ALDI - how?

[The Wandering Harper]

recently clued in to this place.
Their version of Little Debbie Nutty Bars,
astonishingly less expensive than the major brand,
and tastes better overall.
$3 for a quart of rich hearty soup,
and very tasty for canned.
Is that how much we're being overcharged for food at the major places,
or, what?
One thing I noticed is how they stock the shelves,
many items they just cut open a case and put it on the shelf,
not each one individually placed like most stores.
That's gotta cut their overhead, but that much?
What's going on here?

[Otto_Harper]

1. I think what you are seeing is the contrast

between Aldi's business model, which is basic, low cost, no frills, versus the more traditional stores which quite literally play games with the prices to help them vacuum out your pocket. I will be back in a few minutes with an example for you, and will post it below as soon as I finish.

[Otto_Harper]

2. Here's an example of the price games currently being played - and folks call it "inflation"

I chose one single item to compare between 4 major supermarkets in the area. I went and got their price from this week's advertisement. The item is a can of Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup. Nothing exotic, and a basic staple kind of food.

At Giant, you can see them charging $2.50 per can "On Sale", with a normal price of $4.00. Yes, 4 bucks for a can of soup. But, this week, you can scurry off with it for $2.50.


At Weis, you can get the same item for $2.99, regular price, not on sale. So, Giant normally charges a buck per can more for this product. That really adds up fast.


Then, Redner's will sell you the same can of soup at $2 each, if you buy 2 cans. Normal price is $3.89


Or, try Wally World for the same item. There, it is $1.98 per can. On sale. Normal price is $2.38.


I have to tell you that I am a retired "Rocket Scientist", and tracking and pursuing the best pricing takes a fair amount of time, but, it is necessary to avoid blowing literally tens of dollars overboard every week. They are constantly dancing the prices around,andno single store has the best prices for all items,or even the same items in subsequent weeks.

[The Wandering Harper]

4. illuminating

thanks for the info !

[dchill]

5. Thank you for your in-depth post. I live within a mile of ...

...a Weis and a Giant, and they are ALWAYS gaming the prices of everything they stock. Folgers coffee is currently 10.99 at Weis and 14.99 at Giant. I drink Folgers, and it really galls me that the prices vary so greatly.

[Old Crank]

9. I try to buy on sale

And stock up on stuff that I will use.
Here in Germany most brands cost the same from store to store. They do have sales and can discount. I don't have a car do I don't spend my savings at one store driving to another store.
They do have House brands which are cheaper.
Fun keeping track of what is the best place to buy certain items.

[True Dough]

13. Not only is yours an informative post,

I'm marvelling at a conversation between "Wandering Harper" and "Otto Harper." Have you two checked your family trees?

[Phoenix61]

3. I love Aldi's! I'm a huge cheese fan and they have

a great selection at rock bottom prices.

[Ontheboundry]

7. Agreed on this

The variety of olives they sell also are legit heavenly

[Ontheboundry]

6. My neighbor is an aldi manager

They reduce labor :
No cart retrievals
Shelf stocking is simplistic
Usually only one cashier open (mostly self check-out)
Smaller store footprint
No phone answering (nobody answers their phones ever )
No bagging (you do it yourself)

Also, no advertisements
No vendors means no middle man to mark it up
No department heads
The staff is also very small at any single time (3 is usual)

They pay their employees much better also than other stores with better than average benefits here in Tennessee I think the starting rate is 18

Also,.they don't have more than one choice of an item usually. Want kidney beans, you get the choice of dark or light or...none

Their banana suck bad tho. I refuse to buy them there lol.

[SKKY]

8. I've been shopping at ALDI since I lived in Germany.

Loves me some ALDI.

[johnnyfins]

10. I shop at Aldi

Most of the time, their meats are great. Reasonably priced, and a great selection.

I usually get a lot of my outside aisle stuff at aldi. Produce, dairy, bakery, meats. The price difference is definitely worth it.

[mama]

11. I've been an Aldi shopper since 1999

Wandered in after someone in the parking lot told me i wouldn't be disappointed, it was worth the $.25 cart deposit.
At the time we were a family of four and I saved hundreds of dollars a month.
Now I use a combination of Costco and Aldi for groceries and rarely set foot in a regular grocery chain. The prices shock me when I have to go to a "Giant Eagle", here in Ohio. It helps if you like to cook from scratch, you won't miss the variety of processed name-brand foods.

[Ontheboundry]

15. This is important

If you cook your own food, Aldi is absolutely able to cover almost all your needs

My wife makes homemade bread a lot so she has to use Walmart for the whole wheat flour,.and for most spices also but I'd say 70% of our groceries come.from.aldi

[Old Crank]

12. I live in the home of Aldi.

Not that great a fan. Other than staple items some things are hit and miss. If you see it and want it, buy it now because it might not be there again.
Most of the stores I go to here in Munich stock with the boxes on the shelves. Which can be annoying when they are nearly empty. Not all products are treated that way.
The grocery stores are smaller.
One thing they do is flood the stores with extra workers to restock shelves.
That is fun, dodging the carts and pallets of new product along with the stacks of empty boxes and packaging.

[lark]

14. Aldi's is a European miracle in the USA.

I just love this store, it is our primary source of groceries these days. We still go to Publix for some brands we can't get there, like Fancy Feast for the cat, but Aldi's is the main store for us these days. Their cheese is so good and so much less as well as all the staples like milk, eggs, bread. Their Simply brand is the best!

[kozar]

16. Think, SAV aLOt

But more expensive,
They buy old proteins, sell them cheaper. Tag them under their name.
I only buy my protein , at my local butcher shop.



Koz