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the crazy part about Aldi isn't just their food prices but the odd things that just show up dirt cheap. An example, a full 10x10 Gazebo that you assemble. Not w

the crazy part about Aldi isn't just their food prices but the odd things that just show up dirt cheap. An example, a full 10x10 Gazebo that you assemble. Not with cheap like poles for full on L corners and netting. It was under $150 and just blows away stuff twice or more. The order of pricing in my area is Aldi < Wal Mart < Target/Kroger/Publix < Drug Stores. What Wal Mart is in pricing to Kroger/Publix/etc Aldi is to Wal Mart. H Though to be honest, Aldi's brand of cinnamon rolls in the refrigerated section are amazing. The pricing on fruit, like a pint of strawberries and such is just so confusing, their price is nearly half of what the big box grocery chains it just seems that no one can profit off of it. So usually for us its Aldi when we are near for the basics, Wal Mart for some name brands, and old retail for BOGOs. Yet for many it is the luxury of time which gives you opportunity to shop around

NeedMoreTea 7y ago
I spent ages ignoring the aisle of crap for being so cheap it clearly can't be any good. Then one year we found some sleeping bags for £10 or £12. Bought one and it turned out to be better made and designed than "proper" outdoor brands selling for £40 or £60. So went back for another before the offer switched. They're lasting much longer than the brands ever have too. We've had some absurdly priced bargains in the years since. Tesco and Asda (Walmart) have own-brands that cost more and are consistently simply crap, and to be avoided. So you learned to mostly avoid them, unless broke. Sure, Aldi do a few things badly, and a few things to avoid, but mostly they cured us of any remaining interest in preferring brand names over supermarket's own. So many brands got bought and became rubbish themselves anyway. The tiny few we do care for still, Aldi seem to stock.
- achillesheels 7y ago
  Yours is a fascinating anecdote in the history of private labeling, which originated in the U.K. recession in the early 80’s wherein retailers began store brands to lower prices out of necessity to keep customer loyalty. Having spent the last 4 years in sourcing, I can say I am excited to try store brands because I know most of the time marquee brands are more expensive because of their unit cost of marketing. I strongly speculate this is the main reason for Kraft Heinz’s struggles.
  - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
    I forgot that's what kicked store brands off in the first place. > unit cost of marketing. I strongly speculate this is the main reason for Kraft Heinz’s struggles Accidentally so revealing: Kraft have aimed a bullet carefully and precisely at themselves, Heinz are indistinguishable from Aldi and have nothing unique to offer but expense. Asda and Tesco own brands were always how not to do it, or almost do it. Corn flakes that had the wrong texture or were somehow too thick or hard, always with the odd burnt one. Beans that had the wrong texture or were again too hard, bread somehow devoid of flavour and texture, biscuits that had as much grit as crunch. They weren't nice, they were for students and other times of being poverty stricken. Sainsbury's managed a bit better. Own brand beans or sauce were easy and instant to distinguish - the taste was wrong, the texture was wrong, they tasted of cheap cafe and poverty, even as they got the sugar content as equally insane. I simply can't tell the difference between Aldi and Heinz at all, even the beans with sausages. Aldi beans are stupidly cheap - 25p a tin or something, and far cheaper than Tesco, Asda and Heinz up near £1 a tin. The sauce is as cheap. There is simply no point Heinz existing. Kraft take over Cadbury's and immediately set about ruining it - closing the factory they promised to keep open, within weeks of takeover. Throwing away Green and Black's Fair Trade element. Changing Cadbury's recipe so it has that greasy cheap American choc texture and doesn't taste or feel like chocolate any more. Reducing sizes and proportion of chocolate in choc bars and snacks. Then lying that they did none of these - and being easily proved to be lying each time - usually with viral social media photographs. I think half the UK is boycotting them to one degree or another. The degree of UK resentment they have achieved is comical. Aldi start to make chocolate that tastes as Cadbury used to. Just about perfectly. For 90p! While Kraft not-Cadbury-any-more charge nearly £2 for comparable size. I mostly prefer Aldi's "posher" choc, but every now and then I need that childhood Cadbury fix. That's now only available from Aldi and not at all from Kraft Mondolez's often Polish made, Cadbury-in-name-only. Go figure. They don't always manage. They admitted defeat after years trying to match taste and texture of KitKat, their Swiss muesli is an inconsistent poor substitute. They have never done British tea very well. Of the few brands in Aldi and Lidl PG and Yorkshire tea were among the first. As final example of completely missing the point, Tesco responded to Aldi and Lidl's runaway success in the UK by launching their own discounter "Jack's". Not by suddenly trying to match quality, but by taking a distinct step down from their own-label brands, and so arriving at impossibly cheap and nasty. They were immediately ridiculed by most of the media and panned for awful goods. How could they possibly think this was the Aldi/Lidl USP? They will fail hard.
GreyTheory 7y ago
I've bought two pairs of boots from Aldi - one pair about a decade ago and are still my favourite pair, and another steel-toecapped safety shoe that I wear whenever I need to go to one of our manufacturing sites. Super comfy. And I think they were about £20 a piece.
- shoo 7y ago
  I bought a warm reflective work safety jacket from Aldi a few weeks ago -- I've been wearing it while commuting on bike, it's great. Warm, high quality materials, cost about AUD 30. This week my local Aldi is doing a big sale on snow gear as we approach snow season -- I expect the store will be crazy with people trying to fit out the entire family with new ski jackets, etc.
  - HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
    A few years ago my dad and I got hiking backpacks from Aldi, as well as "hydration packs" and light cycling bags for a grand total of about $50 for the two of us. We promptly took the hiking packs and water bladders with us to the Philmont BSA reservation, and they held up just fine. We bought some more the next time they were available, and they were even better than the first generation. I love those backpacks.
ohithereyou 7y ago
I just moved from Florida to the midwest. I'm still shopping at Aldi, but I miss Publix subs and their fried chicken.
anonymousDan 7y ago
Ha,my dad is obsessed with Aldi for this reason. He'll come home with say 50 rolls of dental floss or 12 jars of marmalade as they were on sale one week, knowing they wouldn't be available again potentially for months.

