Main image by AlaskanKingCrab.com (mail order crab). UPDATED: Sept 28th, ’21 and April 19th, ’22, and June ’23
I keep getting fed an online ad to buy mail-order crab online, which I do not mind because I love crab. Although before I make a purchase, I researched the hell out of if dock to door is worth buying online.
The ad I get fed is by AlaskanKingCrab.com, and from the domain name, it looks like they are a big deal since their domain name is not AlaskanKingCrab1234.net.
I considered buying online due to the claims of several of the sellers who tout to be fresher than the grocery store, and one such seller is Cameron’s. They claim to be 3-days fresher, and I like my seafood fresh because, with shellfish, it matters.
I researched and review TEN of the top/leading Alaskan King Crab (AKC) online sellers by:
A). Price comparison per pound. B). Shipping costs for overnight/2-day. C). When to place your order. D). The types of AKC: red, blue, golden. E). Other varieties: Maryland to snow crab/opilio. F). the top online AKC sellers.
Scroll no more! The TLDR, dozens of hours of research condensed into a summary, all on one page.
Vetted AKC Sellers
I have vetted all of the sellers below for Alaskan King Crab because there are scammers online (via the PayPal community) who pretend to be some of the sites below. When spending several hundred dollars, you can rest assured that your purchase is through a trusted business.
Whether buying a Japanese chef knife or Alaskan King Crab, calling out scammers and supporting legitimate businesses is core to Oishii-desu.com (the meaning, “it’s delicious,” in Japanese).
The TL;DR (“Too Long Did Not Read” aka summary)
I differ from other sites in that I do not tell you which vendor to buy from outright, and I leave it up to you (I provide all the data for you to make an informed decision), although if you are indifferent, buying from the Crab Place helps this site. (7/23: wow, a month later, I appreciate the support, thank you).
The 6 Most Popular Q&A’s on the best place to buy Alaskan King Crab online.
The average price per pound for Alaskan King Crab (AKC) online is $60
$60 with the purchase amount of 4 lbs., although you should expect it to fluctuate upwards of $95 (the fluctuation is primarily due to purchasing quantity, type of crab: like legs, or legs and claws, and shipping fees). Also, if you are a Costco shopper, you are looking at about $40 a pound, but you will need to buy upwards of 10 lbs.
FREE shipping for Alaskan King Crab
1). Free shipping is typically applied to purchases over $100 to $300 or 8 lbs., although 2). if you are not getting free shipping, expect to pay $20-$50 (closer to the latter, the further you are from the shipping source, typically the East coast). Transit times are anywhere from the next day to 2-days, so be sure to read #C.
You have MONDAY-THURSDAY to place your order
Only Lintons accepts orders on Fridays, and turnaround times are typically the same day, which is impressive (orders must be received 11am to 3 pm EST fro same day delivery) anywhere from . Also note that weekend deliveries are not standard and will cost more.
The most popular Alaskan King Crab variety is Red (the others are blue, golden, and scarlet)
If you are picturing crab in your head, it is most likely RED Alaskan King Crab (AKC) you are thinking of.
Not just Alaskan King Crab (Snow Crab, Blue Crab, etc.)
The Crab Place specializes in Maryland blue crab to snow crab, whereas Maine Lobster Specializes in, well, I will let you figure this out on your own. Although, if you want everything available in the ocean, Cameron’s, like the Crab Place, offers up blue crab, crab cakes, along with spiced shrimp (Maryland-style).
A summary of the top 5 sellers
1). Maine Lobster Now: not the cheapest, 2). Alaskan King Crab: dedicated AKC seller, 3). Crab Place: more than just AKC, 4). Great Alaska Seafood: a processing plant, 5). Cameron’s Seafood: they own 14+ brick-and-mortar stores, and they have a cool staff member.
All the details are listed below, but this section is meant to summarize and reduce the time you spend on this site (this is the top Alaskan King Crab buyers guide for the last 4 years).
The TOP “Alaskan King Crab Buy Online” Google results (SERPS)
By the way, SERPS stands for “Search Engine Results Page,” and these are the partial results (4/3) ads and (8/8) rankings on Google (first result is from May 7, ’20, Sept. 28th, ’21, April 19th, ’22, July 19th, ’23):
These are the results anytime you Google “Alaskan King Crab Buy Online.” Why does it matter? It gives you a basic idea of the major players, like a popularity contest.
