We served two wegman's shrimp platters at a party recently and all 80 shrimp were gone in about 10 minutes. People loved them and they were delicious. However, we did pick up the same day so I'm not sure if they would be as good the day before. But I wanted to assure you the quality was very high! We used the DC wegman's, FYI. We also ordered a lot of deviled eggs and they were also snapped up and quite good.

https://eatpallet.com/how-long-is-shrimp-cocktail-good-for-in-the-fridge/

However, if you need to make it ahead of time, the shrimp cocktail will keep in the fridge for up to two days.

As another PP said, check the "use by" date on the platter when you buy it.

Anonymous wrote:How abt if I ordered just tail on deveined cooked shrimp (not frozen) and made my own cocktail sauce?

This what I would do. Or buy cocktail sauce.

Those platters are nasty.

The answer to OP's question is YES, it is absolutely OK.

It's pretty easy to make your own and it's a lot better. I usually boil the shrimp the day before so they are sufficiently chilled. https://theblondcook.com/easy-shrimp-cocktail/

OP wants shrimp cocktail, not peel and eat shrimp.

Shrimp cocktail is not very good, it’s always mealy farm shrimp that have no taste.

Suggest buying a pound of frozen wild caught gulf (any wild USA is ok) shrimp, shell on and boiling yourself with old bay and half a lemon. Throw a bay leaf in. Don’t overcook, and serve with store bought cocktail sauce and extra old bay. Voila, peel-and-eat shrimp.

https://www.mccormick.com/old-bay/recipes/appetizer/old-bay-steamed-shrimp-with-cocktail-sauce?amp=1

More advanced, add corn, kielbasa, and red potatoes for low country boil.

How abt if I ordered just tail on deveined cooked shrimp (not frozen) and made my own cocktail sauce?

All those platters have sell-by and use-by dates in them.

This is probably a dumb question, but is it okay to buy a cocktail shrimp platter from wegman’s Friday morning for a party Saturday late afternoon?