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I'm not sure if there is already a thread on this, but I'm wondering what people think about the Aldi stores. Around here, SE MI, they are a mixed bag. One that I've gone to may have a great deal on one thing, and then the rest of the stuff is questionable (frozen fish from China, old produce or produce with prices comparable to a regular grocery store). I don't mind bringing my own bags, but one thing can be a problem if you have a question about a price or an item, and there is no one to help other than the cashier. She has to leave her register to answer your question and then everyone in line has to wait. After I realized that was the case, I stopped asking for help on anything. I realize that having minimal staff keeps costs down, but I haven't been impressed with Aldi's products. Anyone else shop at Aldi?
I shop there only if I'm in the area. I've never bought meat or produce there, butI have a lot of friends who do and never have a problem that you wouldn't find in a regular store with it.
I tend to buy snacks, pasta, and frozen stuff there.
We've just discovered Aldi, as we didn't have them in Tucson. Here, the dairy is 40-50% cheaper than the regular grocery, so I'm buying cottage cheese & whatnot. Also snacks, though we're cutting down on those. Cat food is much cheaper, and some of our regular canned goods are, too. The big thing - and I think this is key where ever you shop - is knowing your prices.
Their produce sucks and my cats don't like Aldi cat food and frequently vomit it up. It stains my carpet when they do that. Since they vomit up more than half of what they eat, they eat more...then vomit THAT up. The more expensive stuff is the better bargain since they don't immediately barf it up and I don't have to scrub stains out of my carpet.
Personally I haven't found anything at Aldi that I thought was a terrific deal. Their prices are low but the quality on a lot of the items isn't that great.
I'm sure it depends on what you buy but for my needs and habits, Aldi is a non-starter.
Great prices of certain items at Aldi's. Cashews in the big plastic container are delicious and as much as $5 less than our local Tom Thumb (Safeway), frozen ground turkey, eggs, milk, frozen fruit bars are great staples I buy there. Produce is just kind of based on what is on sale. Right now a bag of 3 pomegranates for $1.99 is a great deal. Strawberries and pineapples often a very good deal. Also bell peppers often a great by. You have to look over the produce carefully but there is always at least one or two great buys outside of the staples I mentioned. I also like their Hazelnut coffee and choc. Peanut butter protein/meal bars. I shop there almost weekly. Don't ever ask for help and if you pick up a sale item, watch carefully at the register because often their computers don't have sale prices.
I don't live close enough to an Aldi's to shop there on a regular basis these days, but I try to stop if I'm passing by one. I mainly like to stock up on canned goods, tortillas, and cereal. I'll buy bread if they have a good deal on it. They have some frozen products that I like, but since I don't live close I usually don't bother with their refrigerated or frozen foods these days. They also occasionally have good deals on special items (bought a scanner there years ago for under $50, it served me well for years until I bought a multi-purpose machine).
I used to make it a point to take shopping bags, but since most of my visits these days are unplanned I usually just buy the paper grocery bags for 5 cents each. They come in handy for disposing of recycle paper anyway.
I've never had a problem determining a price, sometimes due to lack of space the prices aren't perfectly in line with the products, but because they use large tags or signs with full descriptions I've always been able to determine what goes with what. Of course I'm sure there are some poorly-staffed stores that can't get anything even close to correct, but I've never personally experienced that.
To effectively shop at Aldi, (like other discount retailers such as dollar stores) you REALLY need to do your research first. For instance, before I do my weekly grocery shop, I price out everything at Schnucks online (they have a database in which you can look up current prices for any product in stock at your local store) and write the Schnucks prices and product sizes on my grocery list. Then, I check for any coupons of any brand name products I may have on my list, print them and apply the relevant discount to my grocery list.
THEN I go to Aldi. If the product is the same size or larger, cheaper and comparable to something on my list, I buy it. However, I've noticed that it's hit or miss as to whether they are cheaper or not, especially if items at Schnucks are on sale or if I have a coupon for an item.
For instance, in my last grocery shop, I found that the following items were cheaper at Aldi:
Lettuce, Apples and Oranges were also cheaper than Schnucks, but obviously lower quality items than Schnucks (smaller lettuce head, smaller oranges that didn't feel fresh, smaller apples that also didn't feel fresh). So I opted for Schnucks.
Items that *were* cheaper at Schnucks:
Toothpaste
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Chunky Soup (with Coupons)
Strawberry Jam
Plus, I rely on Schnucks for my Tofu and other Vegetarian and Vegan items (DH isn't a Veg*n but I am).
Definitely do your research first- like Dollar Stores, I believe that Aldi has some 'loss' items and some 'profit' items. Not everything is a bargain!
Their produce sucks and my cats don't like Aldi cat food and frequently vomit it up. It stains my carpet when they do that. Since they vomit up more than half of what they eat, they eat more...then vomit THAT up. The more expensive stuff is the better bargain since they don't immediately barf it up and I don't have to scrub stains out of my carpet.
Personally I haven't found anything at Aldi that I thought was a terrific deal. Their prices are low but the quality on a lot of the items isn't that great.
I'm sure it depends on what you buy but for my needs and habits, Aldi is a non-starter.
We bought a couple of trial cans for our cats, and they have no problem with it, fortunately! But, yes, if they were throwing up every time they ate it, I'd definitely stay with the other brand. We mix it up, though, getting some of each.
I am a big fan of ALDI, but I don't shop there exclusively. I live in Florida, and the one where I shop is only a few years old, and pretty nice. They do have many items of high quality at great prices. My list of ALDI staples include nuts (all kinds), chocolates, chips, butter, yogurt, cheeses of all kinds, pasta and pasta sauce, WINES!!!, bottled water, toilet paper, lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, granny smith apples, bag of lemons, frozen and fresh fruit, and a few other things on occasion. I don't buy too many of their processed frozen foods, they have good bacon but I don't like the looks of their beef or chicken. I sometimes buy their frozen flounder filets and they occasionally have wild-caught salmon and will buy that. They also have a pretty good line of more natural products called "Fit & Active" and have recently started selling a few organics as well (although I have not been impressed with the quality of the organics except the butter). They will also often have specials of delicious imported cookies and other treats and they are cheap!
Overall, I love the ALDI experience. I like small stores, I can be in and out in ten minutes; even when it's crowded and has long lines (they move quickly). The produce has mostly been fresh and OK (and they do source locally where possible) and I prefer bagging my own groceries. ALDI usually locates their stores near other grocery stores since they know you won't do a whole shopping trip there. The one I go to is right next door to a nice Publix (main grocery chain here) where I can go to get whatever I didn't buy at ALDI.
I *heart* ALDI.
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