There are always those players who pay to play (PAID ADS placed usually at the top).
Advertised search results
- (AD) AlaskanKingCrab.com
- (AD) Goldbelly.com (Newly ranked)
- (AD) Great-Alaska-Seafood.com
- (AD) NA
The actual search results
- AlaskanKingCrab.com
- MaineLobsterNow.com
- CaptainJacksAlaska.com
- Great-Alaska-Seafood.com
- FreshSeafood.com
- CameronsSeafood.com
- Tannersfish.com
- Amazon.com (Newly ranked)
“In October 2022, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game canceled all snow crab, red king crab, and blue king crab seasons for 2022-2023, after trawl surveys showed a continuing crash in abundance.”
– Jan, 30th, 2023, Seafood Source “Alaska’s Red King Crab Savings Area to remain open for fishing, despite population crash”
To make heads or tails of who to choose, I looked up all their approximate site traffic (once again, like a popularity contest)
SimilarWeb and the other tool I use is not the most accurate site traffic analytics tools, but I use it just to get a basic idea where these companies stand. UPDATE: I came back almost 7-months (May to December 2020 and to Sept 28th, ’21. I also updated it in April of ’22) later to check on those standings.
The Top 5 Sites by Approximate Web Traffic
(UPDATED: June 19, ’23):
1). Maine Lobster Now: not the cheapest, 2). Alaskan King Crab: dedicated AKC seller with the, 3). Crab Place: more than just AKC, 4). Great Alaska Seafood: a processing plant, 5). Cameron’s Seafood: they own 14+ brick-and-mortar stores, and they have a cool staff member.
Yea, a lobster site ranks the highest for site traffic, but if you want to know the most competitive priced sellers, keep scrolling.
- Company: the domain name.
- Ranking: based upon the sites listed, this where they stand compared to the rest in terms of approximated site traffic.
- Website Type: I included this because it helps give a clue as to how up they are on technology and making the online purchasing process as easy as can be. 1.0 means the website is an older website, but 2.0 means the site is optimized for the desktop to mobile devices.
- Total Visits: the number of visitors the website gets (higher the number, the better) although this does not necessarily equate to sales/business. It is just meant to give you an idea of how successful the company is at driving web traffic to their website.
3 years of traffic analytics
Web traffic is like a popularity contest, and you can continue to support the top dog or support the underdog.
| Company / Website Type | Ranking May 7, ’20 | Ranking Sep 28, ’21 | Ranking Apr 20 ’22 | Ranking July 20 ’23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaskan King Crab.com 2.0 | #2 287.78k | #2 51.9K | #2 33.5K | #2 38K |
| Alaskan- seafood.com 2.0 | N/A | #10 4.8K | 3.8K | 4.7K |
| Camerons Seafood.com 2.0 | #3 179.70k | #3 36.1K | #5 16K | #3 18K |
| Captain Jacks Alaska.com 1.0 | N/A | #9 8.5K | 6.4K | 5K |
| CrabPlace.com Added 4/22 1.0 | N/A | #4 29.4K | #3 29.5K | #4 (TIE) 15K |
| Great- Alasaka- Seafood.com 1.0 | #4 94.03k | #5 27.8K | #4 22K | #4 (TIE) 15K |
| Kingcrab legs.com (NEW: 7/23) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 5K |
| Linton Seafood.com 1.0 | N/A | #8 10.1K | 5.5K | 6K |
| Maine Lobster Now.com 2.0 | #1 424.41k | #1 92.7K | #1 57.5K | #1 54K |
| Tanners fish.com 2.0 | N/A | #7 11.7K | 4.8K | 6K |
| WildAlaska Salmonand Seafood.com 2.0 | N/A | #6 13.7K | 9K | #5 14K |
Almost all the sites carry more than crab, although Bubba would be proud because it may not be shrimp, but the Crab Place specializes in a variety of crab from Alaskan king crab, to Maryland crab meat, blue crab, lump crab cakes, soft shell crab, and snow crab (my go to crab).
Like shrimp, you can also barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. That- that’s about it.
Why buy crab from them (their elevator pitch)
This is the part I put a lot of emphasis on because I want to know if these companies are a family owned business or a person with passion for what they do, or simply a faceless corporate entity out there to trawl your money.
