reported receiving dramatically underweight lobsters - some barely half the advertised size. Perhaps most troubling is their customer service response: "When my son's order was missing a package of lobster meat," one customer shared, "they refused to help without a scale measurement and told me 'too bad.'"

Can't recommend Get Maine Lobster

With no phone support available - only email - a pattern of unresolved complaints, and sky-high prices, you might want to think twice before casting your net with Get Maine Lobster. There are several highly-rated lobster stores in this review that we'd recommend you shop at instead.

Learn More  ➜

On the Get Maine Lobster website