Aldi - anyone familiar with?

[Redone]

1. How are their prices compared to a wal-mart, target, national grocery store?

2. How is their produce section?

3. Do you have to bring your own bags? And I think I heard they only take checks or cash?

Thanks for any help

 

[Helopoh]

I would give my right arm for an Aldi to be closer to me. They are definitely a hit or miss on products. Some things are amazing and others not so much but that also goes with the palate. I always brought a bunch of the reusable bags with me but they charge like .10 a bag and they are very sturdy and I actually still have a few that we use when were need something like that. My son liked a lot of the cereals they had and the prices beat Walmart by a mile. Things like Eggs and Milk were sometimes .50 less. They have an Asian selection of boxed and canned stuff that seemed to run seasonally and the Soy Ginger was a huge favorite for us as a quick meal as I could add a ton of Veggies and make a great meal for Dinner and next days lunch. In a pinch I was able to feed us for 30.00 for a week meat included. When I did my shopping we always went to Aldi first and then the other stores. I have used my debit card in the store. It might vary by store though. I also know they take EBT/Snap/Foodstamps

 

[Buckalew11]

They have a website and you can learn a lot about the place there. They do the charge a quarter for the cart thing and have no baggers. Looks hit or miss but you can see some t=of their prices on-line to compare.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

The quality of their stuff seems to be pretty good from what I have bought. Some of their stuff is better than stuff from Walmart. Their prices are a lot of times cheaper than WM etc.. and in some cases their produce is actually better (and cheaper).

Yes, if you dont want to buy bags from then you gotta bring your own, and have a quarter for the deposit on the shopping cart. I just dont go there very often because where I am the lines are usually long and I am impatient.

 

[Aristocath]

Aldi opened here last year. I could not do my weekly shopping there as they just don't have the selection my family needs. I think the products are hit or miss. I go in about once every two weeks to buy cereal. The produce seems pretty good and I've run in just to get avocados or whatever it is I need. I won't buy their sour cream again...the consistency just seemed weird. The bread is average but will do for sandwiches for my kids.
I'm a very picky food buyer in that I avoid products with HFCS, don't like most convenience foods, and I like to buy organic when possible. That eliminates a lot of Aldi products for me. I do bring my own reusable bags but I do that everywhere. Most people use cash or a debit card. I've never seen anyone write a check at Aldi but they don't take credit.

 

[tessiemez]

I agree with hit-or-miss, and that can vary from store-to-store. We have a fantastic produce section--really, really fresh stuff--while the next town over definitely doesn't. I coupon, so a most items I get for cheaper from other coupon stores, but produce and staples (milk, eggs, flour, etc.) don't really go on sale with coupons at other stores--and these are always consistently low-priced at Aldi, and that's what does it for me. I' always pleased with their tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, bananas, squash, and cucumbers ... also, they often have stellar sales on green grapes (and Disney brand for that matter ... who knew?). I also get their frozen stuffed pasta, and quite a few of their German products (including the chocolates kept up at the front . Oh, and I love those frozen fruit bars that they carry.

One thing I can recommend to stay away from--Aldi's boxed macaroni and cheese. I like to keep that on-hand because my toddler's a macaroni nut, and Aldi's just doesn't taste good, IMO. I'll take Kraft/Great Value any day over Aldi.

If you're really looking to save money, I'd look into couponing (I use Southernsavers.com, spend about half-an-hour a week couponing, and save 40%-60% on my groceries pretty consistently--I'm sure there's a site that has stores local to you!) as well as using Aldi for produce--but if you're short on time and simply want to save here and there, especially on produce, Aldi might be the store for you.

ETA: My Aldi only accepts cash, debit and (I think) EBT. No checks or credit.