When it comes to their About Us pages, they reflect their site traffic rankings because CameronsSeafood.com and MaineLobsterNow.com have the best although one of the smallest competitors, WildAlaskaSalmonandSeafood.com will have you rooting for a 100% family owned/run business.
I like to know to who I am giving my money too.
- AlaskanKingCrab.com “Sourced Straight from Sea to Table. With the deepest respect for families that have spent generations on the water, Alaskan King Crab Co. ensures that the seafood it offers is of utmost quality and arrives impeccably.”
- Alaskan-Seafood.com “Shop the world’s finest selection of wild-caught seafood; shipped from Alaska to your door.“
- CameronsSeafood.com (EDITORS 1ST (TIED) PICK) “One morning, a crab-lover from West Virginia rolled up to one of our family-owned food trucks in Hagerstown, MD, to buy a bushel of Maryland blue crabs. He told my cousin Pey, who was working on the food truck that day, that he was so sick of paying exorbitant prices for dodgy crabs in WV, and to him it was worth driving 6 hours, round trip, to come get the real Maryland crabs from us.“
- CaptainJacksAlaska.com “From our family to yours – since 1997.“
- Crabplace.com “Welcome to the home of the largest online Maryland blue crab retailer. Crabplace.com has been helping make family feasts fantastic for over 25 years.”
- Great-Alaska-Seafood.com “Serving great seafood from Alaska for over 20 years!”
- LintonSeafood.com “Located on the southern tip of the Chesapeake Bay, in Crisfield, Maryland, The Crab Capital of the World, Linton’s Seafood has over 30 years of expertise in serving our one-of-a-kind Maryland blue crabs, lump crab cakes and other fresh seafood to our satisfied customers.”
- MaineLobsterNow.com (EDITORS 1ST (TIED) PICK) “Maine Lobster Now was founded by Julian Klenda in 2012. Julian grew up working alongside his father in the seafood business selling lobster wholesale to local restaurants and markets. Inevitably, while studying business in college, Julian saw an opportunity to expand upon what he learned growing up. In 2012 he started Maine Lobster Now with the goal of providing people who don’t live near a coast with the same access to fresh seafood.”
- Tannersfish.com well not much of anything.
- WildAlaskaSalmonandSeafood.com (EDITORS RUNNER UP PICK) “100% fisherman family owned business” and they also have a YouTube video which is very nicely done (in fact, they do a lot of things right).
I came back to edit this post to dig deeper into the companies (how long they have been in business to how big are they)
I love to research the stories behind the companies, and many of the companies below have a good one. Well, the companies willing to divulge it versus a clinical corporate approach.
1). Cameron’s owns 14+ stores. 2). Alaskan-Seafood and Great-Alaska-Seafood seem to be the same processing plant. 3). Maine Lobster Now is firing on all cylinders. 4). Tanners and Wild Alaska are the two family run operations.
I highlighted a few of the major players although there are more below.
| Company HQ | My Notes (TLDR) |
|---|---|
| Alaskan King Crab Somewhere on the East Coast (my guess Minnesota) | The Big Operation. From A-Z, this is how a big operation works from their packaging to packaging tape, website, to their logo, online ads, it is all on point which is why I had to dig into who they are, and I think they are most likely the Fish Guys Inc. (fishguysinc.com). |
| Alaskan-Seafood.com Alaska | The 2.0 Front for a Processing Plant: This site is the most straightforward site meant strictly for you to buy online because they make absolutely no mention as to who they are (no branding, just “buy from us”). The only clues as to who they are is that they do state “Alaska time” and their email address is peninsulaprocessing@yahoo.com which might mean they are Peninsula Processing & Smokehouse (aka Great Alaska Seafood)? |
| Camerons Seafood 875 Hungerford Drive Rockville, MD 20850 | Taking the World by Land, Sea, and Online: This Cameron dude is killing it, but then again, they have 14 retail stores and food trucks across Maryland. |
