Tell me about Aldi's

[torinsmom]

I am thinking of driving to the closest Aldi's tomorrow. It is 20 minutes away and I've never been there. Are the savings worth it? I buy mostly generics already, and the only comparisons I have seen are to name brands. I don't mind the drive if I can actually save some money.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

They seem to have decent quality stuff... a lot of times you can find stuff cheaper. It seems their fruits and vegetables are better and cheaper than Walmart for example. However, there are minor annoyances like having to have a quarter for a deposit on a cart, bring your own bags or buy them from them, and bag your own stuff.

My biggest complaint is the place is always crowded and it seems I have to stand in line forever. That's what keeps me from shopping there more often.

 

[amy-momofthree]

Aldis is great for some stuff; produce, milk, eggs, paper goods...

But not good for meats, whole wheat pastas, good juice, baby items.

You can save some money but it's not a one-stop-shop and that's what I don't like.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I think you just have to try an item to see if your family will go for it or not. One family may love an item and another say no way!

Basic is good...milk, eggs etc. We love the bacon and sausage. Not a fan of the meats.

I love the bagels.

 

[java]

This is my experience there for the first time this week

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2649675

 

[scrapquitler]

You can save some money but it's not a one-stop-shop and that's what I don't like.

I totally agree with this. Unless you are willing to just buy whatever happens to be available and eat only that, you aren't going to be able to do all of your grocery shopping there. For example: last time I was there, one of the things on my list was Salsa. The only salsa they had at that time (and I'm still not sure if their stock rotates, is random or what), was the type that contained corn and black beans. My family won't eat that type of salsa. They also only had about 4 or 5 flavors of soup that day. I wanted plain tomato soup, but they didn't have it.

My experience has also been that the produce is not very good quality. I've seen other people here post about how good the produce is at ALdi, so maybe it was just the days I've been there, or maybe it is my local store, but for me, I'm not buying produce there.

Other members of my family shop there, and love it. To me, it is not worth the trip (and it's less than a mile out of my way) most of the time. I'd much rather do the bulk of my shopping at Super Wal-Mart (but I don't buy any produce or meats there, either).

 

[AllyBri]

I was not impressed with Aldi's. I do miss Trader Joes.