Aldi's Grocer

[Wreckem]

Okay, so I went there for the first time the other day and I don't quite get it. Basically, I feel like Trader Joe's makes more sense in America. Aldi's seems like it carries over many German qualities unnecessarily to the states.

For instance, the whole thing about using a quarter to deposit for a cart. Yeah, it is efficient, but it also means that if you can't find a spare quarter you're not going to shop there. It might make sense in Germany where you have to pay like $20/hr for someone to grab carts, but here in the US you could just pay some kid min wage to do it.

Same applies I think to their not giving out plastic bags or taking credit cards. Seems like penny-pinching at the cost of sales. And since in the grocery business, if you're not making sales then you have rotting inventory, it would make sense I think to do these small things.

Otherwise...the prices don't seem that impressive. I don't exactly have prices memorized, but they seem about the same as any other grocer. A gallon of milk is still around $3. I dunno.

What's great about the place?

Aldi's competes with discount grocers(SuperValu, CostSavers, ie: low end grocers, ones lower end than Walmart) and Walmart(which IS NOT A DISCOUNT GROCER). Its sister company Trader Joe's does not. They are in two totally different market places. There are 1300+ Aldi's in the US. They plan to add another 600 over the next 5 years. Trader Joe's has less than 400 stores and won't even have 600 total stores within the next 5 years.

Aldi's milk is $2.19. A few months ago it was $1.99. Dozen eggs are $1.19, a few months ago they were $.99. Aldi's is cheaper than most all grocery chains when it comes to basic staple items.

As for the generic stuff, just like with Trader Joes, it is hit or miss. In terms of the produce the quality of the veggies(and yes they do have celery) is okay, usually not any worse than a typical walmart. The fruit however leaves a lot of be desired and is usually worse than Walmart.

Shopping at Aldi's can definitely save you money. I don't do all my shopping at Aldi's, but I know what items are substantially cheaper for the same quality as name brand and that's where I buy those items.

 

[NoTine42]

you have a odd aldi's then. i been to a few and NOT one has a higher quality (somtimes cheaper) fruits and veggies.

half the time the stuff is just starting to go bad. sure its cheap but now worth it.

It is interesting how different each Aldi's can be in the same town. It might be bad managers at some..or their customers.

I've compared 2 different Lowes, and at 1 Lowes, a plant with a minor imperfection is on clearance, while at another Lowes, wilted plants are on the rack at full price :/

 

[PG]

Aldi's milk is $2.19. A few months ago it was $1.99. Dozen eggs are $1.19, a few months ago they were $.99. Aldi's is cheaper than most all grocery chains when it comes to basic staple items.

Shopping at Aldi's can definitely save you money. As for the generic stuff, just like with Trader Joes, it is hit or miss. In terms of the produce the quality of the veggies(and yes they do have celery) are okay, the fruit leaves a lot of be desired.

I was going to post pretty much the same thing. You can save money there if you know what you are doing.

As for the quarter issue, it's not a big deal if you don't have one. Walk around, see a nearly empty box of something, take whatever it is out, stack it nicely, and you have the box for your shopping. Now just don't go buy half the store and you are fine.

The Aldi stores near me are clean and better to shop at than say a Walmart. No Walmart type shoppers either.

 

[NoTine42]

Aldi's competes with discount grocers(SuperValu, CostSavers, ie: low end grocers, ones lower end than Walmart) and Walmart(which IS NOT A DISCOUNT GROCER). Its sister company Trader Joe's does not. They are in two totally different market places. There are 1300+ Aldi's in the US. They plan to add another 600 over the next 5 years. Trader Joe's has less than 400 stores and won't even have 600 total stores within the next 5 years.

Aldi's milk is $2.19. A few months ago it was $1.99. Dozen eggs are $1.19, a few months ago they were $.99. Aldi's is cheaper than most all grocery chains when it comes to basic staple items.

As for the generic stuff, just like with Trader Joes, it is hit or miss. In terms of the produce the quality of the veggies(and yes they do have celery) is okay, usually not any worse than a typical walmart. The fruit however leaves a lot of be desired and is usually worse than Walmart.

Shopping at Aldi's can definitely save you money. I don't do all my shopping at Aldi's, but I know what items are substantially cheaper for the same quality as name brand and that's where I buy those items.