| Captain Jacks Seafood Locker 303 South Harbor Street P.O. Box 693 Seward, Alaska 99664-0693 | The Whole Seafood Sha’bang: They are focused on all types of seafood from salmon, shrimp, black cod, and a whole lot more. The only downside is that the website is an old school 1.0 site, so it is best to use a desktop to purchase from them. |
| Crab Place 504 Maryland Avenue, Crisfield MD 21817 | They’ve got a great Facebook page: I think the next thing I will do is go through each one of these companies Facebook page to see their review rating. As for the Crab Place, they have a 4.5 out of 5 stars of 603 reviews. Reading a few, a lot of them cite their amazing customer service as a major plus, even over the crab. Oh, and they have some really consistent imagery on their FB page but no Instagram. |
| Great-Alaska-Seafood.com 720 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Soldotna, Alaska, 99669 | The 1.0 Front for a Processing Plant: This website is a time capsule of the 2000’s from their pic of the rep with the headset, the “Arial” like logo, to everything else, but do not let that take away from you purchasing from them because they are Peninsula Processing & Smokehouse based out of Soldotna, Alaska (most likely the same company as Alaskan-Seafood). |
| King Crab Legs Company (Maine Lobster Now) 47 Spring Hill Rd Saco, ME 04072 | NEW, July 20th, 2023 (they are not really new): founded by Julian Klenda, the owner of Maine Lobster Now. The company says they plan on continuing their efforts to deliver the best quality king crab by continuing to source their crab from the Northern Pacific Oceans and Norway. |
| Linton Seafood 500 Crisfield Hwy, Crisfield, MD 21817 | “Yes, We Have a Website”: “Look for this blue sign” is what they have on their website about their retail location which is probably their primary focus because this is another old school website. |
| Maine Lobster Now 58 City Line Drive Portland Maine 04102 | Born and Raised in the Lobster Industry with a Background in Digital Marketing: They specialize in lobster, crab, fish and shellfish, but prior to all this, Julian Klenda had been in marketing and doing back-end coding although do not assume dude has no clue about the industry because he grew up in the lobster industry. So basically all that SEO and digital marketing experience he gained only set him up for his role as CEO of Maine Lobster Now which is maybe why they dominate online. |
| Tanners fish 16050 Sterling Hwy Ninilchik, AK 99639 | Family Operation: No frills website of a family owned and operated business based out of Alaska. |
| Wild Alaska Salmon and Seafood Co. PO Box 602 King Salmon, Alaska 99613 | A Family Operation Operating on Multiple Levels: Do not be thrown off by their PO Box because they are based out of Alaska, and this is one of the two small family owned and most likely operated companies out of all the ones listed. They are also one of the few to look as though they are making a wholehearted effort to compete against the big dogs on all levels. |
Types of Alaskan King Crab
First off, it was slightly confusing because it’s not just one type of “Alaskan king crab” and according to Fishex.com, these are the varieties of Alaskan King crab.
- Red (Paralithodes camtschaticus) King Crab
- Blue (Paralithodes platypus) King Crab
- Golden (Lithodes aequispinus) King Crab
- Scarlet (Lithodes couesi) King Crab
Alaskan King Crab legs price comparison
I highly recommend that you not purchase products solely based on price because service is a huge factor from turnaround times (the time it takes prior to your order shipping) to shipping costs. Also, not everybody has the same product line up, so the pricing is not exactly and apples to apples comparison although I did try and compare all vendors to the red Alaskan king crab legs.
Expect to pay $60 per pound on AVERAGE (without having to buy a $1k worth of crab).
For $60 a pound, expect to buy 4 lbs. of crab.