NeedMoreTea 7y ago

I spent ages ignoring the aisle of crap for being so cheap it clearly can't be any good. Then one year we found some sleeping bags for £10 or £12. Bought one and it turned out to be better made and designed than "proper" outdoor brands selling for £40 or £60. So went back for another before the offer switched. They're lasting much longer than the brands ever have too. We've had some absurdly priced bargains in the years since. Tesco and Asda (Walmart) have own-brands that cost more and are consistently simply crap, and to be avoided. So you learned to mostly avoid them, unless broke. Sure, Aldi do a few things badly, and a few things to avoid, but mostly they cured us of any remaining interest in preferring brand names over supermarket's own. So many brands got bought and became rubbish themselves anyway. The tiny few we do care for still, Aldi seem to stock.

achillesheels 7y ago
Yours is a fascinating anecdote in the history of private labeling, which originated in the U.K. recession in the early 80’s wherein retailers began store brands to lower prices out of necessity to keep customer loyalty. Having spent the last 4 years in sourcing, I can say I am excited to try store brands because I know most of the time marquee brands are more expensive because of their unit cost of marketing. I strongly speculate this is the main reason for Kraft Heinz’s struggles.
- NeedMoreTea 7y ago
  I forgot that's what kicked store brands off in the first place. > unit cost of marketing. I strongly speculate this is the main reason for Kraft Heinz’s struggles Accidentally so revealing: Kraft have aimed a bullet carefully and precisely at themselves, Heinz are indistinguishable from Aldi and have nothing unique to offer but expense. Asda and Tesco own brands were always how not to do it, or almost do it. Corn flakes that had the wrong texture or were somehow too thick or hard, always with the odd burnt one. Beans that had the wrong texture or were again too hard, bread somehow devoid of flavour and texture, biscuits that had as much grit as crunch. They weren't nice, they were for students and other times of being poverty stricken. Sainsbury's managed a bit better. Own brand beans or sauce were easy and instant to distinguish - the taste was wrong, the texture was wrong, they tasted of cheap cafe and poverty, even as they got the sugar content as equally insane. I simply can't tell the difference between Aldi and Heinz at all, even the beans with sausages. Aldi beans are stupidly cheap - 25p a tin or something, and far cheaper than Tesco, Asda and Heinz up near £1 a tin. The sauce is as cheap. There is simply no point Heinz existing. Kraft take over Cadbury's and immediately set about ruining it - closing the factory they promised to keep open, within weeks of takeover. Throwing away Green and Black's Fair Trade element. Changing Cadbury's recipe so it has that greasy cheap American choc texture and doesn't taste or feel like chocolate any more. Reducing sizes and proportion of chocolate in choc bars and snacks. Then lying that they did none of these - and being easily proved to be lying each time - usually with viral social media photographs. I think half the UK is boycotting them to one degree or another. The degree of UK resentment they have achieved is comical. Aldi start to make chocolate that tastes as Cadbury used to. Just about perfectly. For 90p! While Kraft not-Cadbury-any-more charge nearly £2 for comparable size. I mostly prefer Aldi's "posher" choc, but every now and then I need that childhood Cadbury fix. That's now only available from Aldi and not at all from Kraft Mondolez's often Polish made, Cadbury-in-name-only. Go figure. They don't always manage. They admitted defeat after years trying to match taste and texture of KitKat, their Swiss muesli is an inconsistent poor substitute. They have never done British tea very well. Of the few brands in Aldi and Lidl PG and Yorkshire tea were among the first. As final example of completely missing the point, Tesco responded to Aldi and Lidl's runaway success in the UK by launching their own discounter "Jack's". Not by suddenly trying to match quality, but by taking a distinct step down from their own-label brands, and so arriving at impossibly cheap and nasty. They were immediately ridiculed by most of the media and panned for awful goods. How could they possibly think this was the Aldi/Lidl USP? They will fail hard.

GreyTheory 7y ago

I've bought two pairs of boots from Aldi - one pair about a decade ago and are still my favourite pair, and another steel-toecapped safety shoe that I wear whenever I need to go to one of our manufacturing sites. Super comfy. And I think they were about £20 a piece.

shoo 7y ago
I bought a warm reflective work safety jacket from Aldi a few weeks ago -- I've been wearing it while commuting on bike, it's great. Warm, high quality materials, cost about AUD 30. This week my local Aldi is doing a big sale on snow gear as we approach snow season -- I expect the store will be crazy with people trying to fit out the entire family with new ski jackets, etc.
- HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
  A few years ago my dad and I got hiking backpacks from Aldi, as well as "hydration packs" and light cycling bags for a grand total of about $50 for the two of us. We promptly took the hiking packs and water bladders with us to the Philmont BSA reservation, and they held up just fine. We bought some more the next time they were available, and they were even better than the first generation. I love those backpacks.

ohithereyou 7y ago

I just moved from Florida to the midwest. I'm still shopping at Aldi, but I miss Publix subs and their fried chicken.

anonymousDan 7y ago

Ha,my dad is obsessed with Aldi for this reason. He'll come home with say 50 rolls of dental floss or 12 jars of marmalade as they were on sale one week, knowing they wouldn't be available again potentially for months.