That makes too much sense!
You mean people should know how much they regularly spend on common items, AND buy those items at the store with the lowest cost?

It's far more fun to overspend at a place like SAMs because it "must be a good deal"

 

[techs]

People don't shop at Aldi's on an impulse. They know the system, so they know to bring bags and a quarter with them.

Yes, I agree.

One just opened up in my small town. It's nice to have another option outside of Price Chopper and Hannfords or Walmart.

I guess their business model and selection must work since they are expanding in the US. If your stores lose money you wouldn't expand.

 

[13Gigatons]

Have an Aldi's and Trader's Joe here and 9 other stores. They all have certain things that are worth going in to to buy. The Aldi's here is clean and new.

I end up going to 5 or 6 places for everything. Make the effort to save money.

 

[Soundmanred]

I don't like Aldi because everything is the off-brand version of the good stuff. I've made 1 trip to Aldi ever and it's probably the last trip I take there.

Same here. No interest in it at all.

 

[desura]

That makes too much sense!
You mean people should know how much they regularly spend on common items, AND buy those items at the store with the lowest cost?

It's far more fun to overspend at a place like SAMs because it "must be a good deal"

Oh god, Sam's Club is just awful to be in. It's just so damn big and with so much stuff. It literally is meant for large organizations, like university dining halls. For individual household consumers, it makes absolutely no sense.

 

[Miramonti]

Aldi's is a different type of place, not for everyone. And if it's not for you, do everyone a favor and stay the fvck out. No one needs to hear people whining about needing a quarter to get a cart, crappy generic products, crappy produce, expensive milk, 'stinky foreigners', ghetto locations, or long lines where they don't even bag for you. Simple...stay the fvck out.

Afaic, it's all about the score, and I've scored some good stuff there for cheap many times and really miss them now.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I shop Aldi for canned and frozen goods. Generally, they have the best bang for the buck.

That said, since I've been going to Costco the last couple of years, Aldis trips are very rare...

Don't care for SAMS club.

 

[lxskllr]

Aldi is great. You might not be able to get your complete order there, but they have the essentials. I'd put their branded stuff up against any national brand. It's as good, and sometimes better. They also get interesting special buy items, for rock bottom prices. The Aldi closest to me is in a depressed part of town, but not ghetto by a long shot. The staff is efficient, and the clientele is blue collar, but decent, and polite.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I get the impression that Aldi's is just one of the normal stops for professional shoppers (stay at home parents, the coupon crazies, etc). What you buy there depends on the sales. I assume they get plenty of other regular business but it depends on location. But this is one of those where someone gets the new weekly flyer, determines what to get at each store and then makes a day of going and getting the groceries and other errands.

Actually around here, Aldi's is less about shopping there and more about price matching there. Wal-Mart price matches some grocery items for instance, so people occasionally get good prices for milk, eggs, and other stuff.

Oh, I'm not being critical of people doing that. Home Ec in school should do a field trip of forcing kids to go shopping on a budget. And they should make them consider the nutritional value so that maybe kids would learn how dogshit some of the food they eat is and try to figure out similarly priced alternatives.

 

[Scarpozzi]

They have a business and a specific business/model and supply chain. They are nothing more than a discount grocery....mostly vertically integrated.

 

[waggy]

Oh god, Sam's Club is just awful to be in. It's just so damn big and with so much stuff. It literally is meant for large organizations, like university dining halls. For individual household consumers, it makes absolutely no sense.

I love sam's club. You have to pay attention to what you are buying though. about half the stuff they carry is actually cheaper.

I went to Costco and it was the same. You gotta pay attention to what you are buying. Both are good stores though costco looked like it had better butcher area.

 

[desura]

I love sam's club. You have to pay attention to what you are buying though. about half the stuff they carry is actually cheaper.

I went to Costco and it was the same. You gotta pay attention to what you are buying. Both are good stores though costco looked like it had better butcher area.

Uh, okay. Any tips?

I went in, was overwhelmed. Finding deals would require a significant amount of effort on my part, mucho long division.

The closest I came was buying some whole bean coffee, and I'm not sure how great a deal it was because it was like 3lbs of the stuff (enough for like 2 months) for...$15-$18?