| Company Name & Type of King Crab | Price Per Pound Summary | Total Price Per Pound Details |
|---|---|---|
| Alaskan King Crab.com | Super Jumbo $59.12 per lb Colossal Red $95 per lb. Super Colossal $99 per lb. | Super Jumbo Alaskan Snow Crab Clusters (4 lbs.) (14 oz clusters), free overnight shipping over $200 ($59.12 per lb) $236.50 Colossal Red King Crab Legs (4 lb. Box) Legs weigh 0.6-0.8 lb., free overnight shipping. ($95.00 per lb.) $380.00 each Super Colossal Red King Crab Legs (4 lb. Box) Legs weight 0.8 to 1.25 lb., free overnight shipping. ($99.00 per lb.) $396.00 each |
| Alaskan- Seafood.com | Giant King Crab $59.98 per lb. Super Colossal $85.95 per lb. | Giant KingCrab Legs (4 lb. Box) Legs weigh 1/3-1/2 lb, free shipping. ($59.98 per lb) $239.95 each Super Colossal King Crab Legs (10 lb. Box) Legs weigh 0.9-1.24 lb, free shipping. ($85.95 per lb) $859.50 each |
| Amazon.com (Giovanni’s) | Alaskan Red King $67.80 per lb. | Alaskan Red King Crab Legs JUMBO (5 lbs.) ($67.80 per lb.) $339.00 each |
| Camerons Seafood.com Some great customer service. | Colossal Alaskan King $85.33 per lb. Colossal Alaskan King $73.33 per lb., 14% OFF Colossal Alaskan King $66.66 per lb., 22% OFF | Colossal Alaskan King Crab Legs (3 lbs.) Approx. 3-5 legs. ($85.33 per lb.) $255.99 + free ground shipping over $225 Colossal Alaskan King Crab Legs (6 lbs.) Approx. 6-10 legs. ($73.33 per lb., 14% OFF) $439.99 + free ground shipping over $225 Colossal Alaskan King Crab Legs (12 lbs.) Approx. 12-18 legs. ($66.66 per lb., 22% OFF) $799.99 + free ground shipping over $225 |
| Captain Jacks Alaska.com This site is confusing | Jumbo Alaskan Red $105 per lb. Jumbo Alaskan Red $95 per lb. | JUMBO Alaskan Red King Crab Legs (5 lbs.) Crab pack, priority shipping included. ($105.00 per lb.) $525.00 JUMBO Alaskan Red King Crab Legs ($95.00 per lb.) |
| Crab Place.com Also has Maryland Crab | Jumbo Alaskan Red $58.89 per lb. | Jumbo Alaskan Red King Crab Legs (5 lbs.) Approximately 6 legs total ($58.89 per lb.) $294.49 Colossal King Crab Legs 1 lb., $67.99-64.59 5 lbs., $308.74-324.99 10 lbs., $598.49-$629.99 Huge King Crab Legs 3 lbs., $189.99-$199.99 6 lbs., $370.49-$389.99 Giant King Crab Legs 2 lbs., $142.49-$149.99 4 lbs., $275.49-289.99 |
| Gold Belly.com (Pike Place Fish Market) | King Legs & Claws $94.99 per lb | King Crab Legs and Claws, Alaska/Wild (1 lb.) ($94.99 per lb) |
| Great- Alaska- Seafood.com Poorly designed website. (a sh*t show) | Colossal King Crab $69.95 per lb. | Alaskan Red King Crab $56.95 per lb, +$29.95 shipping and handling Colossal King Crab (10 lb Box) Free next day shipping ($69.95 per lb.) $699.50 |
| Linton Seafood.com Maryland Crab spot | UPS Next Air Saver $66.18 per lb. UPS Next Day $76.18 per lb. | Alaskan King Crab Legs (5 lbs.) Approx. 10-15 legs +$54.95 est. shipping UPS 2nd day air ($66.18) +$69.95 est. shipping UPS next day air saver +$89.95 est. shipping UPS next day air +$104.95 shipping UPS next day ($76.18) $275.99 |
| Main Lobster Now.com | Super Colossal King $106.99 per lb. | Super Colossal Alaskan King Crab Legs Each leg weighs on avg. 1.25 lbs. Responsibly sourced in Alaska and Norway ($106.99, cost per pound) $320.99, 3 lb. min purchased required. $617.94, 4% savings $989.90, 7% savings |
| Tanners fish.com | Large Golden King $59.95 per lb. Super Colossal King $69.95 per lb. Jumbo King Crab $71.09 per lb. | Large Golden King Crab Legs 2-5 legs per pound. ($59.95 per lb.) $184.80, 3 lbs. +4.95 for insurance. Colossal King Crab Legs (10 lbs.) Free shipping to the continental U.S. Contains legs and claws legs weigh 2/3 to 1 lb each. $752.30 Super Colossal King Crab Legs Leg weights 1-1.5 lbs. each ($69.95 per lb.) $239.85, 3 lbs. $479.70, 6 lbs. $719.55, 9 lbs. Jumbo King Crab Legs (10 lbs.) Free shipping to the continental U.S. Each leg weighs 1/2 to 3/4 lb each ($71.09 per lb.) $710.95 |
| WildAlaska Salmonand Seafood.com | Red king Crab by 5lb increments $59.95 per lb. $54.95 per lb. $52.95 per lb. | Red King Crab legs and claws avg. 1-2 lbs. each. $314.95, 5 lb. box, ($59.95 per lb.) $576.95, 10 lb. box, ($54.95 per lb.) $1,111.95, 20 lb. box, ($52.95 per lb.) |
Before You Buy, Pay Close attention To:
1). The type of Alaskan king crab (size, legs/legs and claws/whole, and type: red, blue, or golden king crab). 2). Whether or not the pricing also includes shipping and handling charges (I cite when shipping is FREE).
GoldBelly.com is more of a luxury service, so they are one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive (getting well known restaurant menu items from across the country).
Mail order FREE shipping conditions
If you want to order, the days to place an order are MONDAY-THURSDAY.
The vast majority of the turnaround times are same day, and when it comes to free shipping, it is typically over a particular weight (8lbs.) or dollar amount ($100-$200).
Only Linton Seafood will take orders on a Friday.
| Company and Shipping Turnaround Times | Free Shipping Conditions |
|---|---|
| AlaskanKingCrab.com In order to receive your order the next day, you will need to order Monday through Thursday before 3 p.m. We also offer Saturday shipping for a standard Fedex fee. | Get FREE overnight shipping on orders over $200 and/or king crab shipments over 4lbs. |
| Alaskan-Seafood.com We ship Monday – Thursday. If Saturday delivery is necessary, we are happy to help! Orders shipping Friday for Saturday delivery will require you to contact our Customer Service department to validate availability for your area. There is also an additional $20.00 fee. | All 8 lbs orders ship free. Saturday Delivery, Hawaiian or Canadian orders have surcharges. |
| CaptainJacksAlaska.com Captain Jack’s ships orders Monday thru Thursday, not including holidays. We will make every effort to ship your order on the next available ship day after it was received. Orders must be made before noon to go out the following day. | $35 Flat Rate Shipping overnight delivery from Alaska. Good for all orders 7lbs and up. Fedex priority locations $55, Hawaii $85. |
| CameronsSeafood From the Chesapeake Bay to your doorstep in 24 hours or less. | Get $10 off (code: WELCOME) + Free Nationwide Shipping (FREE applies to orders over $199 and depending on your region and the size of your order, under or over 10lbs). |
| Great-Alaska-Seafood.com We ship Monday – Thursday. If Saturday delivery is necessary, we are happy to help! Orders shipping Friday for Saturday delivery will require you to contact our Customer Service department to validate availability for your area. There is also an additional $20.00 fee. | Free FedEx Overnight Shipping on all orders 8 lbs or more |
| LintonSeafood.com Cut-off time: for orders placed over the internet is 1:00 p.m. EST, Monday thru Friday. All orders received after 1:00 p.m. EST will be shipped the following business day (If you need a package shipped after the cut-off time, please call our toll free number. We may still be able to ship it.). | N/A |
| MainLobsterNow.com Order by 5pm Monday – Friday for same day rush shipping. | FREE 1-DAY SHIPPING & NO SATURDAY FEE | *$100 min |
| Tannersfish.com N/A | Free Shipping! If you Buy any combo of 8 pounds or more (All of our seafood is 100% wild-caught in Alaska and almost all of our products qualify for FREE OVERNIGHT SHIPPING if you live in the continental U.S.) |
| WildAlaskaSalmonandSeafood.com Orders placed by Monday, May 11th at 12pm CST will ship Monday, May 11th | To ensure timely delivery, a temporary $35 location fee will be added to all orders shipping to the following states: WA, OR, CA, UT, ID, MT, NV, WY. |
Sidenote: both Alaskan Seafood and Great Alaska have the same word for word policy, so they either copy and pasted their policies, or they are both affiliated with each other?
The Vendors are a Split of East Coast and Alaska Based Companies
Regardless of where they are headquartered, with today’s logistics infrastructure, none of that really matters anymore.