 

[brianmanahan]

i love aldi, i do %90 of my grocery shopping there! i am not too suburbanite-high-and-mighty like most people to shop there. i save about %40-%50 on my grocery bills by shopping there.

there are only a few things i cant buy the cheap version of - oreos, miracle whip, and jif are the major ones. accept no substitutes.

 

[DrPizza]

Two Aldis locations near me, one is about 25 minutes away, the other is about 35 minutes away. We go to the one that's farther away about every other week. They're in two different counties - and that's where Aldi's region border is. The farther one is much, much cleaner inside, has a larger selection, including some variety of name brand items. At either of them, the quality of the produce is excellent, and a great price. Their bananas are excellent, and only (28 cents per pound?), quarts of strawberries are about $1 cheaper than the other grocery stores in the area, blackberries are much cheaper, pineapples were $1.49, I just bought one at the local grocery store this afternoon, it was $2.89. Cherry tomatoes for salads, cucumbers, are cheaper. Apples are cheaper, oranges are much cheaper, pears were cheaper, and they were all about the best quality I can find within 30 miles of here. Milk is cheaper, 2 lobster tails for $12.99 (they were delicious), rice, cabbage. For snacks, things like potato chips, cheese puffs, corn chips, tortilla chips are 99 cents, compared to $4.29 (but you can usually find bogo or 2 for $5 around here) for the same sized bags of chips. And, they're just as good. Great price on crackers (indistinguishable from Ritz, indistinguishable from wheat thins) are about half the price of the name brand. Saltine crackers are dirt cheap. Sugar's, well, sugar. Much cheaper.

And, coming from the car, I'd rather have three big banana boxes to carry groceries in than 15 separate bags.

 

[brianmanahan]

there's nothing good about that place, they survive in ghetto, run-down areas where cash is king.

not true, most of the well-off suburbs of cleveland have one.

 

[lxskllr]

At either of them, the quality of the produce is excellent

My biggest complaint about the one near me is the produce is never great. It ranges from acceptable to medium poor. Other stores in the area have better produce.

And, coming from the car, I'd rather have three big banana boxes to carry groceries in than 15 separate bags.

I wish all stores operated like Aldi. Boxes are easier to carry, and I always have use for a box. Bags, not so much.

 

[Wreckem]

I love sam's club. You have to pay attention to what you are buying though. about half the stuff they carry is actually cheaper.

I went to Costco and it was the same. You gotta pay attention to what you are buying. Both are good stores though costco looked like it had better butcher area.

This applies to every grocery store(except wholes foods and central market). Every place has some items that are cheaper but others items have prices that are jacked up. Stores know most people don't want to hassle with price shopping or going to multiple stores.

 

[dbk]

Their snacks are pretty cheap

 

[postmortemIA]

Aldi has some insane deals
German chocolates - $.99
Fig bars -$.89
etc.
as long as you know what you are doing, you'll shop there. You won't find all you need, but still you can score a lot for less.

BTW secret is that some of their off brands are actually known brands with different packaging.

 

[Wreckem]

Aldi has some insane deals
German chocolates - $.99
Fig bars -$.89
etc.
as long as you know what you are doing, you'll shop there. You won't find all you need, but still you can score a lot for less.

BTW secret is that some of their off brands are actually known brands with different packaging.

That's how most store brands work.

 

[Elixer]

Yeah, I got that impression too. Lots of boxed/canned goods. You can't even buy like celery there.

Prices aren't significantly better than even Walmart to consider going there regularly.

Though one thing I bought was a quart of nonflavored yogurt for $1.80. I think the same thing would be around $3 elsewhere?

I guess it depends on the Aldis store then.
Over here, they got veggies, fruits, and almost everything else that you need in a crunch. They don't have the more exotic stuff, but... meh

As for prices, they average out to be cheaper than walmart or meijers for most things.

 

[Gibsons]

This applies to every grocery store(except wholes foods and central market). Every place has some items that are cheaper but others items have prices that are jacked up. Stores know most people don't want to hassle with price shopping or going to multiple stores.

CM's actually pretty cheap if you pay attention. For the same items, they price match HEB except for sales.