I used AlaskanKingCrab.com prices to give you an example of how much King Crab costs vary by type
This is how much AlaskanKingCrab.com chargers per pound by type to an entire/whole crab.
| Type of Alaskan King Crab and Size of Order | Price Per Pound |
|---|---|
| Super Colossal Red King Crab Legs (1lb) | $71.66 per lb. ($71.66) |
| Colossal Red King Crab Legs (3lb) | $66 per lb. ($198) |
| Giant Golden King Crab Legs (3lb) | $47 per lb. ($142) |
| Whole Crab Alaskan King Crab (3-4lb) | $71.42 per lb. ($250/3.5 lb) |
They offer FREE overnight shipping on orders over $200 or more, so this is how much you have to order based upon their product sizes.
| Type of Alaskan King Crab and Size of Order | Total Cost for FREE shipping by Product |
|---|---|
| Super Colossal Red King Crab Legs (3lb) | $214.98 |
| Colossal Red King Crab Legs (4lb) | $245 (special pricing) |
| Giant Golden King Crab Legs (4lb) | $189 (need to add $11 more) |
How online Alaskan King Crab sellers compare to Costco
I had to compare prices with either my local market or at the very least to Costco, I mean who doesn’t consider Costco when buying seafood. The pricing is for King crab sizes: 9/12 refers to how many crab legs make a 10lb box. In addition, up to 4 crab claws can be included in the shipment.
If you go the Costco route, aside from buying 1,026 sq. ft. of paper towels to prepare you for a zombie apocalypse, you will also have to purchase at a bare minimum of 10 lbs. of Alaskan King Crab (or about $400).
The range per pound is $32 to $40 per pound.
| Costco Brands and Type of Alaskan King Crab | Costco Price Per lb. |
|---|---|
| Northwest Fish Wild Red King Crab 9-12 count, 10lbs. | $40 per lb. ($399.99) |
| Northwest Fish Wild Red Jumbo Colossal King Crab 4-7 count, 10lbs. | $38 per lb. ($379.99) |
| Northwest Fish Wild Jumbo Alaskan Golden Crab Legs 12-14 count, 10lbs. | $32 per lb. ($319.99) |
| Northwest Fish Whole Dungeness Crab 6 count, 10lbs. | $15 per lb. ($149.99) |
If you have a thing for the ultimate surf (lobster) and turf, osetra caviar, and Japanese (Wagyu) beef combo
Well, hopefully this helps, and if you buy some crab, let me know how it went. Although if you want to go full baller mode, how about a surf and turf pairing of Japanese (Wagyu) beef, lobster, and Osetra caviar: all the places to buy Wagyu online, lobster, and my caviar list.
Starting at $229 for two monster lobster tails (20-24 oz each sized tails, lobster got back).
Expect to pay $5-6 per oz, and since we are Murican, there are 16 oz in a pound which means you will be paying upwards of $96 for a lb. of tail (that is some pricey tail).
This link that I am providing for lobster is because it benefits this website, but I will not sell out for a buck which is why I will list a competing blog with their top 10 lobster delivery services list (they really did do their homework, respect).
The conclusion to my research on mail order Alaskan King Crab companies
With all shellfish, the fresher, the better, and all Alaskan King crab has been cooked aboard the fishing boat or upon landfall to preserve the quality.
You can not go wrong with any of the vendors above based on pricing/product (well, except Gold Belly), and I will be updating this article to test their customer service response times, along with more detailed information.
I think it will come down to customer service (I just had an interaction with Cameron’s, and they are cool because the employee was very personable, and one of them had honeymooned in Japan. They went from Okinawa > Tokyo > Kyoto > Osaka).
Like major media outlets, making any substantial amount of money from content is a struggle, so your support and affiliates like the Crab Place are greatly appreciated to keep this site going.
My research this time around is on the slightly lazy end because aside from shipping costs, I would want to know if there is an actual/substantial quality difference although that takes a lot of work and money on my end to find that out. So, I plan on going with either AlaskanKingCrab.com, OR I might just go with snow crab (opilio) with either MaineLobsterNow.com ($19.99 which was not in stock at the time of this posting), to Cameron’s ($119/3lbs). Well, whatever I do, I might make some updates on any new details here (that is why the Crab Place and King Crab Legs has been recently added).
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Damn! I wouldn’t have expected Costco to be pricier!
Awwwww crap, looks like I failed with my layout, and I probably have to do some tweaking because per pound, I think they are competitively priced. I’m just not sure of the product quality which might not make it an apples to apples to comparison, along with not knowing how much of what you are paying, goes to the cost of shipping. Alaskankingcrab.com provides next day shipping of orders of $200 or more, but they are upwards of $60 per pound vs Costco’s $38 (yet you have to buy 10lbs vs. 3lbs).
It’ll be fun to test it out. We went to Delaware on a beercation last fall (Dogfish Head), and the crab there stole the show. So flippin’ yummy!
I’m JEALOUS 😭😭😭